Thank you to my endorsers!
My wonderful colleagues wrote some wonderful words about my new book, Writing for the Ear, Preaching from the Heart.
“Writing for the Ear, Preaching from the Heart is a fresh, helpful guide for the preacher who yearns to be able to remember her sermon during its delivery and for it to live in her congregation’s memory long after she has ceased to speak.”
— Alyce M. McKenzie, Le Van Professor of Preaching and Worship, Perkins School of Theology, and director, The Perkins Center for Preaching Excellence at Southern Methodist University
“Donna Giver-Johnston's Writing for the Ear, Preaching from the Heart is packed with the wisdom of experience, a step-by-step approach as inspirational as it is practical. The author encourages preachers to take new risks for a new time and then empowers them with the skills and confidence to do it.”
— Peter Marshall, Professor of Preaching at Columbia Theological Seminary and ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
“Giver-Johnston reveals her own heart for human need, her own ear for the cries of suffering, her own capacity for lament over fractures in our society, and her own tenacious hope in the healing power of the gospel.”
— Thomas G. Long, Bandy Professor Emeritus of Preaching, Candler School of Theology
“All who listen to sermons will welcome this contribution to the oral public performance of scriptural interpretation that is the task of preachers today. By recalling this cultural moment, Writing for the Ear, Preaching from the Heart calls preachers to embody their words in a way that reaches the imagination of the listener … Giver-Johnston has provided an invigorating book for preachers.”
— Joy J. Moore, Vice-President of Academic Affairs and Academic Dean and Professor of Biblical Preaching, Luther Seminary, and ordained elder in the United Methodist Church
“In this lively, heartfelt book, Donna Giver-Johnston encourages us preachers to recover Christian preaching as a miraculous undertaking in which the gospel arises from the heart of the preacher and goes forth to the ears of our listeners, enchanting, engaging them in ways that take us to the heart of the gospel itself.”
— William Willimon, Professor of the Practice of Christian Ministry and Director of the Doctor of Ministry program, Duke Divinity School
“Donna Giver-Johnston composes a theologically rich, spiritually sensitive, and pastorally wise guide for all preachers. She shows us that preaching can meet our shifting cultural landscape and how, from sermon preparation to delivery, we can break down barriers between pulpit and pew.”
— Richard W. Voelz, Associate Professor of Preaching and Worship, Union Presbyterian Seminary, and author of Preaching to Teach: Inspire People to Think and Act (Abingdon, 2019)
“The day after our city was traumatized by a hate-fueled mass shooting at a local synagogue, I visited one of the 135 congregations under my care. I was captivated and comforted on that horrific day by the word of the Lord through its pastor, Donna Giver-Johnston. She launches this sterling handbook for working preachers by recounting the story of that sermon, eventually detailing step by step her unique process for preparing and delivering impactful sermons without manuscript or notes. Listen to her. Walk with her. Her sermons stick. Informed by deep engagement with homiletical scholarship, years in fruitful parish ministry, and genuine love for Jesus, this winsome book is rich with wisdom for preachers willing to risk doing something new to better fulfill their marvelous calling.”
— Sheldon Sorge, general minister of Pittsburgh Presbytery, former pastor of three congregations, and associate for theology and worship for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
“Such a tension in our society today: the exhausting, noisy words of anger and unleashed grief and the need for gospel words in response. Our ears, as a society, are tired. We ache to hear otherwise. Donna Giver-Johnston offers a way forward here: she has me listening.”
— Lisa Nichols Hickman, pastor, teacher, and author of The Worshiping Life, Writing in the Margins, and Praying the Alphabet
“Grounded in scripture and tradition, in the study of shifting culture and changing homiletical practices, and most of all in the weekly rhythms of congregational preaching, Donna Giver-Johnston provides a lifeline to preachers in Writing for the Ear, Preaching from the Heart. She vividly describes an accessible, dynamic method of sermon preparation and presentation, and provides helpful exercises to practice these strategies. Giver-Johnston is convinced that Word of God can be spoken in every sanctuary, every week—and her confidence is contagious.”
— Liddy Barlow, executive minister, Christian Associates of Southwest Pennsylvania