Numerous books are available on the meaning and methods of preaching, but nothing has been written that specifically addresses the character of those who would preach. Preacher and Cross helps fill this gap in homiletic studies by examining the relationship between the message of Christian proclamation and the preacher, with specific attention to ministerial character and the preacher's use of self in sermons. Andr? Resner discusses the two dominant approaches to homiletics-the rhetorical approach typified by Augustine and the theological approach typified by Barth-and then compares and...

The community of faith finds itself located precariously between Jesus' first and second comings, between the promise and fulfillment, between what God has begun in the gospel and what God has yet to complete. It thus finds itself proclaiming a gospel of life, love, hope, and faith in a world more characterized by death, hate, despair, and fear. The gospel insists that Jesus' death has shut the door on the age of violence and death, even as his resurrection has opened the door on the Age of Shalom and life. But in this tensive in-between time, those conflicting ages overlap, and the church...