A grant of $1 million from Lilly Endowment Inc. will help the Department of Research and Scholarship of the African Methodist Episcopal Church to establish the Compelling Preaching in the 21st Century Project – The Power of a Thinking Church!
Under the leadership of Reverend Teresa Fry Brown, Ph.D., this grant will assist the Department of Research and Scholarship of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in exploring, enhancing, and expanding the gospel with a balance of bibliocentric, ethnographic, and exegesis of the Biblical text, and quarterly Learning Labs.
Activities in the new program will engage participants in reviewing the basics of preaching, expanding the repertoire of the forms of preaching, learning to use social media effectively, participating in small group and peer group interaction to practice preaching, congregational studies regarding the efficacy of preaching, writing assignments to include scholarly articles, reading groups on contemporary forms and styles in sermon construction, and community engagement and activism. This project will build an intergenerational colloquium of scholars, activists, practitioners, and laity to address relevant topics and enhance writing, publication, collaborative research, and scholarship to advance the art of practical, compelling preaching in the African Diaspora.
The Department’s grant writer, Richelle Fry Skinner, and evaluator, Reverend Dr. Cynthia McDonald, were strategic in capturing Dr. Fry Brown’s vision to use its multi-generational, multi-ethnic, culturally responsive approach to engage clergy and lay ministers in activities that will identify and expand compelling preaching in the 21st Century.
The Compelling Preaching in the 21st Century Project – Power of a Thinking Church is funded through Lilly Endowment’s Compelling Preaching Initiative. The Department of Research and Scholarship of the African Methodist Episcopal Church is one of 32 organizations receiving funding in an invitational round of grants for the initiative, which is designed to help Christian pastors strengthen their abilities to proclaim the gospel in more engaging and effective ways.
“We are excited about the work that these organizations will do to foster and support preaching that better inspires, encourages, and guides people to come to know and love God and to live out their Christian faith more fully,” said Christopher L. Coble, Lilly Endowment’s vice president for religion. “Their programs will serve a significant number of aspiring and current preachers who are working to reach and engage increasingly diverse audiences both within and beyond congregations.”
The Compelling Preaching Initiative is part of the Endowment’s longstanding interest in supporting projects that help to nurture the religious lives of individuals and families and foster the growth and vitality of Christian congregations in the United States.
About Lilly Endowment
Lilly Endowment Inc. is a private philanthropic foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. While those gifts remain the financial bedrock of the Endowment, it is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff, and location. In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education and religion and maintains a special commitment to its hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana. The principal aim of the Endowment’s religion grantmaking is to deepen and enrich the lives of Christians in the United States, primarily by seeking out and supporting efforts that enhance the vitality of congregations and strengthen the pastoral and lay leadership of Christian communities. In addition, the Endowment also seeks to improve public understanding of diverse religious traditions by supporting fair and accurate portrayals of the role religion plays in the United States and across the globe.
