Exodus Preaching

Exodus Preaching is the first of its kind. It is an exploration of the African American prophetic rhetorical traditions in a manner that makes features of these traditions relevant to a broad audience beyond the African American traditions. It provides readers a composite picture of the nature, meaning, and relevance of prophetic preaching as spoken Word of justice and hope in a society of growing pluralism and the world-shaping phenomenon of racial, economic and cultural diversity.

African American preachers have distinctively invested great symbolic significance in the Exodus story, the messianic witness of Jesus, and the prophetic literature for developing and shaping prophetic sermons. Kenyatta Gilbert demonstrates how four distinctive features of discourse can shape sermon preparation, for effective preaching in a period of intense social change, racial unrest, and violence.

Gilbert includes dozens of practical suggestions and five practical exercises to equip the reader for preaching in new ways and in new environments. He offers an holistic approach, fully equipping the reader with the theological and practical resources needed to preach prophetically.

African American pastors often preach with a raw and holy emotion rarely seen in the broader scope of Protestant churches. This effective method, which is often used when speaking about issues of intense social injustice, is part of the African American prophetic rhetorical tradition. In Exodus Preaching, the first book of its kind, author Kenyatta R. Gilbert explores the manner in which African American pastors distinctively invest great symbolic significance to the Exodus story in a way that relates to non-African American audiences. Practical suggestions and exercises equip all pastors with the theological resources needed to preach prophetically.