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What People Are Saying
"Here is a resource that puts hundreds and hundreds of focused scholars in the preacher's study, ready to help shovel the diamonds of Scripture for the Sunday sermon. Every congregation in the country should buy their pastor a complete set, both for their own good and the good of the world." —Barbara Brown Taylor
"Given the deep crisis we face in church and in society, the recovery of the biblical text in all its glorious truth-telling is an urgent task for us preachers. For much too long the text has been neglected through complacency, timidity, and embarrassment. Now is the time of recovery of the text. There are few resources as useful for such a recovery as Connections. It is interpretive work done by our best interpreters, skilled in our best methods, grounded in deep faith, and linked to lived reality. This resource is an immense treasure that invites boldness and imagination in our shared work of proclamation." —Walter Brueggemann
"Pity the poor preacher. The sabbath seems to come back around every ten minutes and pastoral life is already full to overflowing. Thank God for Westminster John Knox Press and for these editors and this small army of writers. The fantastic biblical resources in Connections will help many poor preachers remember the biblical and theological substance of our calling. Reading these commentaries reminds me of the joy of leading in the church—we actually get to participate with God in the renewal of creation." —Jason Byassee, Butler Chair in Homiletics and Biblical Hermeneutics at the Vancouver School of Theology
"Having to preach Sunday after Sunday can lead preachers to acquire laser vision into biblical passages so that we can discover a message for the sermon quickly and skillfully. This relentless routine, however, can also lead us to neglect subtle nuances in the texts. Without adding days to our sermon preparation process, Connections brings to us a wide range of scholars and preachers to interpret lectionary texts with a thick examination of their interrelatedness to the wider ancient biblical canon and the depths of the contemporary world. The pairing of these two concerns in commentaries on every lection for the year will help preachers discover wonderful, new homiletical possibilities that we missed three years ago." —O. Wesley Allen Jr., Lois Craddock Perkins Professor of Homiletics, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University
"Connections takes the urgency of the contemporary moment as seriously as it takes Scripture. These essays clear the path from meaning to implication and help preachers unearth new dimensions of truth. As a preacher and teacher, I'm grateful for the way this commentary approaches Scripture as a symphony and gives us ears to hear how each verse contributes to the whole. I see Connections as a launching pad for those who want to understand the Word and live on it." —Donyelle McCray, Yale University Divinity School
"In a culture of do-it-yourself religion, we all need Connections! More than a commentary, Connections is a stimulating conversation among a diverse company of preachers, theologians, and biblical scholars. We are invited to listen in, as it were, to be enriched by the discussion, and then to continue the conversation in our own ministries of the Word. Once again, Westminster John Knox takes the lead by taking the Bible seriously. Word of God for the people of God: thanks be to God!" —Richard Lischer, Duke Divinity School, author of Reading the Parables, also published by Westminster John Knox Press
"Preachers are guided by Karl Barth's advice to go into the pulpit with an open Bible in one hand and the daily newspaper in the other hand. The relationship between the two, the scriptural text and what is happening at the moment in the community and world, is critical, complicated, and, at times, fraught. Connections is a welcome preaching resource that addresses that important relationship, grounded in sound and current biblical scholarship and reflecting the ways the Word can engage creatively and thoughtfully the world God so dearly loves and Jesus Christ came to redeem. I can think of no more valuable help for those who stand up in the midst of their congregations weekly and attempt to speak a faithful, challenging and reconciling word." —John M. Buchanan, former Editor, The Christian Century, and author of From the Editor's Desk: Thinking Critically, Living Faithfully at the Dawn of a New Christian Century, also published by Westminster John Knox Press.
"In this day when potential listeners are biblically and theologically untutored, distracted and disconnected, Connections is just what the doctor ordered for contemporary preaching. Connections is well named, for it equips preachers to preach sermons that connect with both Scripture and contemporary life, sermons that are both faithful to their biblical contexts and fitting to the contexts of their congregations in the world. Connections provides an antidote to biblical lectures with little acquaintance with contemporary life as well as to strings of stories that lack biblical grounding. We owe the publisher, editors, and authors of this series a debt of gratitude for the gift of this resource for preaching." —Alyce M. McKenzie, Le Van Professor of Preaching and Worship, Altshuler Distinguished Teaching Professor, and Director, The Perkins Center for Preaching Excellence, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University
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General Editors
Rev. Dr. Luke A. Powery is Dean of Duke University Chapel and Associate Professor of Homiletics at Duke Divinity School. He is the author of Spirit Speech: Lament and Celebration in Preaching, Dem Dry Bones: Preaching, Death, and Hope, and Rise Up, Shepherd! Advent Reflections on the Spirituals; and coauthor of Ways of the Word: Learning to Preach for Your Time and Place. He is ordained clergy in the Progressive National Baptist Convention.
Rev. Dr. Cynthia L. Rigby is the W. C. Brown Professor of Theology at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Austin, Texas. Rigby is the author of more than thirty articles and book chapters. She is the coeditor (with Beverly Gaventa) of Blessed One: Protestant Perspectives on Mary and editor of Power, Powerlessness, and the Divine: New Inquiries in Bible and Theology. She is ordained clergy in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
Rev. Dr. Joel B. Green is Professor of New Testament Interpretation and Associate Dean for the Center for Advanced Theological Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary. He has written and edited numerous books, including The Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, The Dictionary of Scripture and Ethics, Neuroscience and Christianity Anthropology and Recovering the Scandal of the Cross: Atonement in New Testament and Contemporary Contexts (coauthored). He is ordained clergy in The United Methodist Church.
Rev. Dr. Thomas G. Long is the Bandy Professor of Preaching Emeritus at Candler Theological School, Emory University. He is a world-renowned preacher and was named by Time magazine as one of the most effective preachers in the English language. He has authored more than twenty books, including The Good Funeral, Accompany Them with Singing, Matthew in the Interpretations series, and Preaching from Memory to Hope, all published by Westminster John Knox Press. He is ordained clergy in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
Rev. Dr. Carolyn J. Sharp is Professor of Homiletics at Yale Divinity School. She has written and edited numerous books, including Irony and Meaning in the Hebrew Bible, Old Testament Prophets for Today, and Wrestling the Word: The Hebrew Scriptures and the Christian Believer. She is an Episcopal priest.
Learn more about the Editorial Board Members
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