The journey and promise of African American preaching

African-American preaching today is more threatened than one ever could have imagined, as are the churches and communities in which it is practiced. It must now overcome its own apparent irrelevance in an increasingly pluralistic, postmodern age of intense spiritual, social, and economic crisis. But make no mistake, preaching is the single most important task for staving off the death of African-American churches and communities today. African-American preaching uses the power of language and art to interpret the gospel in the context of Black misery and Christian hope. What is intriguing about African-American preaching as an act of worship and ministry practice is that it is truly catalytic, holistic, and most completely actualized only when marked by three constitutive orientations -- the scriptural voices of prophet, priest, and sage, which, theologically, follow a trinitarian pattern. Together, when these voices function in a mutually influential relationship and are synthesized and appropriated in one's preaching life, they become what I describe as trivocal preaching. - Introduction. The Journey and Promise of African American Preaching is a constructive effort to examine the historical contributions of African American preaching, the challenges it faces today, and how it might become a renewed source of healing and strength for at-risk communities and churches. - Publisher.