{"id":2226,"date":"2008-01-16T13:35:00","date_gmt":"2008-01-16T13:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/deaconsbench\/2008\/01\/pay-attention-to-what-we-believe-how-we-believe-in-whom-we-believe.html"},"modified":"2008-01-16T13:35:00","modified_gmt":"2008-01-16T13:35:00","slug":"pay-attention-to-what-we-believe-how-we-believe-in-whom-we-believe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2008\/01\/pay-attention-to-what-we-believe-how-we-believe-in-whom-we-believe.html","title":{"rendered":"“Pay attention to what we believe, how we believe, in whom we believe”"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a recent address, a leading American archbishop has offered a word or two of wisdom<\/a> to those who seek to preach The Word. <\/p>\n

From CNS: <\/p>\n

<\/a> Preaching effectively in U.S. multicultural communities hinges upon believing passionately in God’s word and his universal plan of salvation, Atlanta’s archbishop told U.S. seminarians studying in Rome.<\/p>\n

“If the preacher truly, deeply, passionately embraces the word,” then the word of God “will find a home in the hearts of those who listen,” said Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory of Atlanta.<\/p>\n

“The word itself and the graced hearts of the listeners will adapt the preaching so that it becomes hearable in a given context,” he said Jan. 13 during the 2008 Carl J. Peter Lecture at Rome’s Pontifical North American College.<\/p>\n

The annual lecture seeks to foster preaching skills for seminarians preparing to serve in parishes. The African-American archbishop’s talk was titled “Preaching in a Multicultural Church — Highlighting the Latino, African-American and Asian Communities.”<\/p>\n

The archbishop said a priest’s main task is proclaiming the word of God.<\/p>\n

He said priests, as ambassadors of Christ, need to present themselves as “sources of wisdom” and truth, which is often difficult in a culture in which people “are much more likely to go to Oprah or Dr. Phil or a blogspot” for words of wisdom.<\/p>\n

While today’s secularism poses enormous difficulties, it is not the first time Christians have struggled against the times; even the early apostles had great obstacles to overcome in spreading the word of God, he said.<\/p>\n

“In some sense, it is the perennial state of any preacher to work against the odds, to be confronted with massive crises,” he said. Therefore a priest needs to have an unshakeable confidence in his mission, and that comes only from a solid foundation of faith: “to pay attention to what we believe, how we believe, in whom we believe,” he said.<\/p>\n

“This is not spiritual narcissism,” he said, but is the source for speaking credibly and communicating effectively “the word of life.”<\/p>\n

Archbishop Gregory said there are some misconceptions about preaching to members of the Latino, African-American and Asian communities that need correcting.<\/p>\n

For example, while minorities living in the United States have been victims of inequality, discrimination and oppression, attention also must be paid to their dignity and hope for the future.<\/p>\n

Preaching must “proclaim God’s gracious empowerment” and “insist on the revolutionary power of forgiveness and reconciliation,” he said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You can read more at the CNS link<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a recent address, a leading American archbishop has offered a word or two of wisdom to those who seek to preach The Word. From CNS: Preaching effectively in U.S. multicultural communities hinges upon believing passionately in God’s word and his universal plan of salvation, Atlanta’s archbishop told U.S. seminarians studying in Rome. “If the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":365,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2226","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-art-of-preaching"],"yoast_head":"\n"Pay attention to what we believe, how we believe, in whom we believe" - The Deacon's Bench<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2008\/01\/pay-attention-to-what-we-believe-how-we-believe-in-whom-we-believe.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\""Pay attention to what we believe, how we believe, in whom we believe" - The Deacon's Bench\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In a recent address, a leading American archbishop has offered a word or two of wisdom to those who seek to preach The Word. 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