Josh Ray, our preaching apprentice, and I just returned from Lipscomb University’s Conference on Preaching. It featured Walter Brueggemann, Brian Mclaren, Cleophus J. LaRue, Jerry Taylor, John York, Mark Hamilton, and Dennis Dewey.
The speakers focused on the ways in which the themes in the Exodus narrative are really the themes of the entire Bible. Exodus is THE story of the Bible. It is the paradigmatic narrative for the Story of God.
A brief but fascinating discussion focused on the ways in which the African American community, especially the Civil Rights Movement, utilized the Exodus narrative to understand and shape themselves as a people. Gary Selby from Pepperdine University recently released a book (Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Rhetoric of Freedom) which explores Martin Luther King, Jr. and his use of the Exodus narrative.
I look forward to the ways in which God will shape the preaching of the 200 of us who were blessed to attend.
