The Christian Century

Though it has long since disappeared into the electronic traces of deleted e-mail, I still cringe to remember it: my breezy appeal for an exemption from Introduction to Homiletics. I explained that as a college professor of some 20 years I was well accustomed to writing and public speaking and that I had already preached a few times in my home congregation. “I know I have a lot to learn,” I admitted, but went on to opine that I could do that on the job without the help of an introductory course in what I called “homeletics.” The professor politely replied that no exemptions were allowed for the course, forbearing to mention that a person who could not even spell homiletics might find something to learn in a seminary course on the subject.