Product Overview
Are you a clergy member called to speak on faith, justice, and activism beyond church walls? From Pulpit to Public Square is your essential guide to finding your authentic voice in public, non-ministerial settings.
From Pulpit to Public Square equips preachers to offer prophetic and pastoral witness beyond the pulpit, navigating the challenges of speaking with integrity from a faith perspective. It offers bold strategies for speaking in ways that make a difference. Through insightful reflections, practical exercises, and thought-provoking questions, Richard Voelz redefines public proclamation, offering a theological framework to help you discern your role, set clear goals, and deliver impactful messages in the public square. This book helps clergy prepare the different types of speech that will be most effective outside of a church context by offering answers to the following questions:
- What does public proclamation mean?
- What is my role in the public square?
- How do I speak with integrity from a faith perspective in pluralistic settings where some may not be receptive to faith-based proclamation?
From the crisis of protests to community events, interactions with media, fundraising, and the many places in between, this guide empowers you to connect with diverse audiences and speak with purpose, clarity, and conviction.
Reviews
"Voelz's book From Pulpit to Public Square is an important contribution to redefining social justice advocacy as a witness to one’s faith. Clergy engaged in advocacy often have to publicly justify their actions to critical onlookers. He has provided a valuable resource to justify advocacy in the public square as he connects it to one’s faith by a theology of proclamation. His is a practical guide on standing for justice and understanding it as a component of Christian discipleship."
—Jimmie R. Hawkins, Presbyterian Church (USA) Director of Advocacy, Washington Office of Public Witness and Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations, and author of The Shaping of Black Identities: Redefining the Generations through the Legacy of Race and Culture
"From Pulpit to Public Square invites us into an expanding conversation about the role and potential of Christian proclamation within society. Voelz thoughtfully explores homiletic methods, theologies, and theories relevant to both hesitant and seasoned preachers alike. This volume encourages courageous readers to connect daily wisdom, ethical commitments, and lived witness in practical ways that profoundly impact our collective well-being—here and now."
— Lisa L. Thompson, Associate Professor and Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair in Black Homiletics and Liturgics, Vanderbilt University
"Voelz believes in a God as active in the public square as in a Sunday-morning sanctuary. With characteristic humility and hope, Voelz leverages his gifts as a teacher and preacher to equip faith leaders to make their witness accessible and relevant to the public work of justice. To his credit, he does not give simplistic, one-size-fits-all advice. He presses preachers toward questions of depth and conviction, and he provides concrete strategies for collaboration, discernment, and public engagement. Filled with examples and practical tools, From Pulpit to Public Square forms preachers who are courageous and wise in proclaiming God’s commitment to the vulnerable."
—Jerusha Matsen Neal, Associate Professor of Homiletics, Duke Divinity School
"From Pulpit to Public Square is an invaluable resource for proclaimers interested in sharing the disruptive, world-changing gospel with the public. For those who believe 'God so loved the world,' Voelz has written a text that helps us communicate that love beyond the walls of the church so that there will be both a hearing and an unsettling of the powers. A much-needed and deeply researched text, From Pulpit to Public Square offers a theologically grounded, deeply practical, and unashamedly prophetic training for public proclamation."
—Timothy Adkins-Jones, Pastor, Bethany Baptist Church, Newark, New Jersey, and Assistant Professor of Homiletics, Union Theological Seminary
"There has never been a time when the moral and ethical voice of the preacher is needed more in the public square. Voelz's excellent and timely book provides theological grounding, practical steps, and inspiring examples to equip and motivate preachers for engaging social issues in their communities. Whether speaking at a rally, city council meeting, press conference, or other civic event, preachers would do well to read From Pulpit to Public Square in preparation for this important form of public proclamation."
—Leah D. Schade, Associate Professor of Preaching and Worship, Lexington Theological Seminary, and author of Preaching and Social Issues
"In From Pulpit to Public Square, Richard Voelz has crafted an essential guide for clergy navigating the sacred and transformative space between Jesus and justice, pulpits and the public square. In a world that desperately needs the power of faith in matters of fairness, equity, and compassion, Voelz offers clergy the tools and theological grounding to preach the good news of justice with integrity, authenticity, and purpose. He insists on the important truth that our faith traditions are not limited to the four walls of the church but extend to the highways and byways, the public squares, and the places where social transformation happens."
—Liz Theoharis, author; Director of the Kairos Center for Religions, Rights, and Social Justice; cochair of the Poor People’s Campaign
"With a pastoral heart, a professor's precision, and a prophetic clarity, Voelz teaches like no other how to move from preaching in a pulpit to effective public proclamation—theologically, rhetorically, contextually, and strategically. He invites us into his faith-rooted classroom with honesty and hope so that we might learn more clearly what it means to have the skills and courage to speak and do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God in the public square."
— Luke A. Powery, Dean, Duke University Chapel, and Professor of Homiletics and African and African American Studies, Duke Divinity School / Trinity College of Arts and Sciences, Duke University