Turning information into insight…
Please note, this post has been re-posted from an earlier blog that was maintained by the Faithful Preaching Project before it became part of the Sharing Faith Initiative. These posts have been re-shared to maintain the full story of the grant initiative.
"The goal is to turn data into information, and information into insight." - Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard
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"The goal is to turn data into information, and information into insight." - Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard 〰️
The data collected as surveys and interviews at the beginning of our grant period guided the programs of the Faithful Preaching Project from the start. Through analysis followed by action, the information collected as general data is truly turning into helpful insight.
We recently recruited Dr. Timothy Lincoln, research professor emeritus of theological education, to assist the program as an outside evaluator. Dr. Lincoln spent time further analyzing the results of our surveys and interviews and provided deeper understanding of the results. In asking the question “what kind of preaching inspires faith?”, the following themes and sub-themes emerged in the clergy and laity responses:
There is a high level of similarity between the responses of participants in both groups, with a few themes unique to one particular group. For further definitions of Dr. Lincoln’s identified themes, please click here.
Drawing from this data, FPP defines “Faith-full Preaching” as “Preaching that inspires faith in listeners (and the preacher!) through the faithful preparation of sermons rooted in Scripture that connect what we believe about God with listeners’ lives, impacting listeners through new insight, felt emotional connections to the life of faith, and calls to action. Faith-full preaching emerges from the faith life of the preacher who can authentically share of themselves and prepare listeners to share their own stories of faith.” (Dr. Carolyn Helsel, building from the interviews and Dr. Lincoln’s analysis of the data)
With this additional set of data and analysis, we are sharpening the way we look at the topics to lift up in this project. Each theme isn’t sufficient on its own for a faith-full sermon, so we aim to be well-rounded in as many themes as possible. The Lay Preacher and Clergy cohorts will go through exercises and discussions based on the different themes, and through our Preaching Workshops each semester, we aim to bring in expert facilitators who touch on one of the characteristics that our original surveys and interviews identified. Continue reading for more information about two of those workshops, and how you can get involved in the work of the Faithful Preaching Project.
Workshop Title: "Preacher and Artist: Using Actor Training Methodology for Embodied Preaching"
Facilitator: Rev. Dr. Jaclyn P. Williams
Date: Saturday, November 2, 2024
Time: 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. (Lunch break from 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.)
Topic: Embodied Preaching
More information about Dr. Williams and the workshop are on the FPP website.
This workshop is FREE and will be held in person on campus and streamed to Zoom for an interactive online experience. We hope you can join us!
Workshop Facilitator: Rev. Dr. Lisa Cressman from Backstory Preaching
Date: Saturday, April 26, 2025
Time: 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. (Lunch break from 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.)
Topic: Dr. Cressman plans to lead a workshop on the spirituality of preaching.
More information and registration opportunities for Dr. Cressman’s FREE workshop will be available soon. For now, please save the date!