Certificate in Preaching Excellence (CPX) Program Continues with Novel Preaching Course in April 2025
Preachers looking for inspiration, new techniques, and a fresh approach to sermon preparation will want to add this upcoming course to their calendars: “Novel Preaching: What Preachers Can
Learn from Creative Writers,” offered on two dates: April 2, 2025, and April 24, 2025. It’s the second course in the Certificate in Preaching Excellence program, launched in January by the Perkins Center for Preaching Excellence (PCPE) at SMU.
The virtual workshop, taught by Dr. Alyce M. McKenzie, will examine novelists’ techniques for crafting engaging narratives and how they may be applied to preaching. Participants will learn tips for cultivating their imagination and developing a “knack for noticing.” The course is based on McKenzie’s 2010 book, Novel Preaching.
“These skills can transform sermons from dry lectures into deep, engaging encounters with God’s Word,” said McKenzie, who is co-director of the PCPE and Le Van Professor of Preaching and Worship at Perkins. “The constant demand for fresh, compelling sermons can leave preachers feeling drained. The antidote to uninspired sermons is imagination,” McKenzie said. “Imagination is like a muscle. You can use it or lose it.”
Participants will learn to fine-tune their ability to observe and appreciate the details of scripture (“textscape”), their congregations and culture (“landscape”), and their own inner lives (“inscape”). They will discover how to pay attention to the metaphors, anecdotes, and images that can enrich preaching. Simple metaphors, such as “A broken crayon still colors,” can serve as powerful tools for a transformative sermon.
McKenzie adds that the African American preaching tradition speaks of the “sanctified imagination”—the power of the Holy Spirit working through the preacher’s creative faculties.
“This workshop will help preachers harness their imaginations to craft sermons that are neither shallow nor tedious but both deep and delightful,” she said.
The Certificate in Preaching Excellence (CPX) is designed for pastors with experience and formal training (M. Div. or equivalent) who wish to expand and refine their skills. To complete the certificate, participants take four non-credit courses, followed by three one-on-one coaching sessions with expert homileticians.
Courses can be taken in any order, and participants can begin at any time. Preachers may also opt to take one or more individual courses without enrolling in the certificate program.
The first course in the program, Experiential Preaching, was taught by Dr. O. Wesley Allen Jr. in January 2025.
Other courses scheduled for 2025 as part of the CPX program include:
- Sept. 9, 2025: “Preaching the Parables,” exploring a theological approach to proclaiming the kingdom of God for contemporary congregations by reading the parables in the literary context of the different Gospels. Taught by Dr. Thomas G. Long, Bandy Professor Emeritus of Preaching, Candler School of Theology at Emory, based on his book, Proclaiming the Parables: Preaching and Teaching the Kingdom of God (2024.)
- Oct. 21, 2025: “Preaching and Trauma,” a look at how preachers can address issues of collective and individual trauma from the pulpit, utilizing insights from scripture, psychology, and trauma studies. Taught by Dr. Joni S. Sancken, Butler Chair of Homiletics and Biblical Interpretation, Vancouver School of Theology, Vancouver, British Columbia, and based on her books Words That Heal: Preaching Hope to Wounded Souls (2019) and All Our Griefs to Bear: Responding With Resilience After Collective Trauma (2022).
Four classes are also scheduled for 2026:
- January: Experiential Preaching, taught by Dr. Alyce M. McKenzie.
- April: Preaching and the Human Condition, taught by Dr. O. Wesley Allen Jr., based on his 2016 book Preaching and the Human Condition.
- September: Preaching and Spirituality, taught by Dr. Luke Powery, dean of Duke University Chapel and Professor of Homiletics and African and African American Studies, based on his book Dem Dry Bones: Preaching, Death, and Hope (2012.)
- October: Preaching and Performance/Embodiment, taught by Dr. Nancy Lammers Gross, Arthur Sarell Rudd Associate Professor of Speech Communication in Ministry at Princeton Theological Seminary, based on her book Women’s Voices and the Practice of Preaching (2017).
The upcoming “Novel Preaching” course is offered from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.. CST on two dates: April 2, 2025 and again on April 24, 2025. Click here to register.
Visit the Certificate of Preaching Excellence page for more information and details.