The Academy of Homiletics is Coming to Austin Seminary!

The Academy of Homiletics is an academic guild for persons who teach or who are preparing to teach preaching.  Founded in 1965, the Academy holds annual meetings to support the exchange of homiletical scholarship.  We have some 600 members on the roll and average 200 at our annual meetings.  

I joined the Academy in 1997 and immediately put faces to authors' names, the authors who were adding curvature to my bookshelves.  Though our Academy members hold divergent interests and disagree over homiletical typologies, we tend to know each other well and therefore keep the preaching conversation alive.

In my early years of membership I always prepared one question and then would ask it of as many long-time members as possible: these folks have always welcomed newcomers and nurtured the conversation.  For the last five years I have served as the Treasurer of the Academy and know much more about the guild's inner-workings from year to year. I am the doorkeeper for membership, am in constant contact with our Academy Secretary who keeps the membership lists, and carry out other regular treasurer-type duties.  We are a non-profit organization with all of the joys and struggles of such an entity.

This year in Austin is resonant - not only do we get to bring Academy members to our city (the best of all annual meeting locations!) but Kristin Saldine and I have the honor of serving on the Local Planning Committee when one of our dear mentors, Jana Childers, serves as this year's Academy President.

This year we anticipate near 200 registrants.  While our meeting will be based at the Omni hotel of downtown Austin, we will come to campus on Friday, December 2nd as guests of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary.  President Wardlaw not only enthusiastically suggested that APTS be the local school which hosted the Academy but also extended this invitation to come to our campus.  

On that Friday buses will bring us from the Omni to the Vickery Atrium and Stott's Hall.  We will share a meal and then disperse to our ten seminar workgroups to discuss this year's papers.  While these seminar workgroups are only open to members of the Academy we hope you will feel the power of that many homileticians on campus!  Who knows, you may see Barbara Lundblad, Tom Long, Dale Andrews, Linda Clader, Chuck Campbell,Nora Tubbs Tisdale, Tom Troeger,  John McClure, Ron Allen - maybe.  And maybe you'll see Kristine Saldine, Jen Lord, KC Ptomey, and Ted Wardlaw!

Many folks have accrued Meeting Planning Mileage: Kristin Saldine, Brenda Osbon, Katie Frederick, and Micah Jackson of the Seminary of the Southwest serve with me on the Local Planning Committee.  Many other members of our community are involved in the planning process.  Thank you for welcoming the Academy to our campus and for sharing campus space on that last Friday of classes. 

-- Jennifer Lord