GEOFF NEW is a Presbyterian minister in New Zealand. He is the Dean of Studies at Knox Centre for Ministry and Leadership, Dunedin, New Zealand. He was the minister of Papakura East Presbyterian Church from 1997 to 2015. Geoff is a trainer for Langham Preaching in South Asia (langham.org) and also heads up Kiwimade Preaching (kiwimadepreaching.com) which seeks to resource and encourage preachers in New Zealand. Geoff graduated with a Doctor of Ministry from the Australian College of Theology in 2011. He is married to Ruth and they have three grown children.
This is a book that guides us to live, listen and tell. As we do that we ourselves as well as our listeners will experience hope and light. I have always appreciated the Ignatian Gospel Contemplation as a spirituality exercise but to link it with sermon preparation in such a creative way is Geoff New's genius skill. When I was asked to write an endorsement for a book on preaching I sighed and murmured to myself whether we do really need another book on preaching. Now that I have read the manuscript I have a totally different story to tell. This is a book that deserves listening and telling! Rev Riad Kassis, PhD Director, Langham Scholars International Director, International Council for Evangelical Theological Education What Geoff New offers in this book is a crucial but oft-neglected step in the process of sermon preparation. Preachers first need to hear God from the text for themselves, something that many homiletic books assume but seldom give guidance on. Geoff New takes you step-by-step from listening to God through lectio divina and Ignatian Gospel Contemplation to formulating a sermon outline. This will change your sermon from merely transmitting facts to transforming lives by enabling others to listen to God as well. Rev Maggie Low, PhD Old Testament and Homiletics Lecturer, Trinity Theological College, Singapore Geoff New has given the homiletic world a gift, a new spiritual paradigm, under which preachers can tune in to God's voice with freshness, creativity and transforming power. Live, Listen, Tell has brought back beautiful memories of my spiritual exercises with the Jesuits. Thank you, Geoff! Jorge Atiencia Langham Preaching, Colombia Such is the effect of reading this book that I cannot now read my Bible without praying out loud. This book is unique in that it revives a long forgotten art in which believers read their Bible with a heart already surrendering to the Lord who speaks through the Bible in a living and active way throughout all the ages. Rev Ma'afu Palu, PhD Head of Department of Biblical Studies, Sia'atoutai Theological College, Tonga Geoff New's book is not a theological book that is diffcult to read. It is instead a manual which gives preachers the joy of knowing "we can do it." Asian immigrants in New Zealand are living in three worlds - the world of their faith/tradition from Asia, the world of being immigrants in New Zealand, and the world of interculturalism. Honestly, it is a big burden for Asian preachers to prepare a sermon which is appropriately related to the three worlds of their church members. Live, Listen, Tell will be a big help because Geoff suggests practical guidelines of "living a story, listening to a story and telling a story" which will lighten the burden of preachers from Asia and around the world. e Bible is full of stories of immigrants who live, listen and tell. Geoff reminds us that the essential skills of a preacher are to "Read the Bible Aloud, Think Deeply, Pray Honestly and Rest Quietly." I strongly believe that this book is a hospitable invitation for settlers and immigrants to live a story, listen to a story and tell a story together. Let us accept it and enjoy having our lives shaped by God. Rev Kyoung Gyun Han Asian Ministries Coordinator, Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa, New Zealand Before you can speak God's word, it has to speak to you. But how do you hear it speak? That is the question Geoff New answers in Live, Listen, Tell. Jennifer Cuthbertson Coordinator for Trainer Development, Langham Preaching
|
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
