Chris Erdman remembers a time when preparing his weekly sermon left him frustrated and uptight. Twenty years later, he found a new way to prepare sermons that changed his life. In Countdown to Sunday, he shares the lessons he has learned. A seasoned preacher and instructor of new preachers, Erdman breaks down his methods of preparation and delivery from Monday through Sunday. Believing that preaching is something lived, he shows not only how sermons grow gradually but also how preachers can learn to preach "on the run." With practical advice and insight, Erdman also covers preaching for weddings and funerals, around the time of elections and wars, on the street, and in the hospital. The result is an invaluable guide that will become a daily companion for preachers, whether experienced or not.
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Editorial Reviews
From the Back Cover
"Too many homiletical guides promise easy success by preaching, in essence, someone else's sermons to someone else's congregation. Chris Erdman shows you how to preach your own sermons right where you are. In these meditations he models for us the day-by-day spiritual formation of a preaching life. Read them and discover a weekly process that liberates God's Word to tell a congregation--and their preacher--extraordinary things. Put them to work and find your preaching made more authentic and effective."--Beth Maynard, coeditor of Get Up Off Your Knees: Preaching the U2 Catalog
"Chris Erdman describes how, through the week, through faithful discipline, the preacher peels off the many masks of the text until he or she comes face to face with God. But in the process, the preacher peels off his or her own masks, and, like it or not, comes face to face with himself or herself. This is a book to challenge and encourage preachers, and is also a book for anyone who is ready to come face to face with the truth."--Sam Wells, Duke Divinity School
"Chris Erdman has written a wise, encouraging book for us preachers. Karl Barth said that 'preachers dare'--Erdman gives us renewed courage to stand up on Sunday and preach the Word made flesh."--William Willimon, Bishop, United Methodist Church
"Practical and prophetic! Practical because it walks where I walk. Countdown to Sunday walks my daily walk as the sound of Sunday gets louder and louder with each passing day. I loved reading a chapter a day--Chris has become a preaching mentor for me. Prophetic because Chris tackles difficult issues head on--violence and war, politics and justice. I was also greatly encouraged by Chris's transparency and honesty. He gives me great hope that I can become a better preacher as I face my weekly countdown to Sunday."--Jamie Crook, senior pastor, University Covenant Church, Davis, CA
"These short meditations are surprising. Lulled by Erdman's casual conversational style, we are not prepared to be hit in the eye with a painful perception of our pride or to be struck by the glorious truth of some piece of good news. Erdman's testimony will help us all to preach more faithfully."--Marva J. Dawn, author of Talking the Walk
About the Author
Chris Erdman (DMin, Columbia Theological Seminary) is senior pastor of University Presbyterian Church and teaches preaching and leadership courses at Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary, both in Fresno, California. He is the author of Beyond the Chaos: Living the Christian Family in a World Like Ours.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Passion for the Word,
This review is from: Countdown to Sunday: A Daily Guide for Those Who Dare to Preach (Paperback)
Chris Erdman's passion for preaching is superceded only by his passion for the Word itself...or Himself.
In "Countdown to Sunday," Erdman gives readers a daily breakdown of how to prepare, and prepare for, a sermon. He writes about the particular dangers and obstacles faced by 21st century preachers. He writes personally and openly about the joys and the cost of preaching. He writes about his goal to create an entire congregation of preachers. Ultimately, he fans whatever flame the reader might have to study, to know, and to preach the Word...even if it's barely a spark...into a raging fire. "Countdown to Sunday" is extremely readable and even more useful. I have no doubt that I will find myself going back to it time after time. Erdman's approach and methods are not always the same as my own, but they are malleable enough to be widely applicable. This is a book for all preachers, even (maybe especially) for people who don't think they are preachers.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Preaching Redefined,
By
This review is from: Countdown to Sunday: A Daily Guide for Those Who Dare to Preach (Paperback)
Anyone wanting to gain a better sense of how to handle the sacred word should buy this book. And if you have ever worked as a pastor, prepared and delivered a sermon, or taken a homiletics class then you know that the process of preparing a sermon as it is typically approached in our culture takes 20 hours per week. Erdman throws out this approach and tells his readers that a true preacher must preach on the run. Through the daily tasks of dwelling in the scripture text, ministering in real world situations, and using the text in the various situations that arise in the pastors week, a sermon develops out of the real-life tested experiences of using the text during the week. Erdman proclaims, "Preaching requires blood!" Indeed, it requires being out among the people, in real life rather than being behind a desk/computer in the middle of books.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Should be Required Reading,
This review is from: Countdown to Sunday: A Daily Guide for Those Who Dare to Preach (Paperback)
This is a great pastoral tool designed to help a pastor preach more faithfully and realistically. The author encourages the reader to preach their own sermons using their own life experiences, not the experiences or words of others.
The book is broken down into daily "spiritual formations" which help the minister focus on the sermon at hand that they will be preaching on Sunday and live the principles in that sermon. Countdown to Sunday helps the preacher to peel off the mask they often feel forced to wear and to and be themselves. His best advice? You have to be real. It's only then you can be useful to God. This is a good book for every new pastor to read. It should be required reading.
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Inside This Book
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Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs):
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street preaching Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Jesus Christ, Word of God, Chris Erdman, Hurricane Katrina, Walter Brueggemann, Lord Jesus New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Surprise Me!
street preaching Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Jesus Christ, Word of God, Chris Erdman, Hurricane Katrina, Walter Brueggemann, Lord Jesus New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Surprise Me!
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