Over the next couple weeks, and beginning tonight at 7pm EST, I’ll be joining my friends at Crackers&Grape Juice for a three-part conversation on my book “Don’t Look Back: Methodist Hope for What Comes Next.”

My hope for these conversations and for the book is that they are constructive, moving-forward talks in a time where we find ourselves stunted by division.

You can find the registration link below. And I’ll note that if you cannot join us live, signing up allows for you to get the access to the conversations after-the-fact. I hope you can join!

https://crackersnjuice.substack.com/p/dont-look-back-livestreams?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

Luke 14:25-33 is, well, a daunting passage. We encounter Jesus’ searing words about hating family–even our own lives. Some might read this as too much of a cross to bear, but perhaps we can read this as “a gracious invitation to count the cost…to sign up for discipleship, to take up the cross and follow him, down a narrow,  demanding, but adventuresome way that few want to go.”

C41: The Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Year C (2016)

I had a great time talking with Pod Only Knows out of Wesley Memorial UMC out of Wilmington. We touch on preaching, listening to preaching, and goings-on in the American church.

Psalm 66 is an invitation to worship God. But it’s not just an invitation for us: it’s an invitation for all of creation to join in praise unto our God.

“Shout for joy to God, all the earth!”

Thanks to A Sermon for Every Sunday for this sermon. I do hope you’ll enjoy!

C32: The Fourth Sunday after Pentecost, Year C (2019)

Here’s a a Pentecost Sunday sermon called “The Holy Spirit Helps Us” based on John 14:8-17. I ask the question: “How do we get to know God?”  Through Jesus!  “How do we continue getting to know God and God’s will for us and the world?”  Through the Holy Spirit! But what does the Holy Spirit do? I hope you hear the good news that we are not alone in this world!

C28: The Day of Pentecost, Year C (2019)

What a privilege it was to preach at Saint Peter’s Anglican Church in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina this weekend. The assigned gospel afforded me the opportunity to preach about the Holy Spirit

I had an enjoyable conversation with my good friend, James Howell, about the joys of biblical preaching. And afterwards, one of my star students, Taylor Pryde Barefoot talks about her ministry in Charlotte.

“Listening is a human skill, but as God’s word is proclaimed, the hearer experiences a vocal mix of preacher, listener, and God.”

Thanks, Rick, for having me on to talk about Listeners Dare. You can listen to our conversation below.

https://rickleejames.substack.com/p/episode-469-will-willimon-listeners?token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjo2NDkyODkzLCJwb3N0X2lkIjo1MjQ3Mzc0MSwiXyI6InJJSWxjIiwiaWF0IjoxNjUyOTYxNTc3LCJleHAiOjE2NTI5NjUxNzcsImlzcyI6InB1Yi0xNzM0NzkiLCJzdWIiOiJwb3N0LXJlYWN0aW9uIn0.M9uay9jIfHP0iLbTXFSKtqTLr9OYThzH8yt3vkglg98&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&s=r#details

You can order your copy here: https://www.amazon.com/Listeners-Dare-Hearing-God-Sermon/dp/1791023983/ref=sr_1_1?qid=1648843001&refinements=p_66%3A9781791023980&s=books&sr=1-1

This month, Abindgon Press publishes my new book, Listeners Dare: Hearing God in the Sermon. It’s my attempt to think about preaching from the listener’s perspective and to give sermon listeners help in getting more out of sermons. 

In five decades of preaching and teaching preaching, I’ve learned to respect preaching as a demanding practice for listeners. Listeners Dare is my celebration of the ways in which God gets through to people through sermons. I offer help for listeners seeking to get more out of sermons and for preachers who must listen to their listeners. Christians are those who have dared to listen for a word from the Lord and have heard that word in Jesus Christ. Listening to sermons is a major way that God gets through to God’s people.

You can hear more about the book in the short video below!