September is a big month for the Academy of Preachers. Dr. Moody is attending a fund-raising seminar in Indiana; Rev. Holbrook is putting the finishing touches on the New York Regional Festival; a fund-raising event is scheduled for Sunday afternoon, September 15, in Versailles, Kentucky; and the whole AoP team is traveling to Indianapolis for two days of national festival planning. Pray for us as we enter a very active month of work.  Glory to God. 

The golden anniversary of the famous "I Have a Dream" speech at the March on Washington reminds us of the role of public rhetoric in the campaign for social change.

 

Martin Luther King, Jr. was many things: a pastor, a scholar, an organizer, a marcher, and a writer; but most of all he was a public speaker, a preacher. It was this talent and vocation that galvanized the people of America to alter the course of race relations in our society.

 

Many people have forgotten the importance of public rhetoric in the campaign for social change: especially preachers.

 

The accent in recent decades has fallen on other things: community organizing, public policy, social services, even building houses. Habitat for Humanity is a prime and powerful example of how the hammer and nail has displaced the public sermon as a vehicle for social change.

 

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Global Leadership Summit:

By Allan Moody, AoP Office Manager

 

I was indeed very honored to be invited to the Global Leadership Summit.  Our host church, Middletown Christian Church, graciously extended an invitation to the Academy of Preachers.  I attended this event at the Northeast Christian Church as a guest of Middletown and a representative of the AoP.

 

Please research this event, Global Leadership Summit 2013, to get an idea of its uniqueness and impact.  I was blessed to hear two of the summit faculty speakers: Bill Hybels, founder and senior pastor of the Willow Creek Community Church and Gen. Colin Powell, former U.S. Secretary of State.  Both were excellent and inspiring speakers.

 

During one of the speaking sessions I took a break and went out into the lobby.  It was here that I spent some time researching each of the speaker's books.  Liz Wiseman,

President, The Wiseman Group, WSJ Bestselling Author, Leadership and Strategy Consultant, had an interesting quote of her back cover, by Warren Bennis: "How do leaders inspire the better angels of our nature?"  It brought a smile to my face! I was overjoyed for many reasons. I love good questions and am really looking forward to the preachers presenting their sermons on the theme "Questions of the Soul."

 

Warren Gamaliel Bennis is an American scholar, organizational consultant and author, widely regarded as a pioneer of the contemporary field of Leadership studies.

 

I will make one more additional comment.  The word "Global" at this time is not a part of the Academy of Preachers, but we believe that each young man or woman entering college, seminary or any program that educates should have at least one international experience.  A global experience is a priceless treasure.   (I think I remember hearing Dr. Moody talking about international preaching missions for the young preachers!)