Richard Lischer

Last updated

Richard Alan Lischer (born November 12, 1943, in St. Louis, Missouri) is an American author, memoirist, preacher, practical theologian, and professor emeritus at Duke Divinity School. [1]

Contents

Duke Divinity School

After serving as a Lutheran pastor for nine years, Lischer joined the faculty of Duke Divinity School in 1979. He has been interviewed on topics ranging from church liturgy [2] to death, [3] commenting frequently in the New York Times. He has participated in multiple NPR interviews, [4] and in 2010 was a part of the PBS documentary "God in America," where he provides background for the episode on the leadership of Martin Luther King, Jr. during the civil rights movement. [5] He has also explored the interactions of preaching, politics, and literature, notably at Yale Divinity School in his Lyman Beecher Lectures on preaching and reconciliation, as well as in a prize-winning study of Martin Luther King, Jr., The Preacher King: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Word that Moved America, [6] for which he was interviewed by Duke News in 2011. [7] He was one of two keynote speakers at the first international symposium on homiletics held at Heidelberg University. [8] In the classroom, he draws both on the church’s long tradition as well as the experience of contemporary preachers as resources for parish ministry. [9] In 2000, he inaugurated Duke Divinity School’s first chair in preaching. Lischer has preached all over the world, most notably at the Washington National Cathedral, [10] and regularly at Duke University Chapel. [11] He is a former president of the Academy of Homiletics and the recipient of the Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award. [12]

Memoir

Although both a pastor and an academic, it is Lischer's recent memoir work that has received the most public attention. His first memoir is the story of his early ministry, Open Secrets: A Memoir of Faith and Discovery, [13] and is set in middle-America in the early 1970s. It evokes the hidden dramas in a small country church and traces the painful learning curve of its inexperienced minister. Following the book’s publication in 2001, Lischer began a program of research and teaching in spiritual autobiography that has increasingly occupied the latter phases of his career. A second memoir, Stations of the Heart: Parting with a Son, commemorates his son, Adam, who died of cancer in 2005, [14] for which Lischer received attention in national and regional press. [3] [15] [16] His most recent book Our Hearts Are Restless: The Art of Spiritual Memoir was published in 2022 by Oxford University Press.

Personal life

Lischer graduated from Concordia Senior College in Fort Wayne, IN in 1965, and then from Washington University in St. Louis in 1967 with an MA in English. He earned the Bachelor of Divinity at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis in 1969. His Ph.D. (Theology) came from King's College London, in 1972. He is married to Tracy Kenyon Lischer, a lawyer in Durham, North Carolina.

Publications

Lischer has published more than a dozen books, including The Company of Preachers: Wisdom on Preaching from Augustine to the Present, which was awarded "Best Book in Ministry/Leadership" by Christianity Today. He is also regularly published in The Christian Century and his essays and opinion pieces have appeared in the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the Sydney Morning Herald, the Raleigh News and Observer, and the Durham (NC) Herald. [17]

In 2016, a Festschrift was published in his honor. Preaching Gospel: Essays in Honor of Richard Lischer included contributions from Ellen F. Davis, Stanley Hauerwas, and Richard B. Hays.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Luther King Jr.</span> American Baptist minister and civil rights leader (1929–1968)

Martin Luther King Jr. was an American Baptist minister and activist who was one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968. A Black church leader and a son of early civil rights activist and minister Martin Luther King Sr., King advanced civil rights for people of color in the United States through nonviolence and civil disobedience. Inspired by his Christian beliefs and the nonviolent activism of Mahatma Gandhi, he led targeted, nonviolent resistance against Jim Crow laws and other forms of discrimination in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theodore Parker</span> American transcendentalist

Theodore Parker was an American transcendentalist and reforming minister of the Unitarian church. A reformer and abolitionist, his words and popular quotations would later inspire speeches by Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Concordia Seminary</span> Lutheran theological seminary in Missouri

Concordia Seminary is a Lutheran seminary in Clayton, Missouri. The institution's primary mission is to train pastors, deaconesses, missionaries, chaplains, and church leaders for the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS). Founded in 1839, the seminary initially resided in Perry County, Missouri. In 1849, it was moved to St. Louis, and in 1926, the current campus was built.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harvard Divinity School</span> Divinity school at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Harvard Divinity School (HDS) is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school's mission is to educate its students either in the academic study of religion or for leadership roles in religion, government, and service. It also caters to students from other Harvard schools that are interested in the former field. HDS is among a small group of university-based, non-denominational divinity schools in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howard Thurman</span> American theologian (1899–1981)

Howard Washington Thurman was an American author, philosopher, theologian, mystic, educator, and civil rights leader. As a prominent religious figure, he played a leading role in many social justice movements and organizations of the twentieth century. Thurman's theology of radical nonviolence influenced and shaped a generation of civil rights activists, and he was a key mentor to leaders within the civil rights movement, including Martin Luther King Jr.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Henry Willimon</span> American methodist bishop

William Henry Willimon is a retired American theologian and bishop in the United Methodist Church who served the North Alabama Conference for eight years. He is Professor of the Practice of Christian Ministry and Director of the Doctor of Ministry program at Duke Divinity School. He is former Dean of the Chapel at Duke University and is considered by many as one of America's best-known and most influential preachers. A Pulpit & Pew Research on Pastoral Leadership survey determined that he was one of the two most frequently read writers by pastors in mainline Protestantism alongside the Roman Catholic writer Henri Nouwen. His books have sold over a million copies. He is also Editor-At-Large of The Christian Century. His 2019 memoir Accidental Preacher was released to wide acclaim, described by Justo L. Gonzalez as "An exceptional example of theology at its best."

Wyatt Tee Walker was an African-American pastor, national civil rights leader, theologian, and cultural historian. He was a chief of staff for Martin Luther King Jr., and in 1958 became an early board member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). He helped found a Congress for Racial Equality (CORE) chapter in 1958. As executive director of the SCLC from 1960 to 1964, Walker helped to bring the group to national prominence. Walker sat at the feet of his mentor, BG Crawley, who was a Baptist Minister in Brooklyn, NY and New York State Judge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago Theological Seminary</span> Christian ecumenical seminary in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

Founded in 1855, the Chicago Theological Seminary (CTS) is the oldest higher education institution in the City of Chicago and was established with two principal goals: first, to educate pastors who would minister to people living on the new western frontier of the United States and second, to train ministers who would advance the movement to abolish slavery. Originally started under the direction of the abolitionist Stephen Peet and the Congregational Church by charter of the Illinois legislature, CTS has retained its forward-looking activist outlook throughout its history, graduating alumni who include civil rights activists Jesse Jackson Sr. and Howard Schomer, social reformer Graham Taylor, and anti-Apartheid activist John W. de Gruchy. It is one of six seminaries affiliated with the United Church of Christ and follows an ecumenical tradition that stresses cooperation between different Christian denominations as well as interfaith understanding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duke Divinity School</span>

The Divinity School at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, is one of ten graduate or professional schools within Duke University. It is also one of thirteen seminaries founded and supported by the United Methodist Church. It has 39 regular rank faculty and 15 joint, secondary or adjunct faculty, and, as of 2017, an enrollment of 543 full-time equivalent students. The current dean of the Divinity School is the Rev. Dr. Edgardo Colón-Emeric, who assumed the deanship on Aug. 31, 2021. Former deans include the prominent New Testament scholar Richard B. Hays, who stepped down in 2015.

Peter John Gomes was an American preacher and theologian, the Plummer Professor of Christian Morals at Harvard Divinity School and Pusey Minister at Harvard's Memorial Church — in the words of Harvard's president "one of the great preachers of our generation, and a living symbol of courage and conviction."

Boston University School of Theology (STH) is the oldest theological seminary of American Methodism and the founding school of Boston University, the largest private research university in New England. It is one of thirteen theological schools maintained by the United Methodist Church. BUSTH is a member of the Boston Theological Institute consortium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Lutheranism</span> Aspect of history

Lutheranism as a religious movement originated in the early 16th century Holy Roman Empire as an attempt to reform the Roman Catholic Church. The movement originated with the call for a public debate regarding several issues within the Catholic Church by Martin Luther, then a professor of Bible at the young University of Wittenberg. Lutheranism soon became a wider religious and political movement within the Holy Roman Empire owing to support from key electors and the widespread adoption of the printing press. This movement soon spread throughout northern Europe and became the driving force behind the wider Protestant Reformation. Today, Lutheranism has spread from Europe to all six populated continents.

Joseph Harrison Jackson was an American pastor and the longest serving President of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Have a Dream</span> 1963 speech delivered by Martin Luther King Jr.

"I Have a Dream" is a public speech that was delivered by American civil rights activist and Baptist minister Martin Luther King Jr. during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963. In the speech, King called for civil and economic rights and an end to racism in the United States. Delivered to over 250,000 civil rights supporters from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., the speech was one of the most famous moments of the civil rights movement and among the most iconic speeches in American history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sermons and speeches of Martin Luther King Jr.</span>

The sermons and speeches of Martin Luther King Jr., comprise an extensive catalog of American writing and oratory – some of which are internationally well-known, while others remain unheralded and await rediscovery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel DeWitt Proctor</span>

Samuel DeWitt Proctor was an American minister, educator, and humanitarian. An African-American church and higher education leader, he was active in the Civil Rights Movement and is perhaps best known as a mentor and friend of Martin Luther King Jr.

Otis Moss Jr. is an American pastor, theologian, speaker, author, and activist. Moss is well known for his involvement in the Civil Rights Movement and his friendship with both Martin Luther King Jr. and Martin Luther King Sr. He is also the father of Otis Moss III, the current pastor of the famous Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Wells (priest)</span> Anglican clergy

Samuel Martin Bailey Wells is an English priest of the Church of England. Since 2012, he has been the vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields in central London, and Visiting Professor of Christian Ethics at King’s College London. In 2018, he was installed as Honorary Canon Theologian of Guildford Cathedral.

Wayne Chaney Jr. is senior pastor at the over 2,000 member Antioch Church of Long Beach in Long Beach, California, USA. The church was founded by Chaney's grandfather.

Practical theology is an academic discipline that examines and reflects on religious practices in order to understand the theology enacted in those practices and in order to consider how theological theory and theological practices can be more fully aligned, changed, or improved. Practical theology has often sought to address a perceived disconnection between dogmatics or theology as an academic discipline on the one hand, and the life and practice of the church on the other.

References

  1. ↑ "Faculty: Richard Lischer". Duke Divinity School.
  2. ↑ Articles by Richard Lischer (March 16, 2012). "Stripped bare: Holy Week and the art of losing". The Christian Century. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
  3. 1 2 "Good Friday, Easter Provide Everyday Lessons For Living, Say Christians Working With Death". Huffingtonpost.com. March 28, 2013. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
  4. ↑ The Tavis Smiley Show (January 20, 2003). "Sermons". NPR. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
  5. ↑ ""God in America" Features Faculty | Duke Divinity School". Divinity.duke.edu. October 8, 2010. Archived from the original on March 2, 2013. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
  6. ↑ "King's statue a national challenge". www.ajc.com. August 25, 2011. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Office Hours with Richard Lischer on the Preaching of Martin Luther King Jr". YouTube. January 18, 2011. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Societas Homiletica » History". 37.46.193.194. Archived from the original on October 8, 2013. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Richard Lischer | August 18, 2006 | Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly". PBS. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Washington National Cathedral : Event Calendar". Nationalcathedral.org. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
  11. ↑ "Holy Week Noon Service | Duke University Chapel". Chapel.duke.edu. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
  12. ↑ "About". Homiletics.org. Archived from the original on June 4, 2013. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
  13. ↑ "Review: Open Secrets: A Spiritual Journey Through a Country Church". Publishers Weekly. March 26, 2001.
  14. ↑ Neff, LaVonne (April 3, 2013). "Cross-shaped story". ReadPeriodicals.com.
  15. ↑ Shimron, Yonat (April 18, 2013). "Theologian Richard Lischer tries to make sense of his son's death". Religion News Service .
  16. ↑ "Theologian Tries to Make Sense of Son's Death". Charismanews.com. April 19, 2013. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
  17. ↑ Books. "Articles by Richard Lischer". The Christian Century. Retrieved September 29, 2013.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.