Preaching in an Age of Contempt
A gathering for renewal, courage, and community in the work of preaching
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A Word for the Moment
The Challenge Before the Church
We live in a cultural moment defined by deepening contempt — contempt for institutions, for difference, for complexity, and too often for one another. In this climate, the call to preach the Gospel is not merely a liturgical act; it is a public and prophetic commitment that demands courage, craft, and community.
Clergy and ministry leaders serve at the intersection of these pressures every week — guiding congregations that are themselves navigating grief, fracture, and uncertainty. The church needs spaces where its preachers can be renewed, challenged, and reminded toward what they were called.
Clergy and ministry leaders serve at the intersection of these pressures every week — guiding congregations that are themselves navigating grief, fracture, and uncertainty. The church needs spaces where its preachers can be renewed, challenged, and reminded toward what they were called.
Our Central Conference Commitments
Gospel Proclamation
Centering the good news of Jesus Christ as the church's communal and public witness. Participants encounter strong models of preaching and are challenged to deepen their own proclamatory craft.
Community Formation
Creating conditions for genuine connection across traditions, contexts, and ministry settings. The conference bridges the gap between theological reflection and embodied, relational practice.
Courageous Witness
Equipping participants to engage honestly and faithfully with the current cultural moment — not withdrawing from complexity but proclaiming into it with clarity and grace.
Contextual Imagination
Developing the homiletical vision to read culture, place, and congregation with theological depth. Participants learn to preach from and into their specific context, resisting one-size-fits-all approaches in favor of proclamation that is locally rooted and universally grounded.
About Iliff School of Theology
Iliff School of Theology is a graduate theological school rooted in the formation of leaders for justice, public life, and faithful ministry. For over 130 years, Iliff has prepared clergy and scholars who take seriously both the Gospel and the world into which it is proclaimed.
This conference is a natural extension of that mission —bringing together preachers, worship leaders, and community organizers to deepen their practice and renew their callings in an era that demands nothing less than courageous faithfulness.The Gospel has never been proclaimed in a hospitable world. It has always required courage.
This conference is a natural extension of that mission —bringing together preachers, worship leaders, and community organizers to deepen their practice and renew their callings in an era that demands nothing less than courageous faithfulness.The Gospel has never been proclaimed in a hospitable world. It has always required courage.
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Conference Registration
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