Four schools aligned with Christian Churches and Churches of Christ have been awarded grants totaling almost $5 million from the Lilly Endowment’s Compelling Preaching Initiative.
The institutions (and awards) include Point University in West Point, Ga. ($1,249,440); Johnson University in Knoxville, Tenn. ($1.25 million); Milligan University in Tennessee ($1,201,100); and Central Christian College of the Bible in Moberly, Mo. ($1,210,605).
The Lilly initiative’s aim is to foster and support preaching that inspires, encourages, and guides people to come to know and love God and to live out their Christian faith more fully. To that end, three of the schools plan to use the grant monies to start preaching centers and a fourth will launch a collaborative preaching initiative.
POINT UNIVERSITY will use the Lilly grant to help found and fund its Center for Compelling Preaching, which will gather preachers into peer groups designed to help them develop the craft of preaching (technique, style, and sustainable rhythms) and be more attentive to the context of preaching (the people and communities to whom they preach), according to a news release.
These peer groups will pair pastors with seasoned mentors to help foster mutual encouragement and growth. In combination with this, Point’s Center for Compelling preaching will host larger events focused on preaching and the use of new media to expand the audience and increase the impact of preaching.
“Point University is grateful to have received this grant that is so well aligned with its historical mission,” said Dean C. Collins, president of Point. “From its earliest days, Point has been dedicated to training preachers and placing them in local congregations. This generous grant from Lilly Endowment enables us to amplify our mission and serve both new and veteran preachers alike.”
Collins said the program’s goal “is to see the gospel proclaimed more powerfully than ever, to more people than ever, and in ways that are more relevant than they have been in the past. We desire to see people grow in the likeness of Christ as a result of more compelling preaching.”
JOHNSON UNIVERSITY will use its grant to start the Fred Craddock Center for Preaching Excellence, which will continue the legacy of one of Johnson’s best-known alumni. Craddock’s analysis of culture led him to practice and teach innovative approaches to sermon form, primarily involving inductive and narrative development. The new center will equip preachers for such cultural analysis and preaching innovation.
Furthermore, the Craddock Center will target underserved preachers in the Appalachia region that surrounds the university’s campus. This is in keeping with both Craddock’s and university founder Ashley Johnson’s burden to help such preachers.
The center’s key activities will include two-day interdisciplinary retreats; one-day lectures, workshops, and seminars; mentoring groups; and the curation of resources from the life and ministry of Fred Craddock. JU will integrate insights gained from these activities into its undergraduate and graduate preaching programs.
“Dr. Craddock has inspired generations of preachers to communicate the gospel in creative and culturally relevant ways,” said JU president Tommy Smith. “This center will give us the opportunity to honor his work and continue his legacy for generations to come.
“Johnson University offers broad academic programs in Christian ministries and strategic vocations, but preaching is still at the heart of the Johnson ethos. Building on Dr. Craddock’s legacy helps us keep effective preaching at the center of the Johnson identity.”
MILLIGAN UNIVERSITY will use its Lilly Endowment Grant to help strengthen and expand the preparation, support, and development of engaging and effective preaching. The funds also will help establish a Center for Preaching at the university.
“We are grateful to Lilly Endowment for providing this crucial support which will enable us to further prepare and equip future preachers for service to the kingdom,” said Dr. Bill Greer, president of Milligan. “The funds will enable us not only to cultivate future preachers but also to assist and encourage preachers at every level of experience throughout their careers.”
The new Center for Preaching will strive to benefit Independent Christian Churches nationally, with a particular focus on more than 350 such churches located within 100 miles of the university. The new center will partner with the university’s existing undergraduate Ministry Leadership Program and also the Ministry Resource Center (which is part of Emmanuel Christian Seminary at Milligan) to foster compelling preaching in a variety of different ministry settings.
“This grant . . . will enable us to create a Center for Preaching that will serve both our students and preachers in our region and around the country,” said Dr. Ron Kastens, academic dean of Emmanuel. “Milligan and Emmanuel have a rich history of equipping preachers and this grant will provide us the opportunity to strengthen and expand our service to churches.”
CENTRAL CHRISTIAN COLLEGE OF THE BIBLE (CCCB) will use its grant from Lilly Endowment to help with the launch of a multiyear collaborative effort to support ministers and elevate preaching in the Christian Churches/Churches of Christ. The grant will be delivered through the Christian Church Leadership Network (CCLN), the church services division of CCCB.
The effort will support learning opportunities, gatherings, coaching, and structured peer cohorts for ministers while providing media support services to smaller churches. CCCB envisions that these efforts will impact more than 1,000 Christian Churches/Churches of Christ over a four-year period (2024–2027).
“Central’s degrees have always focused heavily on the Bible and biblical preaching. However, we have also seen the need to support preachers in their work long after they graduate,” said CCCB’s president, Dr. David Fincher. “The goals of this initiative are to help preachers produce messages that are biblical, accessible, incarnational, and transformational. To do this, we will offer ongoing opportunities for learning, coaching, and media support for our churches and their leaders.”
The effort to help preachers and churches become more effective in proclaiming biblical truth in culturally relevant ways will include an emphasis on addressing complex issues and harnessing the potential of technology.
Program offerings will include:
• an ongoing series of webinars that showcase leading preachers and experts on Bible/theology and culture;
• regional gatherings of ministers, offered in partnership with other schools and ministries;
• yearlong virtual cohorts that emphasize learning, preaching skills, peer connections, and coaching;
• intensive soul-care retreats and cohorts for ministry couples;
• and an innovative media services program that will partner qualified young adults who are interested in media and ministry with smaller churches that seek assistance with basic media support (such as videos, streaming services, and social media).
“CCCB is deeply honored to participate in the Compelling Preaching Initiative,” Fincher said. “Biblical preaching is foundational to the life and health of every church, and every successful ministry is grounded in the ability to proclaim the Word in relevant and accessible ways.”
ALL TOTALED, 81 organizations received grants through this competitive round of the Compelling Preaching Initiative. The awards went to organizations from a broad range of Christian faith communities, including mainline Protestant, evangelical, Catholic, Orthodox, Anabaptist, and Pentecostal. Many of the organizations are rooted in the Black Church and in Hispanic and Asian American Christian traditions.
“Throughout history, preachers often have needed to adapt their preaching practices to engage new generations of hearers more effectively,” said Christopher L. Coble, Lilly Endowment’s vice president for religion. “We are pleased that the organizations receiving grants in this initiative will help pastors and others in ministry engage in the kinds of preaching needed today to ensure that the gospel message is heard and accessible for all audiences.”
Lilly Endowment launched the Compelling Preaching Initiative in 2022 because of its interest in supporting projects that help to nurture the religious lives of individuals and families and foster the growth and vitality of Christian congregations in the United States.
Lilly Endowment Inc. is a private foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. While those gifts remain the financial bedrock of the endowment, it is a separate entity from the company.
A windfall, for sure, but when I see how the money is going to be used, I am instantly lost. What are things like “sustainable rhythms,” “inductive and narrative development,” “curation of resources,” “interdisciplinary retreats,” “strategic vocations,” “structured peer cohorts,” and “cultural analysis.” Is this some kind of contest to see who can be the most obscure or pseudo-sophisticated? Is there anybody at these colleges who speaks ordinary english?
Give me some examples, specifics. Exactly what is this money going to be spent for, and why?