In a world increasingly shaped by authoritarianism, nationalism, and historical revisionism, the call to preach with steadfastness, mutual accountability, courage, and clarity has never been more urgent. Faithful Preaching for Our Times is a homiletics conference that gathers pastors, theologians, scholars, and activists to explore just and liberative approaches to proclaiming the gospel. Together, we will examine how preaching can confront the forces that distort truth, suppress justice, and silence the vulnerable—while embodying a faith that resists, liberates, and restores in sustained ways. Through workshops, plenaries, and worship, this gathering invites preachers to engage their prophetic vocation with theological depth and bold imagination for the challenges of our time. 2 CEU will be given for attendance at the full event.
Dr. Valerie Bridgeman is Dean and Vice President of Academic Affairs, as well as Associate Professor of Homiletics and Hebrew Bible at Methodist Theological School of Ohio. She earned her Ph.D. in Biblical Studies (Hebrew Bible) concentration) and Ethics from Baylor University, and was named a Distinguish Alumna of the institution in 2018. She is founding president and CEO of WomanPreach! Inc., a premier non-profit organization that brings preachers to full prophetic voice. She has been in ordained ministry since 1977 and is an Elder in full connection in the West Ohio Conference United Methodist Church. She is a peace activist and advocate for human rights.
The Reverend Grace Imathiu is Senior Pastor of First United Methodist Church, Evanston, IL. She was born in Kenya and has served in congregations in Kenya; Washington, Ohio, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. As a preacher and Bible study teacher, Grace is in constant demand all around the world and has been a regular preacher at the International Christian Youth Conference in Germany, USA and Ireland and the National Christian Youth Conference in Australia. Grace has ministered in Kenya, Togo, Germany, Denmark, Australia, Malaysia, Brazil, England, Ireland and all throughout the United States. She is author of Words of Fire, Spirit of Grace, a collection of sermons.
The Rev. Gerald C. Liu, PhD teaches “young women of conscience and action” at The School of the Holy Child in Rye, New York as a leave replacement and serves in New York City as Minister in Residence at the United Methodist Church of the Village and as Honorary Ecumenical Minister at the Episcopal St. John’s in the Village. He was the first American-born Asian hired in a tenure-track line for worship and preaching at Princeton Theological Seminary (2016–21), and he previously directed United Methodist initiatives in Collegiate Ministries and New Church Development at national and state levels (2021 – 25).
Dr. Marvin A. McMickle is Pastor Emeritus of Antioch Baptist Church of Cleveland, Ohio, and Professor Emeritus at Ashland Theological Seminary. He holds an earned Doctor of Philosophy degree (Ph.D.) from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, and the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters , awarded by Payne Theological Seminary in Wilberforce, Ohio. Dr. McMickle was the Professor of Homiletics at Ashland Theological Seminary in Ashland, Ohio from 1996-2011 and as the 12th President of Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School from July 2011 to June 2019. He actively authors articles that regularly appear in professional journals and magazines that address ongoing national and global issues.
Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III is Senior Pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ , in Chicago, IL. He earned his Ph.D. in Religion and Social Change from a joint program of the University of Denver and the Iliff School of Theology. He is an author, theologian, social justice advocate, and community and civil rights activist, with a heart for God’s people, and is actively engaged in community building in the Chicago area. He is an influencer and mentor. His Unashamed Media Group, a faith-based justice-centered agency, is committed to producing and curating stories to inspire the heart and challenge the mind.
The Rev. Dr. Luke A. Powery is the Dean of Duke University Chapel and Professor of Homiletics and African and African American Studies at Duke and Trinity College of Arts & Sciences. His scholarly interests lie at the intersection of preaching, pneumatology, music, culture, and the African diaspora. He is the author of several books including Becoming Human: The Holy Spirit and the Rhetoric of Race, which received the 2023 Book of the Year from the Religious Communication Association and also the Academy of Parish Clergy. He is a general editor of the nine-volume lectionary commentary series for preaching and worship Connections: A Lectionary Commentary for Preaching and Worship.
Bishop Dwight S. Riddick Sr. is Pastor of Gethsemane Baptist Church, Newport News, Virginia. He received a BA from Norfolk State University, MDiv from Virginia Union University, DMin from Regent University, a second DMin from Chicago Theological Seminary, an Executive Certificate in Religious Fundraising from Indiana University’s Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, and completed the 2024 Collaboration Tract of the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative. He has authored three books, “Does Preaching Have a Future? A Call to Join the Conversation,” “Reflections: Life Lessons I Learned from My Dad” and “Good Success: Practical Principles for Achieving Your Life Goals from the book of Joshua.”
Sarah Travis is Associate Professor, Ewart Chair of the Practice of Ministry and Faith Formation at Knox College, University of Toronto. Sarah has written broadly about preaching and contemporary issues facing the church. Her publications include Decolonizing Preaching, Metamorphosis, Unspeakable, Unsettling Worship and Remembering the Body. Sarah is passionate about equipping lay and ordained preachers to preach creatively and effectively in their contexts.
Rev. Dr. Michael Woolf, a leader in both the American Baptist Churches USA and the Alliance of Baptists, serves as Senior Minister of Lake Street Church of Evanston and Associate Regional Minister of the American Baptist Churches of Metro Chicago. He has been a national leader in the sanctuary movement, producing clergy resources widely used during ICE raids, and is the author of Sanctuary and Subjectivity. A frequent writer on reparations, immigration, and interfaith solidarity, his work has appeared in leading Christian publications such as The Christian Century and Sojourners. He also co-founded Challenging Islamophobia Together Chicagoland, an interfaith action network.
Andrew Wymer is Associate Professor of Preaching and Worship at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, Evanston, IL. His research interests engage liturgy and homiletics with particular attention to race, power, and justice. Publications include Worship and Power: Liturgical Authority in Free Church Traditions (Cascade 2023); Unmasking White Preaching: Racial Hegemony, Resistance and Possibilities in Homiletics (Lexington 2022); and a number of contributions to journals including Liturgy, Worship, Practical Matters, Religions, International Journal of Homiletics, and The Yale ISM Review. Wymer is an ordained minister in the American Baptist Churches USA, and he currently serves as the Delegate for Membership of the North American Academy of Liturgy.
in Our Local Contexts
Launch of Good News Preaching 2nd Edition and Good News Preaching Video Modules
Rev. Dr. Gennifer Brooks is director of the Styberg Preaching Institute and the Ernest and Bernice Styberg professor of preaching. She is the author of several books and articles, most recently, Bible Sisters: 365 daily devotions on the women of the Bible (Abingdon, 2017), Unexpected Grace: Preaching Good News from Difficult Texts (Pilgrim Press, 2012), and Good News Preaching: Offering Good News in Every Sermon (Pilgrim Press, 2009).
