Doctor of Ministry
Concentration in Biblical Preaching & Worship
Objectives
Within the nine courses required for the Doctor of Ministry program, four of them must be in the Biblical Preaching & Worship concentration. A Biblical Preaching concentration will enable you to:
- Broaden your knowledge of essential literature in the field of biblical preaching.
- Enrich your spiritual life as a preacher.
- Upgrade your understanding of the communication process and your delivery skills.
- Deepen your appreciation for the tradition of the Church.
- Expand your awareness of contemporary culture.
- Strengthen your commitment to the authority of Scripture in preaching
Outstanding Course Offerings
- Inductive Preaching
- Preaching as Spiritual Discipline
- Biblical Preaching
- Biblical Preaching Practicum
- Storytelling and Preaching
- Preaching, Worship, and Ministry
- Issues in Biblical Preaching
- Christology and Preaching
- Preaching and the Ministry of Christian Healing
Our Professors Make the Difference
- Dr. Donald E. Demaray B.A., B.D., Ph.D., D.Litt.
Senior Beeson Professor of Biblical Preaching
Expertise: Homiletics, Writing, Communications, Healing
Dr. Demaray has served on the Asbury Seminary faculty since 1966 and in 1991 became the Senior Beeson Professor of Biblical Preaching. Before coming to Asbury, Dr. Demaray was both a professor and dean of the School of Religion at Seattle Pacific College. He has also pastored in the Free Methodist Church and been a missionary in Japan, England, Scotland, South Africa, North Ireland, Canada, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Australia.
- Dr. William C. Goold B.A., B.M.E., M.M., D.M.A.
Dwight M. And Lucille S. Beeson Professor of Church Music
Chairperson: Division of Preaching and Worship
Dr. Goold has taught at Vennard College, College of the Open Bible, Whitworth College, and Asbury College. He has served as Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Asbury College and chaired music departments at several of the above colleges. He is minister of music at the Wilmore United Methodist Church and serves as a song leader and soloist at campmeetings, revivals, and spiritual retreats.
- Dr. J. Ellsworth Kalas B. S., M.Div., D.D.
Beeson Senior Pastor-in-Residence in the Beeson International Center for Biblical Preaching
Expertise: Biblical Preaching
Dr. Kalas has served 38 years as a parish pastor; the first 22 years in Wisconsin, then 16 years as senior minister at the Church of the Saviour, Cleveland, OH. He has served as the associate in evangelism with the World Methodist Council and as Minister-in Residence at Union College of Kentucky. Dr. Kalas is currently professor of preaching and mentor to Beeson Pastors, and an adjunct professor in the seminary. He has written study quarterlies for the United Methodist Publishing House, and has been a video lecturer in the DISCIPLE Bible study program. Dr. Kalas has written 17 books, three of which are translated into Korean.
- Dr. Charles D. Killian A.B., B.D., Ph.D.
Charles and Margaret Cochran Professor of Preaching
Expertise: Preaching, Storytelling, Spiritual Formation, Death and Dying, Drama as Worship and Witness
Dr. Killian has served Asbury Seminary for many years and has also taught at Houghton College and Indiana University. Under his leadership, dramatic ministries teams have presented nearly 40 productions around the United States. His articles have appeared in The Wesleyan Methodist, The Classical Bulletin, and Leadership. A member of the Academy of Homiletics, Dr. Killian has served United Methodist, Wesleyan, Congregational, and non-denominational pastorates in Ohio, Indiana, and New York.
- Dr. Stephen A. Seamands M.Div., Th.M., Ph.D.
Professor of Christian Doctrine
Expertise: Historical Theology, Systematic Theology, United Methodist Doctrine, Pastoral Theology
Dr. Seamands is known for merging the classical and the practical. His courses on theology and doctrine are taught with a scholar’s mind and a pastor’s heart. Dr. Seamands has extensive pastoral experience and is an ordained elder of the Kentucky Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. He is a retreat and seminar leader as well as a gifted evangelistic speaker.
Biblically Sound
The Christian faith rests on the personal self-revelation of God in Jesus Christ. Therefore, the philosophy of education at Asbury begins with the Christian faith which centers in God as revealed in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ and as witnessed in the Holy Scriptures by the Holy Spirit.
While Asbury Seminary stands within the Wesleyan tradition and holds to a clearly defined statement of faith, the faculty is committed to academic freedom. Central to all academic work at the seminary are two commitments: the first to Jesus Christ as sovereign Lord and the second to the pursuit of truth as a corporate and personal vocation.
Faculty members are committed to objective study and discussion of all theological opinions, and the seminary regards liberty of conscience as an important dimension of theological and personal integrity.
Course Descriptions
- DM 841 Inductive Preaching (3) - Staff
This allows you to study sermons--their content, structure and style--to capture the attention and interest of our secular society. Study Jesus, the Bible and the contemporary scene to sharpen preaching skills to cope with the culture of today's church.
- DM 843 Biblical Preaching (3) - Demaray
A course designed to help the minister who has preached for a number of years to update his/her preparation and delivery skills. Emphases include tools, integrity to the text, and contemporary communication.
- DM 844 Biblical Preaching Practicum (3) - Staff
The course provides an intensive lab and classroom setting for the development of preaching skills. The course will work on sermon development and delivery and will introduce participants to various types of sermon structures, all within the context of emphasizing sound, biblical content.
- DM 845 Storytelling and Preaching (3) - Killian
A course designed to help the student discover and appreciate the oldest art form in communication--story. Since narrative discourse (story) is the connector of our histories, storytelling will be looked at as the heart of the human experience, enabling us to make sense of our lives. The course is an attempt to understand the capacity of story as a basic humanizing intellectual and social skill, the primary developing tool of culture.
- DM 846 Preaching, Worship and Ministry (3) - Goold
The course seeks to set preaching and worship in an overall ecclesiology and theology of ministry. The course will look at theological and biblical concepts which form our preaching and worship, and then examine models of churches which seek to express their theology in concrete fashion. The course seeks to help the pastor identify his or her own theology and goals in worship and church ministry.
- DM 847 Christology for Preaching (3) - Seamands
This course focuses upon the biblical and theological understanding of the person and work of Christ as it relates to the minister’s inevitable question, "How do you preach it?" Special attention will be given to preaching and incarnation, crucifixion and resurrection in relation to the corresponding seasons of the Church year (Advent, Lent and Easter). Contemporary trends in Christology relevant for preaching will also be explored. Students will thus enhance the biblical, theological content of their preaching and be enabled to preach doctrinal sermons more effectively.
- DM 849 Issues in Preaching (3) - Staff
This seminar addresses a variety of topics in Biblical Preaching and Worship through the use of resident and visiting faculty. It focuses on contemporary and emerging issues, and draws upon the expertise of noted experts in this field in order to optimize flexibility and relevance for the doctoral student. (Occasional and experimental—Instructor to be assigned.)