Anxious. Elated. Hesitant. Eager. Preaching can be a wild mix of conflicting emotions as one prepares and delivers a sermon. My sophomore-in-college-self was rarely the timid, reserved person I remember being at my first National Festival of Young Preachers in 2012. Admittedly, the more preaching I watched during the Festival, the more nervous I became…Continue Reading You’re Not Alone: My Festival Story – Tyler Best, AoP ’12
Over 1,000 Young Preachers have attended the National Festival of Young Preachers since the first Festival in 2010. Over 1,000 students, ministers, and others inspired to preach could tell you their story of how they came to their first Festival. For some, it was through a school. For others, a mentor or a friend encouraged…Continue Reading My Festival Story – AoP President Ernest Brooks
Stop me if you’ve heard this one: a Pentecostal, an Eastern-Orthodox seminary student, and a Catholic Friar walk into a bar… At the 2015 National Festival of Young Preachers, I met two people who would end up defining my Festival experience. The first was Tristan Gall. He was in his last year of seminary and…Continue Reading The Rosary and the Bar: My Festival Story – Nick Bettis AoP ’15
By Joseph T. Howard, AoP’12 What began as a dream after seeing a video on YouTube has blossomed into one of the most important things in my life. The Academy of Preachers is without a doubt one of the best things that has ever happened to me, as both a Christian and a preacher. Through…Continue Reading An Academy Like No Other
By Brittney Stephan, AoP’14 When I think of the impact that the Academy of Preachers has had on my life, an illustration comes to mind. We have all picked up a pebble at one time or another and tossed it into a still pond and watched the ripple effect that ensues. There is a similar…Continue Reading Ripple Effect
By Erica Whitaker, AoP ’14 This first female preacher I ever heard gave me a snippet of wisdom that I continue to carry in my suit pocket throughout my preaching ministry. She said “Preach anywhere and everywhere. Never pass up an opportunity to preach.” Since I started preaching four years ago, I have never said…Continue Reading Preaching Leads to More Preaching
By Tim Norton, AoP’15 “This feels like the American Idol of preaching. I’m not sure I want to do that.”The words escaping my lips were true if not overly blunt. My mentor was encouraging me to participate in the Academy of Preachers’ New England Regional Festival of Young Preachers. I felt as excited about it…Continue Reading From Competition to Celebration
by Rev. Fr. Martin A. Linebach My introduction to the Academy of Preachers came about from what I might call a “lucky lunch.” I am the Ecumenical/Inter-religious Officer for the Archdiocese of Louisville and I was participating in a Kentucky Council of Churches luncheon meeting in Lexington, Kentucky seven years ago. It just so happened…Continue Reading A Lucky Lunch
by Kristina N. Heise, AoP’2012 The Academy of Preachers is the place where I discovered just how vast and profound God’s word is. The summer before I began seminary, I was given an amazing opportunity to attend an AoP preaching camp in Atlanta, Georgia. Before that experience, I had only ever preached a handful of times…Continue Reading Marinating in Holy Waters
By Ernest Brooks, AoP’11 Depending on whom you ask and what day it is, I’m either a preacher in love with the academy or an academic who can’t resist the magnetic pull of the pulpit. In either case, I am convinced that I was destined to become a part of The Academy of Preachers, even…Continue Reading AoP From Every Angle