In this thoroughly researched volume, Trey Clark expands the traditional notion of contemplative preaching to include important African American preachers, most notably, Howard Thurman who, more than any other, taught us the values of prayer, meditation, and silence in preaching. Clark helpfully reviews several models of Black preaching that embody the rich contemplative tradition.
~Richard Lischer, author of The Preacher King: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Word That Moved America
In Black Contemplative Preaching, Trey Clark uncovers an oft neglected stream in African American preaching. In so doing, he challenges many of the conventional presuppositions and horizons concerning what gets to count and not to count as black preaching. By interacting with exemplars, past and present, he makes this rich tradition more accessible and charts a way forward for scholars and practitioners.
~Jared E. Alcántara, Professor of Preaching and Holder of the Paul W. Powell Endowed Chair in Preaching, George W. Truett Theological Seminary
Every twenty years a scholar and a book emerge that expand the field of inquiry in preaching. E. Trey Clark's Black Contemplative Preaching recovers and opens up a powerful and under-exposed tradition in the genre of African American preaching. A must-read for all preachers.
~Frank A. Thomas, Nettie Sweeney and Hugh Th. Miller Professor of Homiletics and Director of the Compelling Preaching Initiative, Christian Theological Seminary
E. Trey Clark offers a groundbreaking exploration of the Black contemplative preaching tradition. Clark highlights exemplars who epitomize diversity in background, education, calling, and rhetorical style, while highlighting their use of contemplative preaching modalities. In our current times of 'fragmentation, fear, fatigue,' Black Contemplative Preaching speaks to a need for personal and collective healing and is a gift to the field of homiletics and Christian spirituality.
~Barbara A. Holmes, core faculty, Center for Action and Contemplation, and author of Joy Unspeakable: Contemplative Practices of the Black Church
Clark's book is a beautiful enrichment of our understanding of Black preaching and religious experience. He emphasizes the role of contemplation in a wide variety of Black orators. He highlights the importance of women preachers and poets and emphasizes the way contemplation and activism provide a unique synergism in Black churches. This beautiful volume will soon become a classic of wisdom and insight.
~Wendy Farley, Rice Family Chair of Spirituality, San Francisco Theological Seminary Graduate School of Theology, University of Redlands
Trey Clark's authorial launch into the discipline of homiletics channels the ancestral wisdom of sainted Black preaching elders and troubles disciplinary waters polluted by homiletical whiteness. Plumbing the depths of a preaching tradition generally described as soul-stirring, frenzied performance, Clark course-corrects and reveals a hidden stream of contemplative Black preaching--embodied, meditative, emancipatory proclamation--traceable from the earliest beginnings of Black preaching. Clark's remarkable contribution is not only impressive scholarship, it is a defining homiletic for lifting all boats as it invites readers to explore the expanse of God's mysteriousness to discover an inclusive vision for honoring the sacred in ourselves, our neighbor, and creation.
~Kenyatta R. Gilbert, Dean and Professor of Homiletics, Howard University School of Divinity
Clark has offered a cornerstone text in a lineage of those documenting African American preaching and religious traditions. Black Contemplative Preaching mines the postures and practices of an underrecognized history of preaching. We are offered a glimpse into preaching as practical wisdom informed by the interiority of the preacher's life. The gift of this book is that it does not leave us inside 'the preacher's' life, but opens up the potential for exploring greater possibilities at the intersection of contemporary lived experiences, plurality, and theological meaning-making.
~Lisa L. Thompson, Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair and Associate Professor of Black Homiletics and Liturgics, Vanderbilt University Divinity School
For any student of Sacred Rhetoric, Clark’s work is a landmark contribution. He successfully argues against a flat perspective of the Black pulpit, revealing an overlooked history of introspective spirituality. His innovative threefold grid provides a taxonomy for future researchers to detect and celebrate the contemplative heart of Black Sacred Rhetoric.
~Randall A. Boltinghouse, Windsor Road Christian Church, Journal of the Evangelical Homiletics Society
As Clark makes clear, Black Contemplative Preaching challenges us not only to consider the Black contemplative tradition but to resist the limiting assumption that there is a single mode of Black preaching. There remains much to study, learn, and expand upon in this field. While this is a deeply theoretical text, its wisdom and insights are accessible to ministers, proclaimers, spiritual leaders, and other faith-oriented practitioners across traditions and identities. His work stands as a critical contribution to the study of homiletics, rhetoric, spirituality, and ministry as we continue striving toward a more expansive and inclusive praxis.
~Chelsea Brooke Yarborough, Association of Theological Schools, Reading Religion
Written in an academically rigorous and spiritually invigorating style, E. Trey Clark’s Black Contemplative Preaching: A Hidden History of Prayer, Proclamation, and Prophetic Witness is a treasure-trove for preachers, teachers, and lifelong learners of Christian spirituality… the book itself both guides the reader in understanding the practices and ways of being that form and transform contemplatives and inspires readers to give attention to their own spirituality.
~La Ronda D. Barnes, Founding Pastor, Affirmation Church and PhD Student, Boston Universit, Black Theology: An International Journal
This book provides a rich resource for those seeking to find ways to enliven their preaching. It will enlighten those exploring how one's contemplative practices can profoundly impact one's preaching. It is a historical resource for all those interested in the contribution Black preaching has made to both the Black church experience and society at large. I highly recommend this book for its historical, homiletical, and inspirational strengths.
~Sylvia A. Sweeney, Bloy House, the Episcopal Theological School at Los Angeles, Anglican and Episcopal History
