Perkins Center of Preaching Excellence

Humor, often thought of as trivial, is a universal and essential part of human social life. Hence, the saying, “Whenever two or more are gathered, there is a joke!” Recent research in the field of positive psychology highlights the benefits of humor, noting it can promote empathy, buffer stress, forge connections to the world, and deal with the incongruities of everyday life.

Exploring the use of humor in sermons has a more ambitious goal than helping preachers be funny and entertaining. It is to help us harness the power of humor, in its various forms and functions, in service of offering our congregations deeper, more challenging, and more delightful engagement of God’s good news with their lives and the wider world.

Date: April 25, 2022 9:00AM-3:30PM

This workshop aims to boost preachers’ cinematic literacy and seek convergences between filmmaking and homiletics for the purposes of enlivening the preached word, communicating the gospel, and impacting hearers and their/our world.

Date: April 17, 2023 9:00AM-3:30PM

Location: Perkins School of Theology, The Great Hall

Registration Cost: $50

A five-session webinar sponsored by the Central TX Conference and the Perkins Center for Preaching Excellence at SMU

Dates: October 11 2023 – February 7 2023

Registration cost is $100. We do not accept checks, just online payments.

The Great Plains Conference, as part of its Preachers’ Toolkit Menu, is offering a two-part workshop opportunity in 2023 and 2024 based on the “Preaching and…” book series, published by Westminster John Knox Press with the Perkins Center for Preaching Excellence at SMU.