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James Earl Massey

Center for Compelling Preaching

The Massey Center for Preaching will equip those who have a calling to share the gospel with resources, coaching, and research to do so effectively. The Center offers something for every generation and preacher who wishes to grow in their craft and mission. 

The School of Theology and Christian Ministry is equipping students for the biblically grounded practice of ministry. Preaching is one of the most visible components of church ministry and is often a significant reason that a person decides to be a part of a church. Effective and compelling preaching can truly be an encounter with God that transforms a person’s life. There is a need for effective resourcing and formation around compelling preaching practices. It is necessary, therefore, that we undertake the work of the James Earl Massey Center for Compelling Preaching.

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Student at Anderson University Indiana

Preaching is at the Heart of ministry.

In an interview with Mid-America Christian University, Dr. Massey is quoted as saying, “Preaching as God intended it will never lose its power nor its reason for being. Human concern will shift with every generation, but God’s means of addressing human need will never change.” The importance and need for solid, compelling preaching remains as strong a need today as it has ever been. Those who preach long for ways to improve their relevance and develop habits that will enable them to preach effectively and faithfully.

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“The ultimate goal in preaching is to connect the hearer with the grace of God, and nurture that hearer in the life that grace makes possible when it is accepted and regarded in full. Nothing less than this basic objective is worthy of any pulpit, and nothing other than this concern can rightly qualify as Christian.”

James Earl Massey in Designing the Sermon

The Christian University
You've been Looking For.

Named after the former two-time Dean of the School of Theology, the James Earl Massey Center for Compelling Preaching is funded by a $1.25 million dollar grant from the Eli Lilly Foundation. Awarded in the fall of 2023, the Center was named after Dr. Massey at the inauguration of its existence.

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Stewards of the Story

Through a unique collection of informative lectures and illustrative sermons, the highly esteemed teacher and preacher considers four dimensions of the preacher as steward of the gospel story.

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Designing the Sermon

“Sermon design”–James Massey’s contemporary, creative approach to shaping specific classifications of sermons–focuses on order (What is the preacher’s goal?) and on movement (What structure is he or she using to get there?). 

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Preaching from Hebrews

This new reference book gives a preacher or teacher an effective set of tools to explore the message of the epistle to the Hebrews. Dr. Massey analyzes the historical and textual evidence for the epistle’s authorship, provides an expository commentary on the major themes of the book, and offers a collection of Dr. Massey’s sermons for special occasions, based on the epistles.

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SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES

Deepen your spiritual life through four daily disciplines. Dr. Massey is an internationally respected author and former dean of the Anderson University School of Theology.

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Views from the Mountain

Preaching about the good news in Christ has been Dr. Massey’s life passion. He has studied it as a craft, taught it as a calling, written about it as an accomplished professional, and practiced it as few others can.

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The Burdensome Joy of Preaching

In this volume James Earl Massey explores both the sense of burden and the sense of joy that accompanies the preaching task. He gives attention to the preacher’s sense of the inward side of the task, next to the outward side of preaching. He then considers the togetherness that earnest preachers seek to experience with their hearers, followed by reflections on the planning necessary for the eventfulness that preaching was ordained by God to offer.

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_ Center for Compelling Preaching

Dr. Jeffrey W. Frymire

Dr. Jeffrey W. Frymire

Director of the James Earl Massey Center for Compelling Preaching

Nathan Willowby, an employee of Anderson University, Anderson Indiana

Dr. Nathan J. Willowby

Dean, College of Christian Ministry, and Music, Theatre, & Dance