June 17, 2003
by Eleanor Lundy

Valley Forge, Pa. - American Baptist International Ministries has announced the publication of new books by two of its executive staff members, Dr. David M. Brown and Dr. Stanley D. Slade. Transformational Preaching: Theory and Practice by Dr. David M. Brown is a comprehensive textbook that offers a challenging look at all aspects of the preaching ministry. Designed for the beginning student of preaching, the graduate student in pulpit discourse or the seasoned preacher, the book is both practical and theoretical. Drawing from a wide range of disciplines, it offers a model for biblical preaching that encourages students to apply general principles within their own contexts of ministry.

"Transformational preaching is persuasive, not simply informational," Brown noted. "It presents one clear biblical truth, a single idea from a single text that allows the Holy Spirit to transform the hearer-and the church."

Brown serves International Ministries as team leader for Mission Explosion and Global Service Ministries. He also is an adjunct lecturer in homiletics at the International Baptist Theological Seminary (IBTS) in Prague, Czech Republic. In March 2001 Brown founded the Institute of Preachers in Brjansk, Russia. He developed material for Transformational Preaching during many years of adjunct teaching in America, lecturing at IBTS, and during his service with the Brjansk Institute. Transformational Preaching: Theory and Practice has been translated into Russian and printed in Russia. There the book has had a widening influence through more than 20 graduates of the Brjansk Institute, who are now preaching-and teaching others to preach-throughout the country.

God in the Lead: Meditations on Mission from Genesis and Acts by Dr. Stan Slade invites readers to look with new eyes at such biblical figures as Abraham and Sarah, Jacob and Esau, Joseph and his brothers, and Peter and Cornelius. God in the Lead shows how the God of mission often surprises us by working not only through those who are called and sent, but also within and among them. Communicating biblical truth in clear and compelling ways, the book asks timeless questions that invite readers to consider applications for their own lives.

God in the Lead is based on Bible studies Slade presented at American Baptist World Mission Conferences at Green Lake, Wis., in 1996 and 2002. A Bible teacher, missiologist and former missionary who has taught in seminaries throughout the U.S. and Iberoamerica, Slade currently is a special assistant to Executive Director the Rev. Dr. John A. Sundquist. He guided the planning effort that produced International Ministries' Go Global strategic plan for 2000-2010, and will return to missionary service during 2003 in Iberoamerica in the area of theological education. "This book grew out of a sense of wanting to share insights that were important in my own life with fellow pilgrims and colleagues," Slade said. "In these stories we see that to join the God of the Bible in mission is to commit ourselves to a neverending process of personal and community transformation."

"The books by David Brown and Stan Slade exemplify the missiology to which International Ministries is committed," said the Rev. Dr. Reid S. Trulson, International Ministries' Global Mission team leader. "Calling and discipling people to be followers of Jesus Christ is at the heart of our mission. Equipping men and women for leadership is among our highest mission priorities. The books are well written and will be helpful resources for American Baptists as well as for the global church."

God in the Lead: Meditations on Mission from Genesis and Acts is available from International Ministries for $14.95; to order call 1-800-ABC-3USA/x2196. To order Transformational Preaching: Theory and Practice contact virtualbookworm.com or any Internet book service. All profits from both books will go to support the ministries of International Ministries.

American Baptist News Service