LOUISVILLE, Ky. (ABP) — "How shall they hear without a preacher?" the apostle Paul asked in Romans 10:14. For Dwight Moody, head of the Academy of Preachers, the question is as valid today as ever.
Moody, former dean of the chapel at Baptist-related Georgetown College in Kentucky and an ordained Baptist minister, launched the Academy of Preachers with funding from the Lilly Endowment a year ago to identify, network and inspire young preachers.
Recently nearly 100 aspiring preachers from high schools, colleges and seminaries of various denominations flocked to an inaugural Festival of Young Preachers in Louisville, Ky.
"The event was spectacular in every regard," Moody said Jan. 12, describing it as "visually stunning, spiritually stimulating, organizationally flawless, ecumenically unparalleled — and the preaching was exceptional as well."
C.J. Childs, a member of Shurlington Church of the Nazarene in Macon, Ga., and student at Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, Tenn., preaches at the Academy of Preachers.
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Moody started the Academy of Preachers based on his conviction that gospel preaching is an enormously important vocation worthy of the energies of the most gifted young people. Despite that, he said, many aspiring young preachers lack opportunities to hone their skills.
Moody said teenagers interested in farming have clubs like the Future Farmers of America. Aspiring entrepreneurs have Junior Achievement. Students interested in music have band or chorus and athletes have leagues and summer camps. Young people interested in the ministry, however, aside from an annual youth Sunday, often receive little support or mentoring until they reach college or seminary.
"It is as if preaching is considered sectarian, secondary and unworthy of serious attention from top-notch students," he lamented in his blog.
As a result, Moody said he fears many young people today conclude that preaching is unimportant and turn their eyes toward other professions viewed as more influential and respected in society.
The Academy of Preachers attempts rather to inspire and nurture those potential preachers, bringing students roughly between the ages of 16 and 28 to engage their calling. It does that through opportunities like an eight-day summer preaching camp, a certification program and the first-ever Festival of Young Preachers held Jan. 7-9 at St. Matthews Baptist Church in Louisville.
Moody said the academy does not seek to determine who is or is not called to preach or to influence the theology or denomination of the preacher. The inaugural festival included both men and women from various denominations. Participants came both from conservative seminaries of the Southern Baptist Convention and moderate theology schools associated with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.
"Open yourselves to each other," Moody told participants each morning. "You can learn from everybody. They can help you be more truly the person you are designed to be, to preach the gospel that only you can preach, to fulfill your vocation as a more spiritual, more sympathetic, more discerning person of God."
Keynote worship speakers ran the gamut in style from Kyle Idleman, teaching minister at Louisville's Southeast Christian Church, who preached away from the pulpit in jeans and a sweater, to Brad Braxton, an African-American Baptist preacher who preached in coat and tie, to Stephanie Paulsell, a Disciples of Christ minister and Harvard Divinity School professor who donned a liturgical robe.
The academy paired each student with a mentor. Some of them came along to introduce their protégé, taking notes about strengths and weaknesses of sermons and meeting privately with young preachers for feedback and encouragement in their vocation.
Support for the academy comes from veteran consultants, a young preachers' leadership team of students from seven faith traditions and a board of advisers.
Moody said the event "exceeded our expectations, especially the positive reactions of young preachers and their mentors." He plans to start accepting registrations immediately for next year.
Because sermons were going on simultaneously in various spots around the church, Moody said he was only able to hear about 11 of the 93 sermons delivered during the course of the festival. "But what I heard was very good," he said.
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Bob Allen is senior writer for Associated Baptist Press.