Preaching and Social Issues: Tools and Tactics for Empowering Your Prophetic Voice

Preaching Social Issues equips preachers to craft sermons that help congregations talk about topics of public concern based on a strong biblical foundation, solid theological claims, and prudent sermonic strategies.

The Rev. Dr. Leah D. Schade is the Associate Professor of Preaching and Worship at Lexington Theological Seminary in Lexington, Kentucky. An ordained Lutheran minister (ELCA) for more than twenty years, she has pastored three Pennsylvania congregations in suburban, urban, and rural contexts. Her book, Preaching in the Purple Zone: Ministry in the Red-Blue Divide(Rowman & Littlefield, 2019), explores how clergy and congregations can address controversial social issues using nonpartisan, biblically-centered approaches and deliberative dialogue. She is also the author of Creation-Crisis Preaching: Ecology, Theology, and the Pulpit, as well as For the Beauty of the Earth, a Creation-centered Lenten devotional. She is co-editor and author with Margaret Bullitt-Jonas of Rooted and Rising: Voices of Courage in a Time of Climate Crisis(Rowman & Littlefield, 2019), and co-author with Jerry Sumney of Apocalypse When?: A Guide to Interpreting and Preaching Apocalyptic Texts. She is the lead author, with Elizabeth Askew and Jerry Sumney, of

Introduction to Preaching: Scripture, Theology, and Sermon Preparation(Rowman & Littlefield, 2023). Rev. Dr. Schade is also the EcoPreacher blogger for Patheos.