Preaching Lent

The Reverend Dr. William H. Willimon is Professor of the Practice of Christian Ministry at the Divinity School, Duke University. He served eight years as Bishop of the North Alabama Conference of The United Methodist Church, where he led the 157,000 Methodists and 792 pastors in North Alabama. For twenty years prior to the episcopacy, he was Dean of the Chapel and Professor of Christian Ministry at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.

Dr. Willimon is a graduate of Wofford College (B.A., 1968), Yale Divinity School (M.Div., 1971) and Emory University (S.T.D., 1973). He has served as pastor of churches in Georgia and South Carolina. For four years, beginning in 1976, he served as Assistant Professor of Liturgy and Worship at Duke Divinity School, teaching courses in liturgics and homiletics and served as Director of the Ministerial Course of Study School at Duke, and Presiding Minister in the Divinity School Chapel. When he returned to the parish ministry in 1980, he was Visiting Associate Professor of Liturgy and Worship at Duke for three years. He has been awarded honorary degrees from thirteen colleges and universities including Wofford College, Lehigh University, Colgate University, Birmingham-Southern College, and Moravian Theological Seminary.  In 1992, he was named as the first Distinguished Alumnus of Yale Divinity School. He has served on the faculties of Birmingham-Southern College.

He is the author of roughly one hundred books. His Worship as Pastoral Care was selected as one of the ten most useful books for pastors in 1979 by the Academy of Parish Clergy. Over a million copies of his books have been sold. In 1996, an international survey conducted by Baylor University named him one of the Twelve Most Effective Preachers in the English-speaking world.

Willimon’s articles have appeared in many publications including The Christian Ministry, Quarterly Review, Plough, Liturgy, Worship and Christianity Today. For many years he is Editor-at-Large for The Christian Century. He has written church curriculum materials and video for youth, young adults, and adults. His Pulpit Resource is used each week by thousands of pastors in the USA, Canada, and Australia. A 2005 study by the Pulpit and Pew Research Center found that Bishop Willimon is the second most widely read author by mainline Protestant pastors.

Bishop Willimon has given lectures and taught courses at many pastors’ schools and at colleges and universities in the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia. These include the Belden Lectures at Harvard as well as lectureships at Princeton, Vanderbilt, Pepperdine, and Oxford. In 1998, he served on the theological faculty of the University of Bonn, Germany and in 1991, he was Distinguished Guest Professor at the University of Muenster, Germany. His books have been translated into ten languages.

With his wife, Patricia, he has established endowed scholarships at Wofford College, Birmingham-Southern College, Duke Divinity School, and Yale Divinity School.

John Mark Hicks
John Mark Hicks has taught full time in higher education among Churches of Christ since 1982 and is currently Professor of Theology at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee. He has taught in over 40 states and 20 countries around the world. He has authored, co-authored, edited, or contributed to over 40 books as well as contributing to both academic and popular journals.

He received his B.A. in Bible from Freed-Hardeman University (1977), his M.A.R. in Theological Studies from Westminster Theological Seminary (1980), his M.A. in Humanities from Western Kentucky University (1981) and his Ph.D. in Reformation and Post-Reformation Studies from Westminster Theological Seminary (1985). He has taught theology since 1982, including nine years at Harding University Graduate School of Religion (1991-2000). He has been at Lipscomb since 2000. He has ministered with churches in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Alabama, and Tennessee. He has published nine books and thirteen journal articles as well as contributed to nineteen other books. He has spoken in thirty-eight states and nineteen countries. He and his wife, Jennifer, share five living children and six grandchildren with her.  For a fuller biography and links to Hebrews resources see John Mark's website: https://johnmarkhicks.com/about/

Mike Cope
Mike Cope was a minister for 35 years, preaching at Pine Valley Church of Christ in Wilmington, North Carolina (1982-84), College Church of Christ in Searcy, Arkansas (84-91), Highland Church of Christ in Abilene, Texas (1991-2009), and the Golf Course Road Church of Christ in Midland, Texas (2011-2017).In addition to directing Harbor, the Pepperdine Bible Lectures since 2013, he works with church leaders, speaks across the country, and directs Pepperdine's Sanctuary: Thriving in Ministry program, provided by the Lilly Endowment Fund. Mike is the author of five books, including 2011's Megan's Secrets, and edited Wineskins magazine for 12 years. He also edited 21st Century Christian for 5 years, working with Helen and Norvel Young when they were the senior editors. Mike and his wife, Diane, have been married 41 years. Their son Matt is a physician in Abilene, Texas; and Chris is a family therapist in New York City. Their favorite pastime is being with their three grandchildren.