The Bast Preaching Festival 2023

On Monday, March 27, the Bast Preaching Festival returned to Western Theological Seminary after a three- year hiatus. WTS was excited to welcome Dr. Jared E. Alcántara, Professor of Preaching and holder of the Paul W. Powell Endowed Chair in Preaching at George W. Truett Theological Seminary, as the 2023 featured speaker. In his plenary lecture titled “Sermons 2040: Preaching in an Intercultural Church with an Intercultural Future.”

Dr. Alcántara shared that, much like Luke chapter 3, many pastors and Christian leaders feel like they’re going through a wilderness period. “What does it sound like to preach sermons that are not only timeless, but timely? What does it mean to preach sermons that are not just for every age, but for this age in which we find ourselves?”

He argued that our preaching should reflect our increasingly intercultural contexts, and shared ways in which we can be prepared to preach sermons in an intercultural church with an intercultural future. Event attendees also had the opportunity to attend two workshops focused on the topic of preaching. Workshops speakers included Rev. Jennifer Ryden, Senior Chaplain at Hope College Campus Ministries; Dr. Steve Norman, church planter, pastor, and preaching coach; Dr. Ron Rienstra, WTS Professor of Preaching and Worship Arts and Director of Worship Life; and Rev. David M. Bast, former pastor and President of Words of Hope ministries.

MEET DR. JARED E. ALCÁNTARA

Dr. Jared E. Alcántara is Professor of Preaching and holder of the Paul W. Powell Endowed Chair in Preaching at George W. Truett Theological Seminary. He was born and raised in New Jersey and came to faith in Christ at the age of fourteen. An ordained Baptist minister, he has served as a youth pastor, associate pastor, and teaching pastor in Illinois, Massachusetts, Oregon, and New Jersey. Before coming to Truett, he served as an associate professor of homiletics at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois (from 2014-2018).

THE BAST PREACHING FESTIVAL 

Western Theological Seminary’s Bast Preaching Initiatives emphasize preaching as a vocation worthy of our lives. We believe it is essential for preachers to dwell in the Bible and for the Bible to dwell in us. The Bast Preaching Festival is an opportunity for pastors, teachers, and communicators to gather and grow through lectures, workshops, and worship. To watch a recording of this year’s lecture or to watch past festival lectures, visit wtsem.info/bastrecordings.