From Bully Pulpits to Katapulpits
KEVIN Vanhoozer
Preaching is an instance of “speaking into the air” (i.e., oral communication), but how effectual is this form of the ministry of the Word? In this 2023 CPT conference message, Dr. Vanhoozer begins by contrasting bully pulpits (an influential public platform from which to persuade) and “kata-pulpits” (speaking “in accordance with” Scripture) and commends the metaphor of the preacher as curator: one who uses the pulpit as a place to exhibit (to preserve, present, and promote) Scripture as the word of God, taking as his “text” Heinrich Bullinger’s claim in the Second Helvetic Confession that “the preaching of the word of God is the word of God.”
Kevin Vanhoozer is Distinguished Research Professor of Systematic Theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He is the author of numerous books, including The Drama of Doctrine, Is There a Meaning in this Text?, and Hearers & Doers. He serves as the theological mentor for the St. Augustine Fellowship of the CPT.
