Homiletics has been taught since the early church, yet it is still young as an academic discipline in its own right. Preaching and Homiletical Theory takes both an appreciative and a critical look at the contribution of homiletics to quality preaching. It focuses on key scholarship and the effectiveness of recent trends in homiletics and offers a discussion of the role of homiletics and preaching in the coming years. Organized by the three dimensions central to the homiletical task--biblical, theological, and pastoral--Preaching and Homiletical Theory identifies significant schools of contemporary thought and surveys the breadth of discussion for each of the dimensions. The biblical section examines the historical task of determining the setting and context of a text, as well as the hermeneutical and homiletical tasks as the text leads to contemporary meanings. It highlights a new school of approach to the Bible that relies heavily upon reader response criticism to interpret difficult texts. The theological section deals with apprehending scripture as revelation and connecting it with established teachings of the church to determine what God is saying to the community of faith today. The final pastoral section deals with homiletical literature on various ethical and other issues including the nature of the congregation and the person of the preacher. A new homiletical school of radical postmodern ethics is examined along with the challenges and opportunities it represents for the pulpit.