Named for its benefactors, Ernest and Bernice Styberg, the Styberg Preaching Institute resolves to assist Christian leaders in the development of theological and practical disciplines necessary to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ faithfully to contemporary cultures. It represents the seminary’s partnership with the church by preparing persons for vital, effective Christian preaching.
The programs and resources of the institute strengthen the church by focusing on the continual development of the preaching ministry. The institute also helps Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary fulfill its core purpose of preparing spiritual leaders for the church. The work of the institute will influence the future of ministry as it addresses the central mission of the church, namely the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The resources and programs of the institute are available to students, alums, pastors and the church at large.
Rev. Dr. Gennifer Brooks is director of the Styberg Preaching Institute and the Ernest and Bernice Styberg professor of preaching. She is the author of several books and articles, most recently, Bible Sisters: 365 daily devotions on the women of the Bible (Abingdon, 2017), Unexpected Grace: Preaching Good News from Difficult Texts (Pilgrim Press, 2012), and Good News Preaching: Offering Good News in Every Sermon (Pilgrim Press, 2009).
I am a pastor, therefore a teacher of the faith. I am a teacher of the faith, therefore a teacher in and for the church for the sake of the world.
Rev. Dr. Ron Anderson
Ernest and Bernice Styberg Professor of Worship
Associate Dean of Institutional and Educational Assessment
The preaching of the sermon is always a time of celebration that calls the gathered community to move beyond feeling, to a spirit-enriching experience of the God of creation, who is the author of redemption and the sustaining force of our lives.
Rev. Dr. Gennifer Brooks
Ernest and Bernice Styberg Professor of Preaching
Director, Styberg Preaching Institute
My vocation as a teacher, liturgical and homiletical scholar, and ordained minister is to proclaim and live into the message of the Gospel that the world is not yet as it should or could be and that through God and the beloved community, the world is being made and will someday be fully made well.
Rev. Dr. Andrew Wymer
Assistant Professor of Liturgical Studies
The Styberg Preaching Institute was established at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary by Ernest and Bernice Styberg of Racine, Wisconsin.
The institute helps to recognize and celebrate the important part that the church has played in their lives. “We feel strongly about the future of the United Methodist Church,” Ernest states. “As committed United Methodists, we want to make sure that the church has strong leadership in the future – leaders who appreciate the liturgical tradition of the church and who are grounded in solid Biblical preaching and in traditional worship. If we can help prepare such leaders, it will give us much satisfaction.”
Their endowment of the preaching institute supports their commitment to the church but and helps to provide a means for Garrett-Evangelical to continue its mission of preparing leaders for the church by providing resources for improving the church’s preaching ministry.
