"Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see." Scripture tells us that when the prophet Elisha prayed, his servant's eyes were opened to the divine reality—one in which the forces of God far outnumbered the forces against them. The Apostle Paul experienced a similar awakening when "something like scales" fell from his eyes, revealing a world transformed by the risen Christ.
Today, the world needs preachers who help us see the divine and shed the scales from our eyes. Our churches and communities long for prophetic voices who point us toward the present and coming Kingdom of God—proclaimers who remind us that God is at work even when we can't see it, that grace surrounds us even when we cannot sense it, and that "those who are with us are more than those against us."
The Kerygma Initiative at Palmer Theological Seminary is partnering with God in the proclamation ("Kerygma") of Good News through compelling preachers. We're utilizing community conversations, interdisciplinary collaboration, intentional mentoring programs, retreats, research residencies, and hands-on workshops to raise up preachers who do more than fill pulpits and speak words— they fill hearts, spark worlds, and open eyes.
“We want to create opportunities for transformative homiletic learning, invite preachers into supportive communities, and encourage bold experimentation in proclamation of the whole gospel.”
This fall, the Kerygma Initiative launched the Preaching and Homiletics Innovation Lab at Eastern University (PHIL-E), which engages national and local cohorts of preachers in monthly book discussions and meetings with scholars. Here, participants are invited to experiment with fresh and context-driven approaches to preaching while honoring traditional insights via group labs and one-on-one coaching sessions.