The elegiac ballad 鈥淥n the Willows,鈥� from the musical Godspell by Stephen Schwartz, was adapted from Psalm 137, which describes the despondency of the Israelites during the Babylonian exile. Both song and psalm ask, 鈥淗ow can we sing the Lord鈥檚 songs in a foreign land?鈥�
This question is at the heart of research by Charles G. Finney Professor of Homiletics and Liturgics Eunjoo Kim. As a South Korean immigrant to the United States and an ordained Presbyterian minister, Kim understands the need to “sing” the good news of Christ in a new land without losing one鈥檚 sense of identity.
鈥淢y research focuses on new perspectives and methods of preaching [homiletics] and worship [liturgics] that are relevant to changing cultural contexts,鈥� Kim said.
Her project 鈥淟iturgical Space in Multicultural Contexts鈥� grew out of her interest in the number of Christian churches that share their worship spaces with other religious and racial groups. Her case studies concentrate on five churches in Nashville and Denver that share their buildings with racially and denominationally diverse Christian congregations, a Muslim prayer group and a Reformed Jewish congregation.
鈥淚 initially expected that these churches might have theological motivations and clear visions for their relationships with those sharing the liturgical space,鈥� she said. 鈥淗owever, my interviews with religious leaders revealed that either they had not seriously considered these issues or had not practiced their ideas, if they had any.鈥� As a result, Kim pivoted to explore the theological significance of liturgical space in Christianity and other religions, and how sharing liturgical spaces could help transform a pluralistic society by building partnerships while sharing faith traditions as well as buildings.
With 鈥淢eta Homiletics,鈥� Kim studies methods of preaching that take the concept of preaching beyond the pulpit. 鈥溾�楳eta鈥� is from the Greek and means 鈥榖eyond,鈥欌�� Kim said. 鈥淭he self-reflective nature of 鈥榤eta鈥� suggests that meta homiletics goes beyond the conventional theory and practice of preaching by employing nontraditional strategies,鈥� such as viewing real-life situations as an extension of the pulpit.
鈥淲herever we meet 鈥榯he other鈥欌�攚hether in grocery stores, workplaces, children鈥檚 soccer fields, hospital waiting rooms鈥攃an be considered a place for preaching. Every encounter with a stranger offers a moment to share the good news of Christian hope,鈥� she said.
Kim is the author of Preaching in an Age of Globalization (Westminster Knox Press, 2010) and Christian Preaching and Worship in Multicultural Contexts (Liturgical Press, 2017), among other books. Her most recent book is Preaching Jesus: Postcolonial Approaches (Roman & Littlefield, 2024).
鈥淢y future research will continue to explore the relationship between culture and the ministry of preaching and worship.鈥�
