The one’s preached in the nation’s capitaol are more important than the ones in the provinces. Not really, though some transformationalists and faith-based urbanists might be tempted to think so. Instead, the point of a new fall lecture series at Christ Reformed Church in Washington, D.C., (yes, that nation’s capitaol) is to understand better what constitutes a faithful sermon. Here is how the hosts describe the series:
The Reformation taught that preaching is the very Word of God, a mark of the true church, and a key of the kingdom that opens the doors of heaven to those that believe. It is the divinely appointed means by which the Spirit produces faith in our hearts, and the primary source of Christian instruction.
Is this still true today?Most contemporary sermons are a mix of anecdotes, tips, and inspirational stories—more junk food than bread of life. We often hear more about the person behind the pulpit than about the person and work of Christ. It seems that few in our pulpits—or our pews— understand what’s required by our Lord’s command to preach the Gospel.
Join us for Preaching in the Capit
aol, a lecture series that will critically explore the state of preaching today and ask how the lost art of Reformation preaching can be recovered. Explore this site to learn more about our speakers, their books, and ways to win and iPad by helping us promote Preaching in the Capitaol.
The schedule is a follows:
Oct. 7 Gene Edward Veith
Oct. 14 T. David Gordon
Oct. 21 Robert Norris
Oct. 28 Marva Dawn
If I were a betting man, I’d put money on the proposition that the lecturers will not be telling audiences about the need to preach to the sort of people who work in the capitaols of nations.
Old Life 
Recovered the Reformed art of preaching might start with literacy … like spelling “Capitol” correctly.
Unless there’s some clever pun I’m missing?
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Happy to be the object of snarky comments about spelling errors. I’m not above such errors. It all started that day in second grade when I misspelled my name “Brain Lee.”
In this instance, Reformed literacy started by spell-checking “capitol/capital” about twenty times, which was followed by looking it up in the dictionary, which was followed by the realization that there are two spellings for two distinct words. “Capital” (from “head”) referring to the city that is the head of government, “Capitol” (from Capitoline) referring to the building that houses the legislature. DC is a bit confusing because “Capitol Hill” (so named from the building) is a neighborhood in the “Capital.” This then was followed by weeks of soul searching about whether to name our event after the city or the building. Actually, that was an easy call.
Literacy starts with the dictionary.
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Thanks, Darryl. We’ll look forward to having you back in our fall speaker series soon.
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Sorry for the snark. Couldn’t resist. And as you point out, “capital” is appropriate also. Have a good series!
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Brian, there are not two spellings for the same word. Capitol, as the Chicago Manual dictates, is a proper noun that always refers to the building. It is the name of that grand edifice. The word is always capitalized, and almost preceded by the article “the” (except when referring to the neighborhood adjacent to the building, Capitol Hill. Capital when referring to the city where a government is housed is always lowercase. Never capitalized.
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Congratulations on a great lineup of speakers. Wish I still lived in the DC area (well, only so I could attend something like this; otherwise not at all!). Glad you guys are there! God bless your ministry.
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Bob, I too am a fan of the Chicago manual. I believe I may have consulted it a few years back when my literacy was still in question.
But again, I must note somewhat pedantically that literacy entails both knowing what words mean, and reading them carefully when they appear on the printed page/illuminated screen (granted, the latter must be harder as blog discourse demonstrates).
I clearly wrote “there are two spellings for two distinct words,” so we clearly agree. One might quibble that saying there are two spellings for two words is somewhat redundant, and liable to confusion. I suppose it was a bit of stylistic effusion. Perhaps I tire of being corrected for being correct.
The pedant retires. Our first lecture is tonight. Even if you don’t live in DC, tell a friend. Thanks, all.
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