Schooler Institute on Preaching

Fractures in the foundations of our democracy tear the fabric of our churches and confront preachers with difficult decisions about navigating politics, religion and congregational life.

Author, speaker and educator Leah Schade will introduce a method for engaging issues of public concern at Methodist Theological School in Ohio’s 2025 Schooler Institute on Preaching.

Under the theme “Ministry in a House Divided: Navigating Faith, the Church, and the Public Square,” the Schooler Institute will take place Feb. 25 and 26 (Tuesday and Wednesday) on the MTSO Campus, 3081 Columbus Pike in Delaware, Ohio. While selected portions of Schooler will be streamed live, it will include small-group sessions that require in-person attendance.

An ordained minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Schade has pastored congregations in suburban, urban and rural contexts. She earned her Master of Divinity degree and Ph.D from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (now United Lutheran Seminary).

Schade is associate professor of preaching and worship at Lexington Theological Seminary and served as the 2024 president of the Academy of Homiletics. Her most recent book, Preaching and Social Issues: Tools and Tactics for Empowering Your Prophetic Voice, was published in November 2024.

At the Schooler Institute, Schade will introduce the “sermon-dialogue-sermon” process, which enables congregations to find the values that bind them together and respond faithfully to God’s word. Participants will take part in a deliberative dialogue about the church’s role in a divided society and learn how to help their churches move beyond divisiveness to a gospel-centered engagement based on shared values.

Thanks to the generosity of the Schooler Family Foundation, the Schooler Institute is offered to the public without cost. One continuing education unit is available for $25. Advance registration is required and available below.

Schedule

Lunch in Dunn Dining Hall is optional and free both days. Worship, lectures and workshops will be held in the Alford Centrum.

Tuesday, Feb. 25

11:30 a.m.	Welcome and registration in Dunn Dining Hall
Noon	Optional lunch in Dunn Dining Hall
12:30 p.m.	Welcome and registration in Alford Centrum Gallery
1 p.m.	Opening worship
2 p.m.	Lecture 1
3 p.m.	Break
3:30 p.m.	Deliberative dialogue
5 p.m.	Dismissal

Wednesday, Feb. 26

8:30 a.m.	Welcome
9 a.m.	Lecture 2
9:45 a.m.	Break
10 a.m.	Workshop
11 a.m.	Closing worship
Noon	Dismissal, with optional lunch in Dunn Dining Hall

Location

The Schooler Institute will be held on the MTSO campus in Delaware. MTSO is located on U.S. Route 23, exactly 10 miles north of I-270, the Columbus outerbelt. Here’s a Google map. And here’s a campus map and photo tour.

Registration

The registration deadline is Tuesday, Feb. 18.