Just Preachers, Just Preaching: CTS Conference Explores the Craft, Character, and Calling of Preaching 

MMPC 2026: Just Preachers, Just Preaching 

 

The Mixed Methods Preaching Conference invites preachers, ministry leaders, scholars, students, and curious learners to step away from the rush of daily responsibilities and enter a thoughtful, energizing space devoted to the craft, character, and calling of preaching. 

Presented by Christian Theological Seminary and directed by Rev. Courtney V. Buggs, PhD, this 3.5-day gathering will bring participants together October 19–22, 2026 for preaching labs, plenary sessions, worship, conversation, and connection. 

For Dr. Buggs, this year’s theme Just Preachers, Just Preaching reaches beyond technique. “By the term just, I don’t mean ‘only,’” Buggs said. “I mean decent, ethical, honest, and the like.” The theme invites participants to consider preaching that is humane, rooted in the preacher’s lived witness, and attentive to both the inner and outer life of the preacher. 

“I wanted to explore how preachers attend to the inner and outer self, ethically, equitably, and with an orientation towards what is right, decent, and humane,” Buggs said. 

“Compelling preaching comes from more than the mechanics of the sermon, though the mechanics cannot be ignored,” Buggs said. 

That conviction shapes the heart of the conference. Participants will be invited to consider how a preacher’s inner life, convictions, worldview, faith, and public witness all shape the preaching moment. 

Throughout the gathering, participants will choose from preaching labs focused on timely and practical topics such as artificial intelligence, improvisation, disability, womanist preaching, and prophetic authenticity. These labs are designed to offer fresh perspective, practical learning, and room for honest conversation about preaching in today’s world. 

Featured conference labs include: 

• Artificial Intelligence and the Anointing: Tools, Theology, and Guardrails for Preachers 

• Preaching on the Fly: The Art of Homiletical Improvisation 

• Marginalized Bodies: A New Approach to Preaching about Disability 

• Womanist Preaching for Desperate Times 

• Preaching from an Authentic Center: Leaning into the Prophetic 

Rather than overwhelming participants with a single way to approach preaching, the conference will invite them into multiple methods, experiences, and traditions. Main preachers and lab leaders were selected by Dr. Buggs in conversation with clergy colleagues, with attention to leaders whose preaching is visibly connected to the way they live, teach, lead, and serve. 

“My hope is two-fold,” Buggs said. “First, I hope preachers pause to reflect upon their own preaching lives and how our lives preach as much as the words of the sermon. Second, I hope listeners of preaching reflect upon their expectations of preaching and how they, too, impact the preaching moment.” 

The Mixed Methods Preaching Conference began in 2019 under the leadership of Dr. Frank A. Thomas as an extension of CTS’s PhD Program in African American Preaching and Sacred Rhetoric. Building on that legacy, this fourth convening creates space for pastors, clearly, students, and all who care about preaching to renew their imagination and deepen their practice. Without leaving Indianapolis, participants will find opportunities to learn, reflect, and grow alongside others committed to the transformative work of preaching.  

 Registration includes daily meals, refreshments, and opportunities to engage in conversation, reflection, and fellowship with a diverse community of pastors, students, scholars, and ministry leaders who are committed to the art and vocation of preaching.  

For the full schedule, presenter updates, registration details, and additional information, visit https://www.cts.edu/events/cts-mixed-methods-preaching-conference-2026/.