Tending Tomorrow: Rev. Dr. Joni Sancken & Rev. Aaron Miller

In this closing episode of the Tending Tomorrow lecture series, Rev. Dr. Joni Sancken addresses the complex task of preaching in a secular age. Drawing on the insights of philosopher Charles Taylor and her own pastoral and academic experience, Sancken explores how secularism, trauma, and the “buffered self” have reshaped how sermons are heard and what people expect from the pulpit. She challenges preachers to engage the imagination, acknowledge human need, and name God's presence as a spiritual discipline. Sancken reflects on the tension between immanence and transcendence in contemporary preaching, offering practical examples and theological insights rooted in trauma theory, narrative preaching, and her Mennonite background. Rev. Aaron Miller’s thoughtful response pushes the conversation further, urging mainline preachers to risk vulnerability, normalize the “weirdness of God,” and reclaim the sermon as a thin space where divine encounter is still possible—even in a disenchanted world.