Associate Professor of Homiletics, 2004-
M.Div., DeAndreis Institute of Theology;MA in Speech Communication, University of Southern California
D.Min. in Homiletics, Aquinas Institute of Theology

harris@ai.edu

When people ask what I do for a living, I prefer to tell them who I am—a preacher. Preachers need to see ourselves not as ministers who sometimes preach in addition to our many other duties. We are preachers; it is our identity. That is the approach to this ministry that I have tried to model in the homiletics classroom for nearly 35 years.

As a member of the Congregation of the Mission (Vincentians) it has been a privilege to be a part of the Aquinas faculty collaborating so closely with the Order of Preachers. I received my D.Min. in preaching from Aquinas and am happy to give back a bit of the wisdom I gained here as a student.

Ministry Outside of Aquinas

Each Sunday, I preside and preach at the Eucharist at Sacred Heart Parish in Valley Park. This is perhaps the best part of my week. Although I thoroughly enjoy teaching others to preach, I would rather be preaching than talking about how to preach.

I have presented many lectures and continuing education programs for preachers. This ministry has taken me to Dublin, Ireland, Rome, and American Samoa. Presently, I am part of the Renewing Sunday Preaching team that offers continuing education convocations sponsored by the National Organization for the Continuing Education of Roman Catholic Clergy (NOCERCC).

Publications

• Co-author with Rev. Edward Murphy, C.M.: Overtaken by the Word: The Theology and Practice of Preaching. 1990.
• We Speak The Word of The Lord: A Practical Plan for More Effective Preaching. Chicago: Acta Publications, 2001.
• “A Public Voice: Preaching on Justice Issues.” With Rev. Ray John Marek, OMI. Theological Education 38 (2001): 47-59.
• Consultant and contributor to the video series, Preaching for Today. . .and Tomorrow, produced by St. Meinrad’s Seminary.
• Writing team for CATH’s first edition of the white paper on criteria for certification of homiletics teachers and model preaching curricula for Roman Catholic seminaries.
• Mahfood, Sebastian, Vic Klimoski, Beverly Lane, and Daniel Harris.  “The Catholic Internet: Seminary Technologies Impacting the Teaching and Learning Environment of the Church.”  Seminary Journal.  Vol. 9. No. 3 (Winter 2003): 80-87.
• Mahfood, Sebastian, and Daniel Harris. “Technology in Parish Ministry: How our Seminaries are Preparing Future Priests.” Seminary Journal. Vol. 10. No. 3 (Winter 2004): 81-93.
• “Putting It All Together: Habits and Strategies for Structuring the Homily.” Preach August, 2005: 15-19.
• “We Want to See Jesus: The Challenge of Summer Preaching Is to Show, Not Just Tell.” Celebration 35:7 (2006): 3-4.
• “Methods of Assessment.” in Teaching Preaching as a Christian Practice: A New Approach to Homiletical Pedagogy. Ed. Thomas G. Long and Leonora Tubbs Tisdale.
• A collaborative work with other scholars who participated in the Wabash Indiana Homiletics Conference.
• Presently working on a preaching resource with Rev. Ray John Marek of Oblate School of Theology. This is an ATS funded project exploring a resource for teaching Biblical Justice in existing homiletics courses.