2024 Craddock Lecture

In recent years David Fleer has served as Professor of Bible and Communication at Lipscomb University  (2007–2023), Executive Director of the Thomas H. Olbricht Christian Scholars Conference (2005–2023), and as Special Assistant to President Randy Lowry at Lipscomb University (2007–2021).

During his time teaching at Lipscomb, Abilene Christian University, and Rochester, Dr. Fleer focused on homiletics (the art of preaching) for both undergraduate and graduate programs.

One of Dr. Fleer’s deep passions is racial healing. Since 2013 he has led 21 different groups on a “Pilgrimage to Justice” through key southern cities. These trips are designed to provide participants with opportunities to experience the history of slavery, Jim Crow, and the Civil Rights movement, all of which speak clearly into our present national distress.

From 1981 to 1991 he served as the Senior Minister for the Andresen Road Church of Christ in Vancouver, Washington. In the last several years he has worked with local congregations in productive interim works, most recently in California, Florida, Virginia, Alabama, Tennessee, Michigan, and New Mexico.

Dr. Fleer’s formal education includes an M.Div. from Abilene Christian University (1981), the D.Min. from Fuller Seminary, an M.S. in Speech from Portland State University, and the Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Washington (1995).

He co-edited the critically and practically acclaimed 11-volume Rochester Series on Preaching published by Chalice and ACU Press, 2001–2011, and has multiple essays on preaching in various journals and books.

David and Mae have been married for 48 years and have three beloved sons, Josh, Luke, and Nate, and six cherished grandchildren.

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

9:30 – 10:45 a.m. Lecture #1

11:00 – 11:50 a.m. Preach in chapel

12:00 – 12:50 p.m. Break for Lunch

1:00 – 2:15 p.m. Lecture #2

*Dr. Fleer will also preach in chapel on March 28 at 11:00 a.m.

The Fred B. Craddock Lectures on Preaching honor one of Johnson University’s most renowned and respected alumni. Craddock’s voice has been one of the most influential in homiletics over the last fifty years. A Baylor University research study, published by Newsweek, named Craddock as one of the twelve most effective preachers in the English-speaking world. His scholarly approach to the biblical text and his folksy storytelling combined to make Craddock an exceptional model of creative, effective communication.

Craddock received his education at Johnson University, Phillips Seminary, and Vanderbilt University. He served churches in Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Georgia, and taught at Johnson University, Phillips University, and Candler School of Theology at Emory University. He held the title of Bandy Distinguished Professor of Preaching and New Testament, Emeritus, at Candler, and the Minister Emeritus of Cherry Log Christian Church. He wrote extensively in the fields of preaching and New Testament and spoke at prestigious lectureships around the world.