Recovering the Soul of Preaching Through Rest is the keynote address delivered by Rev. Dr. Casey T. Sigmon at the 2025 Disciples Preaching Retreat. Drawing on themes of rest, attention, and what she calls “slow preaching,” Dr. Sigmon invites preachers to step off the treadmill of productivity and return to the spiritual foundations that make proclamation possible. Dr. Sigmon teaches preaching and worship at Saint Paul School of Theology.

This keynote is an essential companion to the five sermons preached at the retreat, offering a theological and vocational framework for why rest is not laziness but faithfulness. It speaks to any preacher who has felt the creeping depletion that comes from treating sermon preparation as a weekly output requirement rather than a spiritual practice. The resource is available in English and Spanish, and includes both parts of the full keynote address.

You might also find helpful:

• Preacher Panel Discussion: Disciples Preaching Retreat 2025 — The retreat preachers discuss their preparation process, spiritual practices, and what sustains their preaching life.
• Sermon: Rev. Dr. Robin Hedgeman — A retreat sermon on Elijah, wilderness, and the rest that precedes renewed vocation.
• Sermon: Rev. KJ Kim — A retreat sermon on wrestling with fear and finding your authentic voice as a preacher.
• The Preaching Life, by Barbara Brown Taylor — A foundational book on vocation, calling, and the spiritual sustenance of a preaching life.