A denominational publishing house offered me a little assignment recently: to read a book proposal they’d received for a book on preaching, and to evaluate it based on whether I think it would be helpful for people who are in the early years of their ministry.
I’m hoping to finish up my report in the next day or so, so I apologize for the short notice, but I wonder if any of you could provide some thoughts about the questions below. I will not quote you in my report, but they want me to respond to the book proposal not just for myself, but keeping in mind what colleagues of mine might be interested in.
Feel free to comment below so that others can benefit from your suggestions. If you prefer to e-mail, that’s OK too: reverendmother03 at gmail dot com.
1. Share one or more favorite books about preaching, and describe briefly what you appreciate about them.
2. If you’re in your first few years of ministry, what kind of resource would be helpful to you right now as you develop your gifts as a preacher? What kinds of topics would you like to see covered?
3. If you’re further along in your ministry, what do you wish you’d had on hand when you were first starting out?
4. Would a very basic how-to book interest you, or has that material already been covered adequately in seminary?
Thanks for any help you can speedily provide.
7 Responses to “question for the preachers”
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What a cool assignment! And here are some long answers to some short questions:
1. My favorite book on preaching is Preaching as Testimony
by Anna Carter Florence. (It was Our Own PPB who gave me the title, btw, and I’m eternally grateful.)
My biggest problem with preaching when I got to my first full time call (12 months ago, btw, so this is pretty fresh) was that, although I liked good preaching, I kind of didnt believe in some core way that it was all that effective a method of communitcaiton. I was suspect of it - that probably it was a tool of the patriarchy, and a way for preachers to like to be hierarchical to monologue to their congregations. So. Florence’s book helped me see that
–Women had a history as preachers, so we did not have to be pretend men in order to occupy the pulpit.
–Working sermon prep into the flow of my everyday life was not only inevitable, it was actually preferable. Previous to reading her, I was in a constant state of panic about not having a regular writing day or sermon prep schedule.
–Her book encouraged me to remember that I have a voice that needs to be heard, in order to empower members of the congregation to be heard.
2. Even though the Florence book was a big help in giving me a voice, and helping me rely on my own experience and knowledge, I still want to feel like there are some authorities to lean on. I’ve been thinking of getting the new sermon commentary by BBT and Whoever which is on sale right now from Cokesbury, because I feel like I can never get enough of diff angles on the scriptures by people who have preached them. I like things that get me asking new questions of the scripture.
3. Oh, I would be so glad to answer this in a year or two.
4. Would depend on what it was like, I guess. That Florence book I cant stop talking about ,which I just read this last winter, was pretty basic, I think, but in a way that got me right where I lived. Given the times in which we live, I wonder if there are others like me who question the whole point of The Sermon. Might be helpful to hear some about why preaching even matters, before getting into the basics of how.
More long answers to short questions:
1) I liked Tom Long’s book “A Chorus of Witnesses” for nuts and bolts of constructing a sermon, and different types of sermons and such. It turned out that it told me much more about why I write the way I do, rather than how to write a sermon, but that’s just my approach to sermon writing. I have liked reading sermons and essays by Fred Buechner for the elegance of his phrases, and his sometimes surprising new ways of stating what should have been obvious. Barbara Brown Taylor is a great storyteller in her sermons, and I read her books to remind myself that the story is one of the finest (and most difficult) ways to preach God’s word.
2) this is a hard one to answer, because my development of a sermon varies so much depending on the text. I do use commentaries, different ones for different books of the Bible (Ulrich Luz on Matthew, Luke Timothy Johnson on Luke, Brevard Childs on Isaiah, for example), but only after I hear what rubs on my in the ext. I tend to preach from the words that I struggle with, rather than a more classical approach. When I’ve gotten myself all twisted up on a passage, sometimes it’s helpful to look at a commentary. I don’t know if that approach will evolve after several years out in a parish, but it’s where I am right now.
3) talk to me in ten years.
4) Don’t really need a basic how-to book. We had some of those in seminary, and they varied wildly depending upon the approach of the two professors who taught us.
Ulitmately, so much of good preaching - that which touches the listener’s heart and soul - is a function of us not only knowing the mechanics of constructing a sermon, but knowing the people to whom we preach. To me, getting to really know the way the folks in the pew at YOUR church think, and worry, and pray, and rejoice…that’s what helps you to construct the sermon God wants you to give them.
Just my $.02…
…yeah, in #2 it should read “…after I hear what rubs on me in the text.” Honest to goodness, I do know how to spell.
Well, my quick answer is that it would have helped to have had a single class in Homiletics in seminary. Despite that, I’ve managed to preach for 18 years. When I told my favorite synod exec about my lack of learning (full of shame about this fact) she laughed and said: that’s why you’re such a good preacher, you haven’t been ruined. OK, so this is not helpful to you, RM. Not at all. I like Fred Craddock’s book, and I enjoy reading BBT’s sermons. And basically I pay a lot of attention to what works and what doesn’t — so that what comes out of my mouth sounds like monologue, but in my experience it is all dialogue. Again, I am still not helping you! Oh drat. Good thing you have other helpful souls out there. Best of luck to you!
I’m in my first year of ministry, and I would appreciate a resource that suggests more than one way of going about preparing a sermon. I mean, I was introduced to a very helpful but LENGTHY process of exegeting texts and preparing sermons in seminary, but I rarely have time in the craziness of everyday church life to go through that entire process. So some other long-time pastors’ thoughts on sermon prep in the midst of church chaos would be helpful.
I also only learned in seminary about preaching from the lectionary - beginning with a text - and I’m expected by my senior pastor now to follow his thematic series. Some hints on how to start with a theme would also be helpful.
1. Share one or more favorite books about preaching, and describe briefly what you appreciate about them. I second the motion on Anna Carters’ book! So awesome. I also got a copy of Bird by Bird. The preaching class at Ol Crusty started using it after I had taken the class. I picked up a copy and found it very helpful with the overall “writing” process, but also with sermon writing and finding a fresh approach.
2. If you’re in your first few years of ministry, what kind of resource would be helpful to you right now as you develop your gifts as a preacher? What kinds of topics would you like to see covered? I would love to ahve more stuff on writing liturgy. I have many of the lectioanry based books and often “build” the various parts of service from them, but a “how to” book with soem basic framework would be so helpful. I have written a lot of my own stuff and it is easier now, but a how to get started woudl be so cool.
3. NA
4. Would a very basic how-to book interest you, or has that material already been covered adequately in seminary? Any how to would be so welcome. regardless of how well a seminary prepares us, it is never enough. I would also appreciate a how to that does draw from use of our own gifts and styles…there is no one right way, but some basic framing would be so cool.
Thanks!
Playing with Fire: Preaching Work as Kindling Art by David J. Schlafer is the only book I’ve read on preaching and I love it. I’ve been preaching sporadically for about 2 years now. Schlafer offers up a great process that helps me to think differently about a text, even a very familiar one. He also helps me firmly ground my preaching in the day’s worship, the community’s life and the world. I know I’m late to the party, but it’s really an amazing book.
I would love a how-to book IF it presented different kinds of how-tos based on preaching style, genre of the text, working/writing style…you get the idea.