Care-Full Preaching: From Sermon to Caring Community

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful, seamless book
Review: Lee Ramsey has done what few others have been able to manage. Most preachers aim their sermons in one of two directions: either in the pastoral direction or in the prophetic direction. Ramsey suggests that these are not really two different directions, but examples of what it means to care. Ramsey's book shows how care-full preaching, done with theological savvy, can move toward both concerns, instead of being conflicted.

The book is extremely easy to read, but don't be fooled; it's not superficial. Ramsey touches on all the serious theological issues, from the nature of sin (in its personal and its social dimensions) and the nature of redemption, to God's own caring as a model of congregational vocation. For Ramsey, being fully human goes beyond self-actualization and beyond personal altruism. Being fully human and faithfully Christian means being part of a community that directs its care-ing beyond itself.

He shows how sermons work, over time, to heal people in congregations and still create congregations committed to caring for the world. His evaluation of sermons moves beyond typical issues of "style" to demonstrate how sermons offer deeply theological understandings of what it means to be compassionate. Ramsey gives sustained attention to the way language and metaphor work and how illustrations function (sometimes against the preachers' intentions) to shape congregational understandings. His use of popular preachers is especially helpful. His close analysis of the layers of meaning in a sermon and how images and language work together is quite wonderful. His insights will certainly be helpful as preachers put together their own sermons.

Anyone who cares about preaching, or about pastoral care, or about prophetic ministry should buy this book. Ramsey's own style is clear and gentle, but doesn't shy away from the critical question: how does preaching create Christians who really care?