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Summary: A Guide to Christian Preaching
Review: "The Gospel is bad news before it is good news. It is the news that man is a sinner... That is the tragedy. But it is also the news that he is loved anyway, cherished, forgiven.... That is the comedy.... In answer, the news of the Gospel is that extraordinary things happen to him just as in fairy tales extraordinary things happen."And that is the basis for Frederick Buechner's book. That as evangelists we need to remember that the Bible is more than just a book, it starts as tragedy, it becomes so outrageous to be comedic and then amongst it all, God loves us so much that it's a fairy tale. And as with all fairy tales, that all who accept the outcome, the ending is happy. And we must keep all those things in mind. And preach the Bible with love. Frederick Buechner uses a number of "secular" works to illustrate his points. He points to the tragedy of "King Lear" by Shakespeare, he goes over the fairy tale sof C.S Lewis' "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" and Frank Baum's "The Wizard of Oz". To illustrate the comedy of the Bible, he turns to the Bible itself, going over the promise of God to Abraham and Sarah about the birth of Isaac, and how they laughed... the idea seemed so preposterous. And it does seem preposterous in a way, the promises of the Bible... so outrageous as to be almost impossible to believe. And that is why the Bible turns out to be fairy tale, because what is "too good to be true" isn't. It happens, and it happens to us. Buechner writes with colorful prose, but you won't get lost in the verbiage and his meaning will come out crystal clear. He conveys to us a message that speaks to us and tells us to speak the Word with urgency, and do it emphatically, colorfully, just as the Bible is colorful itself. Do it with compassion, do it with love and do it with inspiration. "Let the preacher tell the truth. Let him make audible the silence of the news of the world with the sound turned off so that in that silence we can hear the tragic truth of the Gospel, which is that the world where God is absent is a dark and echoing emptiness; and the comic truth of the Gospel, which is into the depths of his absence that God makes himself present in such unlikely ways and to such unlikely people... you and I laugh till the tears run down our cheeks. And finally let him preach this overwhelming of tragedy by comedy, of darkness by light, of the ordinary by the extraordinary, as the tale that is too good not to be true because to dismiss it as untrue is to dismiss along with it the catch of the breath, that beat and lifting of the heart near to or even accompanied by tears, which I believe is the deepest intuition of truth that we have."
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Summary: The only book of its kind, I've ever read more than once
Review: "The preacher climbs the stairs to the pulpit and pulls the chain, turning on the light. He deals out his note cards like a riverboat gambler. The stakes have never been higher."</P>
An excellent book on preaching the gospel.</P>
Beuchner presents Pilate, Abraham and Sarah, and others as if they were living today. Tremendous insights.</P>
It is the only book of its kind I've ever read more than once. I've read this one five times.</P>
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Summary: A most amazing representation of God's grace
Review: A book that talks about sin without being judgemental; about grace without being cheap. If everyone would read and take to heart the Gospel as presented by Buechner, perhaps the Christians would be easier to live with and grace would be more accessible.
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Summary: A Ground-Shaking Work
Review: A riveting, explosive, whimsical, masterfully-written philosophy of preaching. This book is not just for the preacher, but also every Christian who, with the commission of Christ, is to tell the Story. Yet on the other hand, this book shakes the antics out of the would-be preacher and tells him what he should be in the end picture. Buechner's command of language and literature will leave your head spinning with bedazzlement and great profundity. It is but a short 98-page read, but it's a punch that you might not have been expecting! Read it now!
Rating:
Summary: A Ground-Shaking Work
Review: A riveting, explosive, whimsical, masterfully-written philosophy of preaching. This book is not just for the preacher, but also every Christian who, with the commission of Christ, is to tell the Story. Yet on the other hand, this book shakes the antics out of the would-be preacher and tells him what he should be in the end picture. Buechner's command of language and literature will leave your head spinning with bedazzlement and great profundity. It is but a short 98-page read, but it's a punch that you might not have been expecting! Read it now!
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Summary: A gospel that gathers all in, worthy of many readings.
Review: Buechner presents a liveable gospel that hugs humanity. Absent is rigidity and polarization. It is uplifting and worthy of many readings
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Summary: A Must Read ... and Re-Read
Review: Frederick Buechner's 'Telling the Truth' is one of those little books, so packed with great things, it needs repeated reading. Not that it is difficult to read, it is just full of huge ideas and grand truth.
Buechner revisits various aspects of the gospel. But his first challenge to the reader is to confront the silence of truth. Using as an example the silence of Jesus in response to Pilate's question "What is truth?", Buechner suggests truth may not be far from the ordinariness of our everyday lives - if only we would pause to realise.
'Telling the Truth' uses the recurring picture of a preacher getting up to preach. Buechner describes in detail the scene in the church, the congregation who have come to the church for so many different reasons and the inadequacies the preacher feels but, as the preacher lays out his notes "like a riverboat gambler, the stakes have never been higher."
'Telling the Truth' considers the gospel as "tragedy, comedy and fairy tale" in turn and ultimately Buechner finds the gospel "a tale that is too good not to be true."
If you only read one book each year, make it 'Telling the Truth' this year - and next year.
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Summary: A Compelling Read
Review: I have read this book 3 times in as many months, and I will be reading it again. The first time I read it, I was swept away emotionally and ended it feeling totally wrung out, yet still uplifted. The second time I began to understand the meaning. The third time I was able to integrate emotion and thought, and I finally grasp what he means by (1) the truth being found in silence, (2) tragedy as an inevitable part of life, when God seems absent and the world is dark and empty, (3) comedy as the unexpected event, God making himself present in unlikely and unanticipated ways, (4) the fairy tale, too good to be true, where good overcomes evil, light overtakes darkness, and people are transformed; but in the gospel it really is true--and here is joy, but a joy accompanied by tears. Still there is more to be learned. This book is absolutely a masterpiece of interwoven themes and images, thoughts and emotions, reality and imagination, literature and life.
Rating:
Summary: A Compelling Read
Review: I have read this book 3 times in as many months, and I will be reading it again. The first time I read it, I was swept away emotionally and ended it feeling totally wrung out, yet still uplifted. The second time I began to understand the meaning. The third time I was able to integrate emotion and thought, and I finally grasp what he means by (1) the truth being found in silence, (2) tragedy as an inevitable part of life, when God seems absent and the world is dark and empty, (3) comedy as the unexpected event, God making himself present in unlikely and unanticipated ways, (4) the fairy tale, too good to be true, where good overcomes evil, light overtakes darkness, and people are transformed; but in the gospel it really is true--and here is joy, but a joy accompanied by tears. Still there is more to be learned. This book is absolutely a masterpiece of interwoven themes and images, thoughts and emotions, reality and imagination, literature and life.
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Summary: A compelling and beautiful book
Review: I still struggle to understand why on earth this author isn't as widely read, valued, commented and acclaimed as he deserves to be... It is perhaps, as he suggested, because he seems to be "too religious for the irreligious and too secular for the religious". Whatever reasons there may be, few other writers equal the quality of thought and writing of Frederick Buechner on "religious" matters (whatever that means!).
In this little book, Buechner tackles in a brilliant way the vital questions of the significance and the meaning of preaching the gospel, considering it as tragedy, comedy and fairy tale. The result is simply superb: an extraordinary convergence of elegance, good quality writing and fresh spirituality. It's the perfect introduction to his work, along with "The Alphabet of Grace". Give him the chance to prove his qualities... he will speak to both irreligious and religious...still more, he will haunt you!
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