Ten Books to Read about Preaching
Post Author: Pastor Courtney R. Young
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For the next installment in my Ten Books series, I’ve compiled a list of books to check out on preaching. Again, I have not read all of the books recommended, because I don’t think this list should be limited to just my perspective. I sought the input of dozens of clergy women across denominational and ministerial spectrums, and I hope that at least most of these books can speak into your life and ministry experience.
When my preaching well is running dry, I gravitate toward books that help me expand my imagination by teaching me different ways to approach both scripture and my congregation. May you too find something on this list that makes you go, “Hmmm, I’ve never thought about it that way before.”
Ten Books about Preaching to Read
- Wearing God by Lauren Winner
I read this book early in my ministry, and I’m so glad that I did. Winner’s explorations of the different ways that God is described in the Bible have challenged me to stay true to the different images that I have encountered as a preacher and a Christian. - Consider the Birds: A Provocative Guide to Birds of the Bible by Debbie Blue
A beautiful book that offers us a reminder to not underestimate even the smallest details in scripture by diving into the cultural and biological significance of various birds mentioned in the Bible. - A Short History of Myth by Karen Armstrong
Coming in at less than 150 pages, this is a very handy guide to the different eras of scriptural development. Each era of scripture addressed unique spiritual anxieties such as the changing understanding of men’s and women’s roles in society or what peace looks like with the development of cities and empires. Since we, as preachers, bring voice to the sacred stories of all the previous eras as they show up in the Bible, this book is a great resource to see how existential concerns have shifted over the millennia. - “Poco a Poco: The Fundamental Particles of Narrative,” Dæmon Voices: On Stories and Storytelling by Philip Pullman
I realize that it could be controversial to include an open atheist on a list about preaching but I love this essay enough to risk including it here. Drawing on The Literary Mind: The Origins of Thought and Language by Mark Turner, Pullman explores how the fundamental particles of narrative are not words, as one might expect, but tiny movements embedded into words or stories such as pouring, separation, reunion, opening, closing, etc. He then explores how storytellers can use these particulate movements to tell better stories. This essay helped me make sense of my own sermon prep, a process I describe as listening for the sound of a movement or motion, or tracking the arch of a line that a person would travel to get from point A to point B. That motion, that line, that is the “point” of my sermon. Our task as preacher is to figure out how to translate that fundamental motion, the A to B, to our congregation so that they can also hear it in a meaningful way. Pullman’s piece affords us a chance to explore the essence of story and storytelling. - Womanist Midrash: A Reintroduction to the Women of the Torah and the Throne by Wilda C. Gafney
In seminary, I was taught that you preach both the details and the gaps in scripture. There is both the explicit text of scripture and the implicit action taking place in the gaps between the text. God is found both in what is said and what is unsaid. Gafney provides a bold and insightful commentary on both the scholarly details and the gaps around the women of the Old Testament. If you like the first volume, there is a second that was recently published. - Preaching as Testimony by Anna Carter Florence
As the religious landscape in America continues to shift, being a practicing Christian will mark people as distinct and not societally normal. Being marked distinct by our faith, sharing our faith stories as a church community will take on a different kind of importance. Carter Florence highlights testimony as a homiletical tradition worth our consideration and a tradition that women, in particular, have contributed to. - A Healing Homiletic: Preaching and Disability by Kathy Black
One of my growing edges has been to learn how to preach to and about people with disabilities with more sensitivity and nuance, especially in regards to Jesus’ healing miracles. I’ve listened to the experiences of disabled folks objectified by being approached by random Christians who offer to pray for their healing without any actual concern for them as a whole person. I’m thankful to have Black’s book as a guide to learn how to preach actual good news, not performative good news, to the disabled people in my life. - God in Pain: Teaching Sermons on Suffering by Barbara Brown Taylor
Because each individual person’s experience with pain is so particular (and all the pitfalls of theodicy), preaching about pain is notoriously difficult. Yet, we preachers must preach about pain, with careful wisdom and maturity, because it is in these valleys that God meets us. Our congregants need to hear their experiences named alongside scripture. Each chapter is a sermon that explores a different aspect of pain, whether necessary or unnecessary, mundane or tragic, human or divine. - The Gospel According to The Wiz: And Other Sermons from Cinema by Otis Moss III
As a self-described geek who loves talking about both faith and fandom, how could I miss the opportunity to recommend this book? Sometimes, we need to loosen up and have some fun with our preaching. Engaging with different kinds of story and storytelling have helped me to refresh my preaching well. - Divine Laughter: Preaching and the Serious Business of Humor by Karl N. Jacobson and Rolf A. Jacobson
Humor is also tricky to get right in a sermon: many incorrectly assume there is no humor in the Bible. This book provides insight into the humor already present in scripture itself. It also describes the purpose that humor serves in our engagement with each other and with scripture. Who couldn’t use some more laughter in their lives?In a poignant example of this, one of the authors, Karl Jacobson, died just a few months ago. I encourage you to check out his obituary, written by himself and his brother. May light perpetual shine upon him.
Courtney Young is a bi-vocational Lutheran pastor/stay-at-home mom from Minnesota. She was honored to spend the first part of her career in campus ministry. Currently, she is serving as an interim pastor and writing a book. Connect with her at www.courtneyryoung.com.
Image by: Courtney Young
Used with permission
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