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jlackey 's review for:
This is the book I wish I had read first year of seminary.
This is a book that should be included in a little gift baggie to all graduating seminarians, along with a visitation stole and a small communion set for shut in visits.
Really. I am serious.
There is a lot to appreciate about Pr. Curtis' work in this book. I'll hit a few highlights.
1. Winsome in tone, yet serious about his task.
I'll be very honest, I am turned off by a good portion of Lutheran writings on things, especially because the tone is usually angry, acidic, jaded, or cynical. If it doesn't descend into outright bullying it just comes across as incredibly bitter. This is not the case with this book. It was a genuine joy to read, while not coming across as pompous and stilted. It is evident that preaching is something that Pr. Curtis takes seriously, yet he talks about it as though it is a genuine joy, because it should be.
2. Generosity and fairness to all the tools available to the parish pastor.
Frequently, I find myself frustrated with what seems to be frequent purity testing when it comes to preaching. If you're not on XYZ lectionary, you're lost. If you're not killing yourself over the Greek, your sermon is going to be terrible. If you use such and such structure, it's gonna be a dumpster fire. Pr. Curtis will have none of this in this work. He treats both the historic and the 3 year lectionary with respect and care, though he does say he uses and prefers one year, for a variety of reasons.
One thing he does say is that lectionary preaching is the way to go. He doesn't give much in the way of advice to sermon series, crafting your own lectionaries, etc. He does caution against more of the "goofier" things that sometimes creep into pulpits (props, jokes, overly long stories, etc.)
He has an exceptionally fair treatment of sermon structures, and I mean all of them.
Give this book a read if you are a LCMS pastor.
This is a book that should be included in a little gift baggie to all graduating seminarians, along with a visitation stole and a small communion set for shut in visits.
Really. I am serious.
There is a lot to appreciate about Pr. Curtis' work in this book. I'll hit a few highlights.
1. Winsome in tone, yet serious about his task.
I'll be very honest, I am turned off by a good portion of Lutheran writings on things, especially because the tone is usually angry, acidic, jaded, or cynical. If it doesn't descend into outright bullying it just comes across as incredibly bitter. This is not the case with this book. It was a genuine joy to read, while not coming across as pompous and stilted. It is evident that preaching is something that Pr. Curtis takes seriously, yet he talks about it as though it is a genuine joy, because it should be.
2. Generosity and fairness to all the tools available to the parish pastor.
Frequently, I find myself frustrated with what seems to be frequent purity testing when it comes to preaching. If you're not on XYZ lectionary, you're lost. If you're not killing yourself over the Greek, your sermon is going to be terrible. If you use such and such structure, it's gonna be a dumpster fire. Pr. Curtis will have none of this in this work. He treats both the historic and the 3 year lectionary with respect and care, though he does say he uses and prefers one year, for a variety of reasons.
One thing he does say is that lectionary preaching is the way to go. He doesn't give much in the way of advice to sermon series, crafting your own lectionaries, etc. He does caution against more of the "goofier" things that sometimes creep into pulpits (props, jokes, overly long stories, etc.)
He has an exceptionally fair treatment of sermon structures, and I mean all of them.
Give this book a read if you are a LCMS pastor.