Preacher Rehab: Restoring faith in the sermon by Ron Cassidy, AuthorHouse, 368pp, 2009, £14.99
I suspect that almost the only people who read books on preaching are those who teach homiletics and book reviewers. Many American preachers still regard preaching as a skill to be honed and worked on throughout ministry, but among Anglican clergy, preaching is often regarded as a chore that goes with the job; to be endured by both priest and people.
The College of Preachers and CODEC (based at St John’s College, Durham) have just completed a preliminary research project into how preaching is received in the pews and what congregations think its role should be. Two striking conclusions are: that people look forward to the sermon; that it makes little difference to their attitudes or behaviour. Both of these books try to address these issues of connecting with the congregation and aiming for a Christ-like transformation.
Long and Tisdale’s book is clearly aimed at the academy although its 14 contributors provide something for everyone, especially in the section on the Components of the Practice of Preaching. The burden of the book is a plea to take preaching seriously as an honourable practice which can be taught and learned in a similar way to law or medicine. The problem of course is that in the modern curriculum there is hardly any time devoted to homiletics and it is often regarded as something ‘you will pick up’. There is no bibliography but good endnotes after each of the 15 chapters, which cover topics from the Preaching Imagination, to a very rapid overview of Voice and Diction, to the more spiritual Marks of Faithful Preaching. It’s idiosyncratic, embedded in the USA and moderately useful.
Cassidy’s book is robustly British and, as the title suggests, is a cri de coeur for a renewed confidence in the power of preaching. The emphasis of this book is the ongoing journey of the preacher after the academy, learning ‘on the job’ and with the ever changing demography of the congregation. There are ten chapters: the Preacher’s Problems, Predecessors, Preparation, Privilege, Perseverance… almost a complete set of alliterative Sweet Ps. And it’s all good stuff, well illustrated with helpful overviews of recent homiletic thought and contemporary culture as well as historical insights. At the same time Cassidy’s 40 years in Anglican ministry means it is very realistic and earthed. So there are tips about using and choosing a PA system as well as a critique of Craddock (Fred, not Fanny) and tips on preaching on special occasions. I liked his exploration of John Wenham’s aim of a sermon: placere (to please), docere (to teach), and movere (to motivate). This is certainly a book for the preacher, but it should also be on the booklist of the academy. There is a good select bibliography and helpful endnotes. Neither books have an index which is unhelpful.
I wouldn’t spend £20 on the American book but I might spend £15 on Cassidy’s. So perhaps you should save your money and continue muddling through as dilettantes, but don’t use that word in a sermon and never use irony.
Church Times
