# *Review & Expositor* 112(4) — Book Review Transcriptions **Plain extraction — no analysis layer.** Verbatim transcription of two book reviews plus a short summary of each. Source: two-page PDF excerpt, *Review & Expositor* vol. 112, no. 4, pp. 640–641, section **III. Ministerial studies**. Page footer on both pages reads: "Downloaded from rae.sagepub.com at NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNIV on June 4, 2016." Page 640 opens mid-flow with the closing paragraph of a *prior* review (Merrill M. Hawkins on a book referred to as *Union Made*) — included below for completeness, but the full review is not in this excerpt. --- ## 0. Fragment — end of the preceding review (*Union Made*) > *Union Made* contributes to the study of Social Christianity, the Social Gospel, and religious responses to labor–capital conflicts. Carter's study adds to growing literature examining church-based criticisms of the economic order during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The study will be required reading for all who are studying the Social Gospel. Moreover, the book contributes to a fuller understanding of lived and practiced religion by showing the Christian thought and religious practices of non-elite church leaders. — **Merrill M. Hawkins**, Carson-Newman University, Jefferson City, TN, USA *(Only this final paragraph appears in the excerpt. Book is by "Carter"; full title and bibliographic line fall on an earlier page.)* --- ## 1. West on Brueggemann, *Collected Sermons* vol. 2 **Bibliographic line as printed:** > *The Collected Sermons of Walter Brueggemann, vol. 2*, by Walter Brueggemann. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2015. 287 pp. $30.00. ISBN: 978-0-664-26041-5. **Reviewer:** Danny M. West, School of Divinity, Gardner-Webb University, Boiling Springs, NC, USA ### Summary A wholly favorable review. West presents the volume as a companion to *Collected Sermons* vol. 1 and reads it as evidence of Brueggemann's double competence as exegete *and* homiletician. Three claims carry the review: (1) the collection models lectionary preaching tied to the church's liturgical rhythm; (2) Brueggemann's own language "dances," so the sermons enact the imaginative reality they describe; (3) the book is a teaching resource for seminary preaching courses, because it closes the exegesis/relevance gap that West says most "good preaching" fails to close. He describes the four-part structure (Advent–Christmas–Epiphany; Lent–Easter; Pentecost and Ordinary Time; Other Occasions) and singles out Part 4 — graduation, church anniversary, wedding, ordination charge — as the section that exceeds expectation, showing Brueggemann's pastoral rather than prophetic register. Verdict: "yet another must read" for devotees. ### Transcription Walter Brueggemann is the William Marcellus McPheeters Professor Emeritus of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary. Brueggemann is a remarkably versatile preacher who is equally at home in the classroom or the pulpit of a local church. This current collection of sermons is a wonderful companion to his earlier published compilation (*Collected Sermons*, vol. 1). These sermons represent the truly unique legacy of Brueggemann as both exegete and homiletician. The collection provides a wonderful example of the richness and breadth of lectionary preaching and its sacred connection to the rhythm of the church. Brueggemann offers a model of engaging the liturgical seasons of Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Pentecost, and Ordinary days. In vintage Brueggemann fashion, the sermons are remarkably grounded in the biblical text and in the contextual birthing place of the local church wherein the sermons were preached. To that end, all of us who seek to offer a "word" on Sunday morning find stellar examples of how one navigates the complexities of a biblical text while bringing meaningful and authentic insight of that text for a congregation. The ever imaginative and fertile mind of Brueggemann is on full display in this collection. From eye popping titles such as "A Baptism about Which They Never Told Us," to "Lent as Alternative to Empire," and "Little Resurrections: After the Big One," Brueggemann reminds us that words are ever pregnant with power and potential. Not only does he invite his reader (or listener) to engage the sacred text as organic and life-filled, but the captivating quality of Brueggemann is that his own words dance with life and imagination. One would be hard pressed to read these sermons and not be moved to a different plane of sense and reality. His words invite and they create. These messages remind us that Kingdom paradigms are predicated on images that cast new opportunities to think and imagine a reality that we previously ignored or had never considered. A professor of preaching would find this text to be a rich resource to share with young preachers who often struggle to strike the delicate balance between exegesis and life. Much of what is pawned off as "good preaching" is either tangentially connected to the biblical text and lacks grounding or it is a sloppy attempt to play the relevance card. Often, those two realities never meet. By contrast, every preacher worth his/her salt ought to examine how Brueggemann not only exegetes the biblical text but also masterfully exegetes life. The book is clearly organized around four parts: Part 1: Sermons for Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany; Part 2: Sermons for Lent and Easter; Part 3: Sermons for Pentecost and Ordinary Time; and Part 4: Sermons for Other Occasions. Although the first three sections are vintage Brueggemann and representative of his sermonic work, the last section is a splendid addition that goes above and beyond what one might expect in such a collection. In it, the pastoral ethos of Brueggemann is featured in sermons that celebrate graduation, a church anniversary, a wedding, and an ordination charge. This section is beautiful, poetic (at his core, Brueggemann is prophet/poet), pastoral, and human. There is decency to his words of wisdom and his gentle, steady counsel. For devotees of Brueggemann's sermonic work, this volume is yet another must read. It reminds us of how refreshing it is to eavesdrop in on one who is both a master of the art of preaching and is yet a slave to the biblical text. Therein lies the beauty of the man and this enjoyable work. > **Danny M. West** > School of Divinity, Gardner-Webb University, Boiling Springs, NC, USA ### Sermon titles named in the review - "A Baptism about Which They Never Told Us" - "Lent as Alternative to Empire" - "Little Resurrections: After the Big One" --- ## 2. Harrison on Keck, *Healthy Churches, Faithful Pastors* **Bibliographic line as printed:** > *Healthy Churches, Faithful Pastors: Covenant Expectations for Thriving Together*, by David Keck. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2014. 206 pp. $22.00. ISBN 978-1-56699-440-8. **Reviewer:** Ircel Harrison, Central Baptist Theological Seminary, Shawnee, KS, USA ### Summary Favorable with one methodological reservation. Harrison's angle: most books on the pastor/congregation relationship take one side; Keck takes both, in order to surface expectations each party holds but leaves unspoken. He credits Keck's evidence base — informal conversations and formal interviews with lay leaders, clergy, and judicatory officials, distilled into six composite fictional characters (three lay, three clergy). Structure: ten principles and fifty-six expectations, presented for joint clergy–laity discussion, making the book "more of a workbook than a textbook." Harrison flags the chapter on the pastor's family as filling a neglected gap. His one criticism is bibliographic: 22 of 37 cited books predate 2000, and he asks — pointedly, though he leaves it open — whether that reflects a shortage of current work in the field rather than a defect in Keck's research. Recommended for seminary classes, congregations, and judicatories. ### Transcription The symbiotic relationship between pastors and congregations is usually explored either from the perspective of the pastor or that of the congregation. In this volume, David Keck addresses both in order to prompt conversations around the expectations that each brings to the table. Keck brings the perspectives of pastor and college chaplain as well as scholar to this project. Despite his extensive background in ministry, the author does not simply base this work on his own assumptions but upon thorough research that includes informal conversations and formal interviews with lay leaders, clergy, and judicatory officials. Keck began his study by asking pastors, "What do you need from your congregation in order for them to help you to be a better pastor?" (p. 2), but he found that the best answers would come from examining both sides of the covenant relationship that binds together pastors and congregants. In the book, he uses six fictional characters—three laypeople and three clergy—to embody the voices of the many individuals interviewed for the project. "Covenant" and "expectations" are key terms in this work. He explains that in a covenant, "There is trust and shared goals, a common *purpose*" (p. 19). Expectations in the pastor/congregation connection are based on what each party anticipates will be provided by the other in the relationship, but these are often unvoiced. Keck's goal is to provide a resource that will facilitate such a discussion. The result is more of a workbook than a textbook. Keck identifies ten principles and fifty-six expectations for a healthy, vibrant congregation and then presents them in a format that encourages discussion and evaluation by clergy and laity together. He encourages lay and pastoral leadership to ask the question, "How are *we* doing together in our efforts [to] worship God, guide the congregation, and serve the community?" (p. 179). In addition, because most pastors deal with boundary issues, Keck gives this a significant place in the book, devoting an entire chapter to the pastor's family. This is an area often neglected in discussing the relationship of pastor and congregation and is certainly key to the pastoral leader's effectiveness. A review of the bibliography of thirty-seven books reveals that twenty-two were written before 2000. Although the list includes a number of classics in the field that should be consulted, the reviewer has to ask if the bibliography reflects the fact that little work is being done today in the area of forming both healthy churches and faithful pastors. Keck's book is a valuable addition to that conversation and will be a useful tool for seminary classes, congregations, and judicatories in addressing these concerns. > **Ircel Harrison** > Central Baptist Theological Seminary, Shawnee, KS, USA ### Quotations Harrison draws from Keck | Page | Quotation | |---|---| | p. 2 | "What do you need from your congregation in order for them to help you to be a better pastor?" | | p. 19 | "There is trust and shared goals, a common *purpose*" | | p. 179 | "How are *we* doing together in our efforts [to] worship God, guide the congregation, and serve the community?" | --- ## 3. Editorial note (end of p. 641) Printed after the Harrison review, introducing a third review that is **not included in this PDF excerpt**: > Note: The following Book Review was first published in the May 2015 edition of *Review & Expositor*. Unfortunately, the Book Review editor omitted the last portion of the review in her editing of the review. Therefore, the original review is included here in its entirety, with apologies to both the author and reviewer of the volume. The re-run review itself begins on p. 642 and is outside the scanned range. If it matters, the original (truncated) version would be in the May 2015 issue — *Review & Expositor* 112(2). --- ## Transcription notes - Both reviews are transcribed in full and verbatim. Hyphenation introduced by the journal's line-breaking (e.g. "homileti-cian," "congrega-tion") has been rejoined; no other changes. - Italics preserved where the original italicizes titles and the emphasized words *purpose* and *we*. - The `[to]` in the p. 179 quotation is a bracketed insertion present in the printed review, not added here. - Page break falls mid-review in §1, between "…gentle, steady counsel." (p. 640) and "For devotees of Brueggemann's sermonic work…" (p. 641). ## Cross-references - [[The Collected Sermons of Walter Brueggemann, Volume 3]] — same series, next volume - [[Brueggemann — Our Hearts Wait — Source Passages]] - [[Inscribing the Text]] — Brueggemann on preaching - [[Deliver Us]]