A searchable, downloadable PDF of the original review appears below. Stephen Self is a ministry student at Regent College, Vancouver.
Preaching About Life in a Threatening World. Ronald J. Sider and Michael A. King. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1987; 131 pp.
The primary focus of this book is “Preaching about national and international concerns — the large, often global concerns of our era and the issues of justice, peace, and freedom that are inextricably intertwined with them” (p.10). The authors identify two interrelated problems in contemporary preaching: numbed and opaque preaching. Sider and King attempt to resolve these problems when preaching on an issue by exploring four dimensions: the transcendent (the openness to the mysterious), the structural (the manifestation of social, political, economic forces), the personal (interpersonal interactions) and the interior (those aspects of life that take place inside each person).
Sider and King maintain that often churches only deal with one of the dimensions. Integrating the dimensions through story “is the needle knitting all the polarities and dichotomies we have been discussing into one seamless fabric” (p. 35). Preaching needs to take into account the multidimensional nature of the issues. Within the Christian Story (the Story in the Bible), the structural dimension deals with structural evil (i.e. “principalities and powers in the NT). Sider and King caution that “If the powers are viewed as structures, it is important to note that they are not automatically evil” (p.39). In the personal dimension evil takes on a personal form and includes faces and names. Preaching that is sensitive to the interior dimension will help its hearers understand that they can admit there is some evil within themselves and just possible some good within the enemy. Sensing the power of the transcendent dimension imbues preaching with an aura of awe and high drama.
The authors discuss the principle of reversal which is where situations are reversed for the oppressed. I would like to see more biblical examples of individuals illustrating the principle of reversal instead of examples such as the Exodus and the destruction and the captivity of Israel. A consolation is that the principle of reversal is exemplified in the incarnation of Christ. Sider and King apply the multidimensional approach and the principle of reversal to the key issues of abortion, economic justice, human rights, the earth, and war and violence.
Sider and King aim in chapter 4 to broaden the definition of what it means to preach about social concerns which includes not only guiding people towards specific positions but also providing them with the resources to arrive at such stances on their own. The Story offers something hard to find in modern life. If the “grandeur of the Story, with its multidimensional and mythopoetic elements, is properly grasped, it will be seen that the Story embraces all reality, whether sacred or profane, religious or secular” (p. 82). The authors urge the preachers to trust the Story of the Bible more (p. 83).
Some nuts and bolts of social justice preaching through story form are presented in chapter 5. Such preaching seeks to contemporize, elaborate and connect the biblical story to the lives of persons listening thousands of years later. The first step in narrative movement the preacher wants to create is the setting, the context, the introduction, the equilibrium before it is upset. The preacher then incorporates the element of plot, of action, of forward movement, into the sermon. In the next step the “dynamics of the story — whether transcendent, personal or interior — emerge” (p. 96).
Sider and King are concerned that the sermon’s point of view — or perspective — is true to the text. Also, the preacher should aim to make a bridge between the text and today by helping the listeners identify with the appropriate characters in the story. Other bridges are created through the use of analogy and imagery.
The movement everyone is waiting for in the story is the climax. It is the point in the story where the gospel is experienced. The concluding element in the story is the transformation, that moment in the sermon when guidance is given as to ways the insight and energy released at the moment of climax can yield concrete changes.
Social justice preachers must show their congregation they are fellow seekers. This can be done through a sermon preparation group, a Sunday School class devoted to interaction on sermons and through the use of autobiography by telling what personal struggles lies behind our preaching (p. 109).
Preaching sometimes involves “savage grace” which the authors articulate “is to remind people that when God breaks in and Jesus comes, life does not go on as usual but gets turned upside down, and fishing nets lie unused and drying by the sea” (p. 111). This preaching does not constantly hit people over their heads, but shares with them that what is often thought of goodness in the West is often bad news. For many congregations the proper entry point on preaching about national and international concerns may well be the recognition that people cannot bear to hear about the judgement of God’s love and the power of God’s love until they see that the preacher is feeling their pain” (p. 116).
A useful Appendix provides educational, organizational, experiential and printed resources for a modicum of expertise for preachers.
The book is a practical guide for all preachers interested in preaching more compassionately and effectively on major social issues such as abortion, human rights, economic justice and war and violence. The authors’ sincere concern to equip preachers to communicate and identify with people who have inner hurts, needs, and dreams is appreciated. Sider and King write clearly and concisely which makes the book a delight to read.