Preaching about Crises in the Community. By Samuel D. Proctor. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1988. 132 pages. Paper, $8.95.  

Preaching about the Needs of Real People. By David H. C. Read. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1988. 119 pages. Paper, $8.95.  

Preaching about Conflict in the Local Church. By William H. Willimon. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1987. 117 pages. Paper, $8.95.  

Every preacher eventually faces the need to address pressing contemporary issues. Knowing how to do it can be a problem. Fortress Press has tried to provide help by releasing the three above volumes plus two others: Preaching About Family Relationships by Elizabeth Achtemeier and Preaching About Life in a Threatening World by Ronald J. Sider and Michael A. King.  

Samuel D. Proctor, pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York City, calls modern preachers to speak out about crises in the community. He argues that contemporary preachers can, as Moses did, draw on God’s courage, wisdom, and presence in seeking to challenge injustice.  

Proctor’s book provides a perspective for preaching rather than a programmatic solution to problems. He calls for preachers to anchor their sermons in key Christian values: the worth of persons, the importance of community, and the need for disciplined discipleship. These biblical values inform and correct the preacher’s “voice from within.” All inner impressions must at last pass the test of the mind of Christ.  

Pastors need to address certain key issues in a sustained fashion, Proctor argues. He warns against being so crisis-oriented that the preacher becomes “a short-order cook on a ferryboat, keeping up with whatever is shouted out last” by the news media. Poverty, education, and family stability are three issues that he says should be recurring emphases from the Christian pulpit. Proctor recommends developing the sermon by using the Hegelian method: thesis, antithesis, synthesis. Sermons should state God’s ideal (thesis) and the real situation (antithesis), then pose a relevant question that leads to a workable synthesis of the two. There are other approaches, of course, but Proctor’s suggestion, like his book, is useful.  

David H. C. Read’s volume may disappoint readers looking for practical help with their sermon preparation. Instead of writing about the crafting of sermons, he spends the bulk of the book on the context of preaching: theology, liturgy, pastoral ministry, the value of spiritual mentors, and the like.  

Read, minister at Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City, says that congregations are best served by a consistent diet of theologically sound sermons and liturgically sound worship. He suggests that sermons aimed at providing immediate help for pressing problems may be less beneficial than sturdy messages on doctrinal staples: grace, forgiveness, and love. His emphasis on preaching from the lectionary grows out of this conviction.  

Like Read, Duke University’s William H. Willimon emphasizes the close connection between preaching and pastoral ministry. The emphasis is not surprising in light of Willimon’s role as a professor of Christian ministry. In Preaching about Conflict in the Local Church, Willimon offers valuable insight to preachers wondering how (or whether) to address congregational conflicts from the pulpit.  

Willimon insists that “to be a pastor is to juggle five or six balls at once, trying to keep them all in the air.” For that reason, he refuses to give ” ‘Six Steps in Speaking to a Crisis in the Congregation’ or neat examples of ‘How to Do It Right.’ “Preaching about conflict just is not that simple.  

Willimon’s chief contribution lies in helping preachers learn to analyze the conflict in their church. Drawing on research into congregational conflict, he shows what questions to ask and what to make of the answers. Understanding the conflict goes a long way toward enabling the preacher to address the question effectively.  

Willimon correctly recognizes the role the pulpit can play in the midst of congregational tension. He shows how preachers can use preaching to help resolve conflict. Willimon refuses to guarantee things will always turn out well, but preachers who heed his counsel increase the chance that their congregation’s conflict will come to a satisfactory resolution.  

Fortress Press has made a valuable contribution with these volumes. They are likely to prove helpful to pastors.