Preaching from Camelot to Covenant: Announcing God’s Action in the World. By William K. McElvaney. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1989. 133 pages.  

Preachers soon learn that people focus primarily on their own personal concerns. Sermons about worry and parenting arouse more interest than sermons about world hunger and injustice. William K. McElvaney argues that preachers thus face a strong temptation to forsake the global perspective for the merely personal. The focus on “idealized personal concerns” is what he calls “Camelot” preaching. By contrast, “covenant” preaching emphasizes “the social and global concerns of the Kingdom or Rule of God.” Pastors imitate Christ, McElvaney insists, when they move beyond the merely personal and lead Christians also to have a heart for the world.  

McElvaney knows this is a daunting task. Indeed, he has taught this material in his classes at two Methodist seminaries under the title “How to Preach Prophetically and Keep Your Appointment—Hopefully!” But he makes a strong case that truly Christian preaching cannot ignore social needs. To remain silent about social issues is to imply the “irrelevance of God in some particular dimension of life.”  

Though McElvaney raises some questions with his endorsement of liberation theology and his notion that a global perspective should be imposed on every biblical text, he does provide wise counsel about stretching a congregation’s vision without ignoring their personal concerns. Rarely do pastors (or professors!) or congregations love their neighbors in the world as they love themselves. McElvaney’s book could help us move a little closer to attaining that divine goal.