Preaching to Sufferers: God and the Problem of Pain. By Kent D. Richmond. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1988. 160 pages.  

Kent Richmond writes for preachers who must speak to people struggling with the problem of pain. Put simply, the problem is how a God who is both loving and powerful can allow evil. Richmond knows the subject both as a parent who lost an infant son and as a pastor turned hospital chaplain.  

After a concise analysis of traditional answers to the problem of pain, Richmond suggests process theology and the work of John Hick as a more helpful view. In this view, God is understood as still working to bring order out of chaos. The willfulness of created beings makes this a long, sometimes painful process. God’s power is the power of persuasive love, so there are limits to what he can do. His power is not absolute. But this means God understands— indeed shares—human anguish in the face of evil and suffering. He hurts when people hurt.  

Preaching to sufferers thus means emphasizing the presence of a loving God instead of offering explanation of the causes of evil and suffering. Richmond gives valuable advice about preaching funeral messages as well as preaching preventively to minimize hurt when tragedy strikes. His use of examples and his sample sermons will benefit many pastors. A section on the place of prayer in hospital ministry will also prove helpful.  

Process theology creates more problems than it solves in dealing with the problem of pain. Richmond’s book, nevertheless, is a wise reminder that the presence of the living God is the greatest comfort available to those who suffer.