Some of the Words Are Theirs: The Art of Writing and Living a Sermon. (Austin Carty) - Review
Preaching
can take many different forms, with each preacher developing their own style
and habits. They may borrow from preachers they admire. They may seek to
emulate their teachers. Some preachers like to focus on topics, while others
draw from one of the lectionaries. They may also decide to work through a
particular book of the bible, a method known as "lectio continua" or
continuous reading. Some preachers go into the pulpit without notes, while
others memorize their sermons, and still others take a manuscript into the
pulpit. Whatever form we choose, we use words. Even if we don't write down a
full manuscript, hopefully, we will think through what we wish to say and how
to say it.
Lots of books have appeared over
the years that describe the ins and outs of preaching. Preachers will have purchased
them, placed them on their shelves, and read many of them. Books on preaching
keep getting written and published, and purchased, because there appears to be
more to be said about the art of preaching. In large part, this is due to
cultural and technological changes. I still bring a paper manuscript into the
pulpit, but I’ve seen growing numbers bring a tablet or even a phone into the
pulpit (or might I say, to the stage?). Perhaps you have your favorite writers—perhaps
something by Tom Long, Fred Craddock, Barbara Brown Taylor, or Luke Powery,
just to name a few of the better-known names.
Among the more recent offerings is Austin
Carty's Some of the Words Are Theirs: The Art of Writing and Living a Sermon.
Carty is the pastor of Boulevard Baptist
Church in Anderson, South Carolina. He graduated with his M.Div. from Wake
Forest University and has a D.Min. from Emory University. So, in case you’re
wondering, he’s not the kind of Baptist we often hear about. He is the author
of four books, including this one. I previously reviewed his book The
Pastor's Bookshelf: Why Reading Matters for Ministry. I thoroughly enjoyed
reading The Pastor’s Bookshelf in large part because Carty recommended
that pastors devote dedicated time to reading and to read broadly. Thus, in
this book, an author who embraces the importance of words focuses on the way we
use words in our preaching. As you read both of the books, you will understand
that before becoming a preacher, he taught English literature.
Carty’s book on preaching—Some of the Words Are Theirs—is not lengthy (135 pages in length). As such, it
is a rather quick read. However, Carty covers the entire process of writing a
sermon from preparation to the final draft. While there are elements of a
how-to manual on preaching, it is more than that because Carty weaves his own
life story into the book. He focuses special attention on his difficult relationship
with his father. It is a relationship that involves respect but also
frustration. The reason why this is true is that his father became an alcoholic
during his teen years. This story serves as fodder for the way Carty creates
sermons.
When it comes to the process of writing
sermons, Carty begins with the importance of preparation. Preparation involves
choosing a text to engage with. Once that is determined, a preacher can move to
the process of writing and then to revision. Carty offers eighteen chapters, in
which he explores each element involved in creating a sermon. One of the
important lessons here is that this process that leads to what is shared on
Sunday morning can't be haphazard. A preacher needs to make time to write and
revise, always keeping the audience in mind. Therefore, a preacher cannot wait
until Saturday evening to begin preparing a sermon. What Carty recommends to
preachers in this book may be difficult if, as is true for a growing number of preachers,
they have a day job besides their pastoral call. They may not have the luxury
of spending an entire day writing the sermon. While my own process developed
over many years of preaching is at points different from Carty's, like him, I
start early in the week, spending time with the biblical text before starting
to write.
Carty divides his eighteen chapters
into three parts. Part One focuses on preparation, with chapters on text, time,
setting, and prayer. When it comes to prayer, that is the one non-negotiable.
That is true “not because it’s the most overtly spiritual aspect but because it
is the most centering, preparatory, mysterious, and life-giving part” (p. 34).
Part Two focuses on writing the sermon, beginning with a chapter titled “Hook.”
A “Hook” is an image or concept that may seem to have little to do with the text,
but which catches the attention of the audience. Once that is laid out, one can
move to exegesis, which involves deep engagement with the text (he suggests two
to three hours). Once this has been accomplished, one can move to the stories
one wishes to weave into the sermon, along with the theological elements,
leading to a thesis and resolution.
Part Three is titled “Revision.” This
is what takes place once a full draft is written. Carty suggests that before
engaging in more substantial revision, the preacher should first read over the
document to see if the sermon presents the thesis in an “evenhanded and
credible way.” One does this by asking several questions: “Have I made sweeping
generalizations?” “Have I overargued my point?” “Have I taken into account my
own biases?” “Have I considered other viable points of view?” “Have I
sufficiently justified my claims?” Once these questions are answered, the
preacher can move on to considering other points of concern, such as tension,
audience, style, cuts, arrangement, critique, and punctuation. Carty explains
each of these elements in the process, which leads to the final draft. His
advice, which I have not yet taken, is to leave the sermon aside on Saturday
and then pick it up fresh on Sunday morning, making the final changes then. My
practice is to finish things up on Saturday, but the point is useful in that it
is good to step back from the sermon so we can come to it fresh on Sunday. In
his epilogue regarding the final draft, Carty makes an important point,
reminding us that no matter how much time we spend on the sermon, we will never
write a perfect sermon. Therefore, “at a certain point in the process, we must
stop trying to control our sermons and must learn instead to trust the Spirit
of God, for who knows what mark our insufficient and soon-forgotten words might
make when the transformative wind of an eternal tomorrow sweeps them up and
carries them away?” (pp. 132-133).
As I noted at the beginning, many
books have been written about the art of preaching. They will likely continue
to be written. The value of these books will be determined by how they
influence our preaching. We should never follow any method slavishly, but we
can always learn something new. Austin Carty brings to this conversation his
literary background, having taught literature before becoming a pastor, as well
as having written fiction and nonfiction. In Some of the Words Are Theirs, Carty
brings that background to the attention of preachers, helping us create sermons
that will connect with congregations.
Copies of this book can be purchased through your favorite retailer, including my Amazon Affiliate or my Bookshop.Org affiliate.
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