Bookends

I chuckled when two large volumes came through the international post ($60) last week.  They speak of a beginning and ending to a chapter in my life. In 1994 I was invited to be a guest lecturer in the E.Y. Mullins preaching conference at Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville.  That conference was  my first intensive experience of spending a few days (yes, a few days!) focused on preaching and, best of all, I shared the seminary's luxurious hospitality house with two of the best known preachers in the US - Tom Long and William Willimon. That honour has remained with me ever since. There I was a mere junior on my first US preaching encounter sharing meals with two gracious giants.  I had to give a lecture and share each evening preaching session with Will Willimon, as both of us gave consecutive sermons to an extraordinarily attentive packed auditorium.  Several times I asked myself why I was there?

As a first it is burned in my memory.  At the conference's conclusion I was shown into a study where some duplicate homiletical volumes occupied a shelf, and I was invited to select whatever I could manage in my luggage allowance. I had so little specific preaching literature.  Among the volumes was the Handbook of Contemporary Preaching (1992). a dense book comprising essays from leading teachers/preachers covering a wealth of counsel. I looked at the authors and recognized so few. Dipping into its sections I felt overwhelmed.  

Big surprises continued. The following year I was invited to be the main speaker at the E.Y. Mullins conference and returned to share in a memorable US opportunity.  I was quickly growing up in a new preaching world.

But why the chuckle when these two books arrived?  Well the second edition of the Handbook of Contemporary Preaching has just been published.  As I review it this time I am thrilled to know so many of the authors. And, as you might guess I have a chapter in this one. It's in the section Preaching and the Ministry entitled: The Role of Preaching in Ministry.  So my little story has come full circle bookended by the first and second editions of this book.  Actually it does mark the conclusion of my writing on preaching. Yes, I'll still keep bible reading notes (if invited again) and some preaching (if invited) but this is my swansong. And I am so so grateful to God for his calling and guidance on this surprising journey.