Reviewed Book: Capon, Robert Farrar. The foolishness of preaching: proclaiming the Gospel against the wisdom of the world. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998. George Craig Stewart lectures

Rattee, Mike

English

Wilfrid Laurier University

ConsensusVolume 24Issue 1 Leadership into the 21st Century Article 175-1-1998The foolishness of preaching: proclaiming theGospel against the wisdom of the worldMike RatteeFollow this and additional works at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensusThis Book Reviews is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Consensus by anauthorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact scholarscommons@wlu.ca.Recommended CitationRattee, Mike (1998) "The foolishness of preaching: proclaiming the Gospel against the wisdom of the world," Consensus: Vol. 24 : Iss.1 , Article 17.Available at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol24/iss1/17Book Reviews 153The Foolishness of Preaching: Proclaiming the Gospelagainst the Wisdom of the WorldRobert Farrar CaponGrand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishers, 1998154 pp. $26.00 paperbackReaders beware: this book will stir you up! Whether the stirring comesfrom its stress on radical grace (we are saved in our deaths, not by ourefforts to lead a good life, nothing counts but the cross), its attacks onleftist liberals (who don’t believe Adam actually existed) and right-wingconservatives (who believe creation happened on a Sunday morning in 4004BC), or the interesting tips on how to preach better (talk the sermon intobeing in front of your spouse or friends), you will wrestle with Robert FarrarCapon.Along the way you will encounter many creative one-liners. Some of thepositive ones to remember and re-use include: “God is as pleased as punchwith them in Jesus”; “preachers need a passion for the Passion”; “we don’tneed to be good, holy, smart, accountable, or even faithful: we need onlyto be dead”; “Raise your standards for prayer by lowering your sights”;“my delivery has more faults than the state of California”; “preachers arepeddling Sleep-Eeze, when they ought to be selling No-Doze”.Many others are more provocative and be less useful: “preachers qual-ify as useful representatives of the Ultimate Loser”; “if sermonettes makeChristianettes, then lessonettes make preacherettes”; “tell God you’d liketo stop chasing skirts. . .but not yet”; “be on your guard against wanting tobe seen as a humble servant and a good egg”. The final command of thebook: “have a cigar”.The first half of the book (The Bedrock of Preaching) is more theologicalthan homiletical. Here he blasts religion that minimizes the Gospel whilemaximizing the Law, calling it “a drug that gets people high and addicted,but leaves them bankrupt”. Preachers will be of no use in the pulpit untilthey “get rid of their own dope of acceptance”, and then “like bad kids,sneak up and steal the congregation’s religion pills”. Capon says to focus onthe “dark center of the Gospel” (Jesus’ death and our death are requiredbefore resurrection life occurs), which is the foolishness of preaching (1Corinthians 2). This “passion for the Passion” is a highlight of the book,and a needed emphasis, since many sermons are not strong enough on graceby putting the burden of salvation onto God.However, in his hyperbole. Capon sounds like a universalist. If Christhas saved everyone already (“He or She [God] will love you no matterwhat because He or She is stuck on you, everybody is raised with Jesus,unbeliever and believer, we don’t get raised, we are raised now”), thenwhat is the role of human faith? If sin is not to be feared but cherishedsince it magnifies the Gospel, and there is no hell to fear, then of whatimportance is ethical living, evangelism, and sanctification? Such questions154 Consensusdo matter to preaching, but this book does not address this other side.Capon’s overstress on grace leads him to call his own adultery, divorce, andremarriage a great thing that happened since he experienced more deeplythe mercy of Christ. This implication toward sinning boldly so that onecan be a better Gospel preacher is ethically confusing. This book may beproof that there is danger in shouting a good thing too loudly.The second half of the book (The Practice of Preaching) gives practicalhomiletical skills, most of which are derived purely from Capon’s own style.He counsels against trying to be a great chef, serving world class sermons,and argues for a simple, household cook, who gives sound gospel nutrition.Capon demonstrates this with four to five good examples of how he exegetesa passage, and two to three full sermons he has preached. His exegeticaltips are more interesting than his actual sermons.A high view of scripture leads Capon to say that this is the main in-gredient in preaching, and that extensive reading of the text (“living init”) is the best sermon preparation. He advocates using the Common Lec-tionary, but condemns the way it splices texts, and omits the tough verses.Preachers need to study the context well, include what is left out of thelesson (“the tough texts make for the best preaching”), and hear the Scrip-tures out loud (“faith comes by hearing the Word”). Preachers who don’tlike a certain passage need to hear it and wrestle with it. Never throw itout simply because it is politically incorrect. Though Capon says that attimes Paul’s opinion may need to be distinguished from the Holy Spirit’srevelation, there is no instruction on how to do this.The bulk of this second half deals with preaching from brief notes, whichCapon favors, and/or from a full manuscript. The sermon is to be writtenby Saturday morning (no later!), and then left alone until Sunday morning,which is devoted to hearing how it sounds. Capon advocates getting up at4:00 a.m. to reread the sermon aloud, so it can live again in one’s ears. Thenotes are to be so digested that they are hardly needed. By seeing just aword or phrase (e.g., ILLUST-bread) one should be able to recall and retellan entire point. If new thoughts come in this practice period, he suggestsfollowing them, for that may be the Spirit breaking through. Above all,one should relax on Sunday for the work of preaching is ultimately up toGod more than the preacher. Nice advice. Tough to apply.Strangely, Capon is against working extensively on introductions andconclusions. He says that the best time must be spent in the middle, andthat two lines are all that is needed at the start and end. One wonderswhat harm could come from making the start and end excellent, especiallyif communication studies are right that people remember these parts of aspeech the most. Capon answers this charge by saying it is a waste ofgood time, they are “windy beginnings and gassy endings, amounting tomere throat clearings and a belch”, and they may get in the way of Godspeaking. It is a unique view that suggests God only speaks in the middleof a sermon.To his credit. Capon demonstrates in his writing the oral/conversationalstyle that he says makes for good sermons. His tips about how to use slangBook Reviews 155appropriately, make punchy sentences, avoid academic/theoretical languageare all excellent. One wishes the author would have focused more on theselanguage/writing issues, which are so helpful to us speakers and writers.Less time could have been spent on the advice and visual demonstra-tions of how to use computer software in preparing sermons. Interestingly,this 73 year old priest expounds the advantages and fine points of using thecomputer in preaching, where few other books would cover such ground.However, 22 pages of windows pasted from his computer into the bookseems excessive, and details about changing font size, naming the file, un-derlining, etc., are not that instructive.Stylistically, the chapters are short and well organized. There is energyon every page. Like watching a good movie or hockey game, it is easyto stick with this book to the end to see how it will turn out. The potshots taken against those whom Capon disagrees with are stimulating atfirst, but after a while become bothersome as one hears arrogance morethan redemption. The book is quite one-sided in that it focuses only onwhat one preacher believes/practices, and doesn’t interact with any otherliterature and views from another side. Its opinionated style suggests itcould be a good conversation starter at a ministerial meeting, book readingclub, etc. Overall, it makes a decent, but not significant, contribution tohomiletics. As Siskel and Ebert would say, “one thumb up”.Michael RatteeToronto School of TheologySermon Seasonings: Collected Stories to Spice UpYour SermonsRalph MiltonEdited by Wendy SmallmanWinfield, BC: Wood Lake Books Inc., 1997192 pp. $14.95Canadian lay theologian Ralph Milton lives in Kelowna, BC, and isthe husband of a United Church of Canada minister. He is one of thefounders of Wood Lake Books, and the author of more than a dozen books,and of the bimonthly periodical. Aha!!! the preacher’s research assistant^published by that press. A popular speaker and workshop leader, he bringsa wealth of experience from his work in radio, a stint as a missionary inthe Philippines, and countless workshops and seminars with congregations,pastors, lay groups, etc.Wendy Smallman has gone “through his work and picked out those sto-ries, anecdotes, thoughts she felt would be useful to speakers and preachersand resource developers” (5). These are topically arranged in alphabeti-cal order, beginning with “Advent” and concluding with “Worship”. This

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