Steeped in the Holy: Preaching as Spiritual Practice

Preachers have needed this book for awhile, for it eloquently and thoughtfully focuses on how the preparation and preaching of sermons are not only labors of love we undertake on behalf of others, but also spiritual disciplines that feed us and bring us closer to God. I love the mix of the expected topics (sacrament, scripture, prayer) and less-expected topics (play, hospitality, embodiment) Raewynne Whiteley addresses in her treatment of preaching as spiritual practice. I also love the way in which she interweaves poems, prayers, hymn texts, and her own well-crated sermons throughout the prose of this volume-making the very reading of it feel more like a spiritual exercise than an academic one. Preachers will find inspiration, encouragement, and blessing here. They will also find a great deal of sound homiletical scholarship, insight and wisdom.

Preaching is WORK; yet (as spiritual masters remind us) 'Work is prayer, ' and 'Prayer is the practice of the presence of God.' Whiteley assists us in appropriating these pithy aphorisms, so that the process of preaching itself has the prospect of becoming a soul-nurturing spiritual discipline.

With prose, poetry, song, and prayer, Raewynne Whiteley demonstrates a practice of preaching that is flexible yet disciplined, both artful and theologically substantial. Preaching like this is serious, holy fun for both preacher and congregation.