Book Review - The Minister's Manual 2008 by Lee McGlone
Category Book Review
Even though I'm not a minister or pastor, the title intrigued me... The Minister's Manual 2008 Edition by Lee McGlone. It's a collection of sermons, illustrations, and other assorted preaching aids for the year of 2008. Knowing how my church works, I was curious as to whether these sermons were "guidelines" or actual sermons that could be used for a 30 minute message. Having read through the material, I think I have a better understanding...
Contents:
Section 1 - General Aids and Resources: Civil Year Calendars for 2008 and 2009; Church and Civic Calendar for 2008; The Revised Common Lectionary for 2008; Four-Year Church Calendar; Forty-Year Easter Calendar; Traditional Wedding Anniversary Identifications; Colors Appropriate for Days and Seasons; Flowers in Season Appropriate for Church Use; Quotable Quotes; Questions of Life and Religion; Biblical Benedictions and Blessings
Section 2 - Lectionary Resources for 2008 - Sermons, Illustrations; Congregational Music, Children's Sermons, Worship Aids
Section 3 - Resources for Preaching: Preaching Biblical Sermons - God's Word for God's World; Preaching the Sermon on the Mount - The Upside-Down Kingdom; Advent and Christmas Preaching - Personalities and Perspectives; Messages for Lent and Easter; Messages for Communion Services; Messages for Funerals and Bereavement; Messages for Evangelism and Missions
Section 4 - A Little Treasury of Sermon Illustrations
Contributors; Index of Contributors; Sermon Title Index; Index of Sermon Text; Index of Prayers; Index of Materials Useful as Children's Stories and Sermons; Index of Materials Useful for Small Groups; Topical Index; How to Use the CD-ROM
I have a number of conflicting thoughts on this collection. On one hand, there's a lot of good material here. The sermons are laid out week by week, complete with titles, reference text, illustrations, musical suggestions, children's sermons, and worship aids (suggested prayers). The teaching is solid, and a congregation would be well-fed if someone were to use this book as a roadmap for sermon topics. On the other hand, my Protestant, nondenominational background rebels a bit against that same structure. Using pre-written prayers feels empty and ritualized, and the sermons would/should be expanded beyond the core material here. Otherwise, I have the feeling that I'm following some scheduled, predefined set of actions that have no personality and feeling. Yeah, that sounds harsh and isn't the intent of the book, I know. But I'm more used to a pastor taking a passage and preaching on it over a series of sermons, not just bouncing around from topic to topic.
This could be a very good resource for small groups, however. The sermons are short enough to allow for basic examination of a passage, and then could be filled in with discussion and application. If someone was going to try and use the material here verbatim instead of as a starting point, then I don't know that I'd want to call that the entire Sunday experience. But with group interaction, you could go for quite awhile on each week's subject.
I'd be curious to see how actual pastors would view a book like this. The Minister's Manual has a long history, so it must be filling *some* role for them. In the churches I've gone to, this type of sermon selection would be the exception, not the rule. But I'm sure that other churches and denominations operate differently...
Even though I'm not a minister or pastor, the title intrigued me... The Minister's Manual 2008 Edition by Lee McGlone. It's a collection of sermons, illustrations, and other assorted preaching aids for the year of 2008. Knowing how my church works, I was curious as to whether these sermons were "guidelines" or actual sermons that could be used for a 30 minute message. Having read through the material, I think I have a better understanding...
Contents:
Section 1 - General Aids and Resources: Civil Year Calendars for 2008 and 2009; Church and Civic Calendar for 2008; The Revised Common Lectionary for 2008; Four-Year Church Calendar; Forty-Year Easter Calendar; Traditional Wedding Anniversary Identifications; Colors Appropriate for Days and Seasons; Flowers in Season Appropriate for Church Use; Quotable Quotes; Questions of Life and Religion; Biblical Benedictions and Blessings
Section 2 - Lectionary Resources for 2008 - Sermons, Illustrations; Congregational Music, Children's Sermons, Worship Aids
Section 3 - Resources for Preaching: Preaching Biblical Sermons - God's Word for God's World; Preaching the Sermon on the Mount - The Upside-Down Kingdom; Advent and Christmas Preaching - Personalities and Perspectives; Messages for Lent and Easter; Messages for Communion Services; Messages for Funerals and Bereavement; Messages for Evangelism and Missions
Section 4 - A Little Treasury of Sermon Illustrations
Contributors; Index of Contributors; Sermon Title Index; Index of Sermon Text; Index of Prayers; Index of Materials Useful as Children's Stories and Sermons; Index of Materials Useful for Small Groups; Topical Index; How to Use the CD-ROM
I have a number of conflicting thoughts on this collection. On one hand, there's a lot of good material here. The sermons are laid out week by week, complete with titles, reference text, illustrations, musical suggestions, children's sermons, and worship aids (suggested prayers). The teaching is solid, and a congregation would be well-fed if someone were to use this book as a roadmap for sermon topics. On the other hand, my Protestant, nondenominational background rebels a bit against that same structure. Using pre-written prayers feels empty and ritualized, and the sermons would/should be expanded beyond the core material here. Otherwise, I have the feeling that I'm following some scheduled, predefined set of actions that have no personality and feeling. Yeah, that sounds harsh and isn't the intent of the book, I know. But I'm more used to a pastor taking a passage and preaching on it over a series of sermons, not just bouncing around from topic to topic.
This could be a very good resource for small groups, however. The sermons are short enough to allow for basic examination of a passage, and then could be filled in with discussion and application. If someone was going to try and use the material here verbatim instead of as a starting point, then I don't know that I'd want to call that the entire Sunday experience. But with group interaction, you could go for quite awhile on each week's subject.
I'd be curious to see how actual pastors would view a book like this. The Minister's Manual has a long history, so it must be filling *some* role for them. In the churches I've gone to, this type of sermon selection would be the exception, not the rule. But I'm sure that other churches and denominations operate differently...