Preaching to a Divided Nation

What an excellent resource this book is ! Hoffman and Kim have provided an excellent body of research and personal experience. Many topics covered which I had never thought of . . . this book will help you in preaching and in living out the Gospel ! I have experienced personally the multi church prayer meeting model with Paul - he is an superior prayer leader and energetic leader. You will be blessed as you read and apply these principles ! Take thou authority and PREACH !

Back in April, I was blessed with a pre-release copy of this book and have been eagerly anticipating its release. The turmoil of our day is leaching into the church and causing divisions in the pews from Christians who are at odds with each other and silence in the pulpits from preachers who struggle to keep everyone happy (and keep their jobs).Kim and Hoffman have put together a guide for thoughtful and healing preaching in our day. The book is full of advice, examples, and discussion questions which would be excellent for a small group of preachers.

As a country Pastor I was a bit hesitant when I first opened this book. Thinking to myself as to how will this help me in my little congregation, my skepticism was a bit dominant at that moment. As I gradually went form chapter to chapter I came to realize that there is a divide in every church. Even though the small community operates somewhat isolated from the larger populated areas of our nation, there are still divides that take place.This book is a good guide with practical examples in the Appendixes.Recommended for Pastors of all levels of experrience.

Preaching to a Divided Nation provides a resource for preachers to begin considering how to address our divided congregations. More resources like this are needed. In the introduction, Kim and Hoffman state that their goal is to “provide some guidance, skills, and tools for those bumping along with us.” They most certainly achieve their goals, yet the reader will still find the task very bumpy. Much more guidance, skills, prayer, and empowerment from the Holy Spirit are needed to help us in our “promoting reconciliation and unity” from the pulpit and by our lives.The authors start chapter one with an immediate challenge to politically conservative and theologically conservative preachers with a quote from Raphael Warnock. If the quote weren’t coming from a progressive democrat and theologian, most readers would happily receive it. However, knowing who speaks the quote immediately makes the conservative reader confront himself with his own divided heart. Kim and Hoffman provide numerous challenges like this to both sides of the theological and political spectrum throughout the book, even daring to include a challenging appendix on CRT.A large portion of the book addresses what more well-read and experienced preachers will recognize as Evangelical basics of theology and preaching. Within the basics, helpful tidbits focus on preaching to a divided nation are mixed in. Newer preachers, and those who haven’t read many other basics of preaching books, should find these chapters especially helpful in crafting sermons of all types. However, the well-read preacher will likely want to skim over much of the fundamental advice in search of the aspects unique to this book.The reader might find themselves wondering how to practically deliver a sermon based on the guidance given throughout the chapters. Despite much information in the chapters, some will struggle to picture what a completed sermon would look like or how it would differ from any other Biblically based sermon. Thankfully, the authors have included an appendix with six short sample sermons that make all the principles advised in the book much clearer.Many preachers who are bumping along and longing for help in preaching to our divided congregations, in this divided nation, will find Kim and Hoffman good companions on this bumpy ride we are all experiencing together.

How can preachers speak to the splits in our society? In Preaching to a Divided Nation, Matthew D. Kim and Paul A. Hoffman present a seven-step model for promoting reconciliation and unity.Restoration and ReconciliationKim and Hoffman readily admit that the United States aren’t as united as we claim to be. In regards to the actual divisions in our nation, ethnocentrism, widening gaps between economic classes, sex and gender issues, and our toxic political environment are at the forefront of their minds. These issues have infiltrated the church, causing harm to God’s people. Those who herald God’s word can bring healing and hope, restoring and reconciling relationships.The seven steps are explained with examples throughout the book, and are as follows: (1) Theological, (2) contextual, (3) personal, (4) positional, (5) methodological, (6) practical, and (7) categorical. Looking at biblical texts with this framework in mind helps the expositor understand and examine what the Bible has to say to our modern issues of cultural brokenness today.Deep and Diverse RelationshipsStep 1, the theological step, looks at the entire arc of scripture through the lens of a reconciling narrative. This calls for a robust view of sin, considering how sin can be active and passive, individual and social. We preach Christ crucified, and his reconciling work reaches both to God and towards man. The four -isms of ethnocentrism, classism, sexism, and partisanism must come to terms with the four great equalizers of the imago Dei, human sinfulness, the vast atoning love of Jesus Christ, and the final judgment.Seeing scripture in this way prepares the preacher for the contextual step in the framework. The preacher is challenged to develop and employ in himself as well as his congregation multiple intelligences, including cultural intelligence, emotional intelligence, and historical intelligence. As an Asian American preacher, I was challenged to This would encourage an Asian American preacher to build deep relationships in a covenant community (live life together with and amongst the congregation) and also cultivate diverse relationships outside fo my own Asian American church.How Change OccursThe book takes an interesting turn in Chapter 4 with a quick study on how change actually occurs. Churches are already positioned based on their theological training and denominational tradition. True conviction comes from the Holy Spirit, and the preacher needs to see himself as a conduit of truth. Churches can still take practical steps together toward cultural change, including becoming more diverse or more socially engaged.I found Chapter 5 to be most helpful as it detailed core, shared foundations of the faith. Preachers can speak to shared doctrines, shared identity, shared mission, and shared experiences. Empathy can be achieved while cultivating humility, kindness, and charity in the congregation.One in Christ JesusChapter 6 details pre-, mid-, and post-sermon practices for the preacher. What I found most empowering was to see the different ways a sermon can be purposed, including informing perspectives, providing pastoral care, promoting peace/reconciliation/unity, persuade, and form affections. Preachers must do the hard work of examining the divisions and biases in their own congregation, meeting their needs by giving them the gospel.The book concludes by providing key texts on biblical themes of classism, ethnocentrism, political divisions, reconciliation, sexism, and unity. After reading this book, I am better convinced that the Bible speaks to our current cultural moment. I am equipped and challenged to preach for greater unity amongst God’s people. And I am hopeful that those who are bonded by the blood of Christ can see that there is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; since we are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28).I received a media copy of Preaching to a Divided Nation and this is my honest review.

This is an excellent resource for apprentice pastors as well as seasoned! I highly recommend this book to all my colleagues in pastoral ministry especially in the preaching task!Pastor Michael Wayne Glidden