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King Came Preaching: The Pulpit Power of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

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This is a must-read even for the lay-person interested in responsible, insightful scholarship concerning the formation and genius of Dr M. L. King, Jr.

As an admirer of great Black preaching, I cannot thank Dr. Warren enough for penning this essential window into the mind of a figure often trivialized and simplified into an all-purpose, harmless icon. Dr. King really did come preaching. This book puts him in the proper perspective as part of a long line of intellectual and oratorical tradition, while pointing out the uniqueness of his gifts.

Before you pick up "King Came Preaching", remember that it seems more of a study of responsible ministry than a recruiting tract pamphlet. Because of this fact, Dr. Warren makes the benefits of his scholarship accessible to others than just Evangelical Christians. Dr. Gardner Taylor, Dr. James Cone, Dr. William Jones, Bishop Vashti McKenzie, Minister Louis Farrakhan and others are proof that there's more than one way to skin the devil!

Ministers, Professors, lay persons and the just-plain curious would all do well to share in this intimate but intelligent look at one of history's most misunderstood figures.

I read this book because I wanted to gain insight to what type of theologian Dr. Martin Luther King was. After reading this book, I came away with the impression that the author of this work, Dr. Mervyn A. Warren is not one should learn theology from. He may be a professor of Hermeneutics, but his application of scripture are aimed toward improving society at the expense of ones life after death. His theme of this book is that King preached for social justice. This is not a surprise to anyone. It is only a problem when the gospel of Jesus Christ is excluded. No where in this book are arguments how Dr. King Jr. handled topics such as every man's need for repentance, and the acceptance of Jesus as Savior. Never is it stated that Dr. King never preached on this topic or other topics based on other theology, but he does state the pulpit should be used to mobilize social change. Dr. Mervyn A. Warren argues that Dr. King Jr. and Walter Raushenbush would agree on this statement:

"If a minister uses great teaching method of the pulpit sanely and wisely to open the moral importance of the social questions, he may be the utmost usefulness."

"utmost usefulness" to what is the question I ask myself. The upmost usefulness to bring on social change. yeah, I agree the pulpit should bring new direction to an individuals life. Christians being a creation should seek to do good. But if he is arguing the "utmost usefulness" for the pulpit is to bring social justice or to organize the congregation to better this world I disagree. Dr. A. Warren strongly argues for the pulpit to be used to mobilize its listeners for social involvement. The author belittles sin and the need for men to repent to their creator. He speaks of a black theology and mocks a black Pastor who disagrees with him on this topic.