Secrets in the Dark: A Life in Sermons [Paperback]

Frederick Buechner (Author), Brian D. McLaren (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 13, 2007

Frederick Buechner has long been a kindred spirit to those who find elements of doubt as constant companions on their journey of faith. He is a passionate writer and preacher who can alter lives with a simple phrase.

Buechner's words, both written and spoken, have the power to revolutionize and revitalize belief and faith. He reveals the presence of God in the midst of daily life. He faces and embraces difficult questions and doubt as essential components of our lives, rather than as enemies that destroy us. "Listen to your life!" is his clarion call. This theme pervades this definitive collection of sermons, delivered throughout Buechner's lifetime. Presented chronologically, they provide a clear picture of the development of his theology and thinking. Reflecting Buechner's exquisite gift for storytelling and his compassionate pastor's heart, Secrets in the Dark will inspire laughter, hope, and bring great solace. Turn the pages and rediscover what it means to be thoughtful about faith. See why this renowned writer has been quoted in countless pulpits and beloved by Americans for generations.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Novelist and Christian writer Buechner (Brendan; The Alphabet of Grace) delivered a number of memorable sermons in more than four decades of service as a Presbyterian minister. This collection contains 37 of them, all featuring the intricate stories, fascinating connections and personal touches that are Buechner's signature. By presenting them chronologically, the evolution of his favorite themes of listening to your dreams, finding your calling and the importance of home are evident. Most touching are the sermons directed at youthful audiences (Buechner was a chaplain at two private boys' schools), such as "The Calling of Voices," in which he pleads with young people to pay attention to the deep gladness in their lives, following it to their life's vocation. For instruction on how to read the Bible, readers should turn to "Love," which recommends that the rule of love, found in the "great commandment" (Matthew 22:36–38), be used as a guide for biblical interpretation and perspective. In "Faith and Fiction," Buechner considers what it means to be a saint—not one who necessarily lives an exemplary life, but who is a "life-giver." Many of these sermons have been published elsewhere, but bound together, they become an elegant and life-giving memoir. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

“...his work is a revelation...Here Buechner’s storytelling abilities and eye for detail are at their best.” (The Lutheran )

“[Buechner] eloquently explores the beauty of language, the joy and pain of being human...and the hope of the Gospel.” (Dallas Morning News )

“A poignant, practical, deeply philosophical, and powerful work. Highly recommended.” (Library Journal )

“Buechner uses words with such transformative power that any comment on them is like the moon palely reflecting the sun.” (Walter Brueggemann, author of The Prophetic Imagination )

“Buechner is one of our best worker of words. Now, in this fine collection, we’ve got the best of Buechner.” (William H. Willimon, Bishop, North Alabama Conference, The United Methodist Church, author of Sinning Like a Christian )

“The topography of Buechner’s world is beautifully mapped by this set of self-revealing sermons and essays.” (J. I. Packer, author of Knowing God )

“Brilliant…overflowing with images and questions and honesty and insights that will haunt you for days.” (Rob Bell, pastor of Mars Hill, author of Velvet Elvis )

“One of the most insightful spiritual writers of our age... - a must for Buechner’s many fans.” (Kansas City Star )

“This collection of sermons will refresh your soul. I highly recommend this book for your enjoyment and inspiration.” (Canadian Mennonite )

“An elegant and life-giving memoir.” (Publishers Weekly (starred review) )

“[A book] that will inspire or challenge you.” (Chicago Sun Times )

“Buechner eloquently explores the beauty of language, the joy and pain of being human, and the hope of the Gospel.” (Houston Chronicle )

“He has the rare gift of taking biblical text and helping us to see it [...] in a completely new way.” (Lexington Herald Leader )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: HarperOne (March 13, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061146617
• ISBN-13: 978-0061146619
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #215,384 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #56 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Protestantism > Presbyterian

More About the Author

Frederick Buechner is the popular author of such nonfiction titles as Telling the Truth, Wishful Thinking, and Peculiar Treasures. The New York Times Book Review described his recently published memoir, The Sacred Journey, as a "beautifully successful experiment." In addition to The Final Beast, which was originally published in 1965, Mr. Buechner is the author of ten other novels, including the bestselling A Long Day's Dying and, most recently, Godric. He makes his home in Rupert, Vermont.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

119 of 122 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Appealingly Honest and Relevantly Skillful, February 17, 2006

By 

JAD (The Sunshine State) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Secrets in the Dark: A Life in Sermons (Hardcover)

Here is a new and noteworthy collection of sermons by one of our most celebrated Christian apologists, Frederick Buechner. Ranging from sermons delivered in the 1950s to the late 1990s, this anthology lives up to its subtitle, presenting a half-century's worth of thinking aloud about the Christian way. Buechner, who has described himself as a part-time Christian and a part-time novelist, offers the reader many windows into the oftentimes hidden world of Christian truth.

The collection begins with a sermon called "The Magnificent Defeat" concentrating upon the all-night wrestling match between Jacob and God at the ford of the Jabbok. The encounter leaves Jacob crippled and helpless but as Buechner describes it, in the end Jacob sees "something more terrible than the face of death-the face of love." (Page 7). Thanks to Buechner's vantage-point, one can sense authentic surprise, like that the original Phillips Exeter Academy student-congregation must have felt at hearing the news that out of defeat can come blessing.

Herein the reader will find one of Buechner's best-loved sermons, "A Room Called Remember" and many apt observations that will inspire further contemplation and study. In all of these sermons, the reader is invited to notice that "The Kingdom of Heaven is only twenty minutes down the road, for Christ's sake." (Page 153). One of the most poignant passages in the book is in the intensely personal "The Longing for Home". As Buechner reminisces about sense of security he found as a child, in his grandparents' house on Woodland Road in Pittsburgh, we identify with the feelings of homesickness and yearning that lead the seeking soul into God's presence.

There is a breathtaking sweep of subjects here, ranging from the existence of God and the importance of being kind, to AIDS, terrorism and nuclear war. In "Faith and Fiction", Buechner explores the truth in Biblical and other texts creatively, and offers a beautifully descriptive paragraph-long definition of faith, culminating: "Faith is homesickness. Faith is a lump in the throat. Faith is less a position on than a movement toward, less a sure thing than a hunch. Faith is waiting. Faith is journeying through space and time". He champions Charles Dickens as well as the influence of Leo Tolstoy and Anthony Trollope, about whose similarity to God's interaction with us, Buechner says, "Be still the way (they are) still, so your characters can speak for themselves and come alive in their own way". (Pages 173 & 174).

Buechner's words draw us into an alternative, need we say better, world-view, which may best be described by Buechner: "Power, success, happiness, as the world knows them, are his who will fight for them hard enough; but peace, love, joy are only from God." (page 7)

Frederick Buechner is an ordained Presbyterian minister and the acclaimed author of more than twenty-five books. A graduate of Princeton University (1947) and Union Theological Seminary (1958), Buechner served for a time with his mentor George Buttrick at Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church, where, as he has said, "My job...was to present the faith as appealingly, honestly, relevantly and skillfully as I could." He continues to do this, brilliantly, in Secrets in the Dark. Buechner's Nobel lectures delivered at Harvard in 1969 were published as The Alphabet of Grace, and his Lyman Beecher Lectures of Yale became Telling the Truth (1977). This new collection is sure to become a Buechner best seller.

If you find this review helpful you might want to read some of my other reviews, including those on subjects ranging from biography to architecture, as well as religion and fiction.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Secrets in the Dark: A Life in Sermons, February 17, 2007

By 

Wm A. Kachadorian - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Secrets in the Dark: A Life in Sermons (Hardcover)

I believe that this collection of sermons by Fredrerick Buechner is profoundly rich in sensitivity and wisdom, proclaiming without a hint of judgment and with authentic humility and integrity, the good and reassuring news of God's mysterious and redeeming presence in this world, including to believers, non-believers, non-believers-who-wish-they-could believe, and the indifferent.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Secrets in the dark, July 3, 2007

By 

Abigail Elrod - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Secrets in the Dark: A Life in Sermons (Hardcover)

Frederick Buechner is a warm, loving, witty, intellectual whom I greatly admire. After reading this book I have grown even fonder of him and I like to think grown in my faith a great deal too. It was my church service every morning. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone and everyone. I loved it.