Customer Reviews

Sermon Maker, The

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This book is absolutely the best book on preaching I've read. It came at just the right time in my life, and tackled issues in my life that needed attention.

Calvin argues that good sermons don't come from just good preparation or homiletical practice. They come from a life well lived. "Great preaching only grows out of the soil of great lives." He tackles the issues of passion, the draining nature of pastoral work, and the preacher's pride. I plan on re-reading this book often.

If you've ever felt that something is missing in your preaching, but you couldn't quite put your finger on it, this book is for you.

At a recent conference I had opportunity to rub elbows with one of my favorite Christian authors--Calvin Miller. A long time pastor, educator and writer, Miller embodies many of the characteristics I want when I grow up to be a real preacher. One of the best things that Miller does is communicate. And he has a desire to see all preachers do that better and better. And so he has created some short volumes to inspire the pastor to be the best pastor he can be. This is the first of those volumes.


One of the great things about reading Miller is that you never know what you're going to get--much like Forest Gump's proverbial box of chocolates. Within the 150 or so pages of this book you will encounter the fictional story of Sam, the beleaguered pastor who is rediscovering how his call to preach can take him beyond the typical mundanity (I know, I know: not a word) of three points and a poem cleverly alliterated for ease in memorization. Sam inspires the minister to re-visit his calling and so refresh his exposition.


The story of Sam is worth the price of admission in and of itself, especially as he interacts with Sermoniel the Angel of Homiletics. But Miller throws in commentary that allows the reader to dive deeper into the why of preaching via the story pattern. And the author puts a cherry on top of his sweet volume by including scholarly endnotes, if only to prove that he did his homework in the writing.


I must admit, I almost passed up this book because of the unorthodox packaging - story on the right-hand page, commentary on the left, with notes at the end of the book - but once I got into the reading, I found it wasn't distracting at all. I also found that this design allowed to read just the story for continuity's sake; just the commentary for clarification; or combine the reading to see how each relates to the other.


My recommendation for this book goes out to pastors who are caught in the grind of weekly cranking out lackluster sermons, to those who are looking for a new take on the old art of sermon-writing that will bring life back to their pulpit ministry, or to ministers who find themselves being weighed down by the monotony of taking on their own "Emma Johnsons" week after week. If you'd like to see your pastor revive the life in his sermons, you might consider gifting him this book.


5 out of 5 reading glasses.


--Benjamin Potter, May 25, 2010

This is one of those books I need to read during seminary although I probably wouldn't have received it's greatness at the time. It is a book I wish I'd read my first week as a pastor, although I probably wouldn't have received it's greatness at the time. But, now that I've pastored a short piece, I'm glad I bought this book and I will read it again! Calvin Miller helps make pastors aware of the gap between a cognitive grasp of preaching and the real world of Sunday through Monday ministry. Highly recommended reading for pastor's and those who teach preaching!

If you're a pastor or in ministry this is a wonderful read. You won't regret your purchase! I read it in one night, short, engaging, thought provoking, valid... buy it, read it.

Calvin Miller's "Sermon Maker" is a strange little book. It consists of two decidedly different, though related, parts. On the odd numbered pages is a fictional account of a preacher, who receives unsolicited preaching assistance from an angel. On the even numbered pages are extensive footnotes, so extensive that they would have been overwhelming in footnote form, so they are simply shifted to the left-hand page. At first, I tried reading the notes as they were notated in the story, but this was ultimately too jarring to the flow of the story. So, (as Miller gives permission in the introduction), I read the entire account on the odd numbered pages and then went back to read all of the notes on the even numbered pages. Though this removed the notes from their context in the story, it seemed like the more manageable approach to leave some continuity to the story.

Since the book is essentially two separate pieces, I'll review them separately. Frankly, the story was very disappointing to me. Though attempting to utilize the engaging narrative style of Andy Stanley and Patrick Lencioni's books, Miller doesn't quite pull it off. The dialogue seemed contrived. The interactions between the preacher and his congregants were unrealistic and caricatured. And the humor felt forced and even inappropriate at times (when Miller was taking jabs at the pastor's congregants). I just wasn't drawn into the story.

The notes on the opposite pages from the story were more helpful. However, as notes, they were very random and disconnected to read straight through. The notes really functioned as a series of bullet points, with some nuggets of wisdom for preachers of all stripes. However, even many of these notes that contained solid content were not especially original. The character of a preacher matters. Sermons need to remain tied to the Scriptures. Preachers need to have a close relationship with God to preach meaningful sermons. It is unacceptable for sermons to be boring. These paraphrased nuggets are certainly true, but the format of the notes did not offer Miller the space to expound on them to say anything especially unique.

Ultimately, I wouldn't say that this book is a total loss. I've just read other preaching books that were much more challenging and inspiring to me. To provide vision for the purpose of preaching, I prefer Stanley's "Communicating for Change." To provide tips, tools, and techniques, I prefer Galli and Larson's "Preaching That Connects." To provide a challenge to preach from a deep relationship with God, I prefer Shriver's "Nobody's Perfect But You Have To Be." Miller touches on some good stuff in "The Sermon Maker," but the format and the execution left me wanting significantly more.