Читать книгу A Positive Word for Christian Lamenting - William Powell Tuck - Страница 3

PRAISE FOR A POSITIVE WORD FOR CHRISTIAN LAMENTING

William Tuck’s A Positive Word for Christian Lamenting is an eminently practical work of pastoral theology, drawing on his years of preaching experience and pastoral service. I would especially recommend it for one who is new to pastoral ministry. Each “first funeral,” for one late in life, for suicide or disease or accident or early in life, can be a frightening endeavor. This volume is filled with examples of funeral sermons for just such occasions. Reading it is like sitting with the author for personal consultation. The preface alone is worth purchasing the book! There are other books on the funeral as an industry and as a concept, but if the reader’s questions is, “What do I say?” this is the place to find an answer.

Rev. Dr. David Moffett-Moore, Sr.

Pastor for Portage United Church of Christ, Portage MI, author of The Jesus Manifesto: A Participatory Study Guide to the Sermon on the Mount and Wind and Whirlwind: Being a Pastor in a Storm of Change

From years of rich pastoral experience comes a book of twenty-six homilies addressing a wide variety of losses including a difficult murder and suicide, the death of a child, a death at Christmas time, and the losses of his own mother and father. Tuck well exceeds his stated goal of assisting in the grieving process and celebrating life. His homilies are full of grace, creativity, and solid biblical exegesis. While many books on funerals offer good generic material, I have found none that speak to such a wide range of losses with such insight and sensitivity. This is a book not only for ministers but for all of those who would like to better understand their own grief and better understand how to stand with others who grieve. It is indeed a positive and most instructive word for Christian lamenting.

Dr. Ronald Higdon

Pastor Emeritus Broadway Baptist Church, Louisville, KY and author of Surviving a Son’s Suicide and In Changing Times: A Guide for Reflection and Celebration

Everybody, sooner or later, will walk through the darkest valley – the valley of the shadow of death. And every pastor, sooner or later, will stand before family and friends to offer a message that incorporates aspects of the deceased’s life and accentuates the Resurrection. Sometimes the pastor isn’t sure how to say what needs to be said. I know first-hand. As a second-year seminary student serving a student pastorate I was informed of the completed suicide of a parishioner. Unsure of myself and how to approach the funeral I went to my preaching professor, Bill Tuck, who took the time to help me so I could be of help in that situation – especially the funeral. Now, more than 35 years later, my mentor – a seasoned author-pastor-preacher-teacher-theologian – presents a wonderful gift that offers exceptional insight on how to speak a word about the person and incorporate a faithful proclamation of the Gospel in the same setting. In A Positive Word for Christian Lamenting, Tuck provides 26 unique homilies addressing various situations and circumstances surrounding death. Not only is Tuck’s work a must for pastors and professional care-givers, it is a good resource for anybody who has walked or is walking or will walk through the darkest valley. Sooner or later it will happen if it hasn’t already. And Bill Tuck’s book enables a mourner to engage a lament that is positively Christian.

Dr. Jimmy Gentry

Senior Pastor, Garden Lakes Baptist Church, Rome, GA