Fortress Press

In a day when many wonder if preaching is little more than a solo performance of self meant to build a platform of personal followers, Dr. Jennifer Ackerman offers us a call, instruction, and demonstration of preaching at its most communal, transformative, collaborative, embodied, and proclamatory. It breathes the gospel. It exudes good news. It teaches skills and gives instructions that are often neglected. Best of all, it practices what it "preaches." In Psalm 85, truth, love, justice, and peace all come together in one lyrical affirmation. This book gives us a glimpse of what that kind of preaching could be, and hope that we preachers can learn to offer it. It is a celebration of what a community of proclamation and demonstration can form in both preachers and their congregants.

From her lived experience as practitioner and professor, Ackerman provides a timely call to proclaim the gospel of God made known in Jesus Christ. Translating it for the twenty-first century as "justice," Ackerman recovers the biblical testimony to the inbreaking of the kingdom of God. Preaching the Gospel of Justice gleans from Ackerman's real-life pastoral experiences, offering much-needed good news in a culture in trauma. Reminding preachers that their task requires intentionality, inquiry, and innovation that hold fast to the biblical witness to God's promises, this book exemplifies how sermons need to be practical, prophetic, and provocative.

Jennifer Ackerman writes as a practitioner: not in an ivory tower, but from pulpits, streets, and around coffee tables. She is a prophetic preacher who, through the Micah Group, has engaged preachers across diverse social and ethnic backgrounds living with the questions in this book: How can we preach the whole good news of God's justice without getting fired or burned out in a society that has whittled the gospel into a self-help meme? I'm a more grounded preacher for having met Jennifer and the preacher friends she introduced me to through the Micah Group. In this book, you are welcoming a preacher, a leader, and a friend who will accompany you on your journey of prophetic faithfulness.

In this brief, accessible, and multilayered resource, Jennifer Ackerman offers an inviting menu of food for thought for preachers: solid homiletics, ideas for spiritual practices, and provocative glimpses into the preaching art from varied and insightful voices. I came away refreshed and inspired to examine and reinvigorate my approach to sharing the good news.

Whether you are new to pulpit ministry or have a well-worn path to the pulpit from throughout your ministry life, Dr. Ackerman has given the church a timely gift with this fresh and insightful text. She writes from her embodied ministerial life, as well as reaching across the width of the body of Christ to the margins to rediscover a vision for a preaching ministry centered on the gospel of justice. She gives a compelling vision of the art of homiletics coupled with some practical considerations in preparing a sermon (praxis). She rightfully includes sermons as illustrations for her vision. I highly recommend this book!