Ronald J. Allen, Preaching is Believing: The Sermon as Theological Reflection. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002. Softcover, 162 pages, $14.95. ISBN 0-664-22330-3

This fine book by Ron Allen is a healthy reminder to preachers that we are more than homiletical craftsmen; we are also to be theologians.

Allen, who is a professor of preaching and New Testament at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, uses the book to "urge preachers to give systematic theology a higher profile in preaching because systematic theology helps the congregation name what we believe and make coherent sense of life from the perspective of God so that the community can live and witness with integrity." In other words, theologically-attuned preaching helps congregations develop a Christian worldview.

The book is not itself a systematic theology; rather, it is a handbook which emphasizes theological method for preachers. As Allen asserts, "Week in and week out, the preacher who explicitly brings systematic theology into sermons has opportunities to help the congregation refine its capacity to interpret the world theologically."

Allen offers six reasons why preaching "needs to give systematic theology a high profile today:

"1. Systematic theology in preaching helps appropriately shape Christian community for today.

"2. Many people today are hungry for the holistic interpretation of life that systematic theology offers.

"3. Preaching systematic theology helps the church make sense of diverse theological claims.

"4. Preaching out of systematic theology helps pastor and congregation relate to the pluralism of postmodernity.

"5. Explicit theology in sermons is an antidote for theological illiteracy.

"6. Systematic theology helps the preacher honor the integrity of elements of the Bible and Christian tradition." (p. 21)

Recognizing the concern that people will be "bored to death" if preachers become too theological, the author cites Lyle Schaller, who "notices that congregations have a remarkable capacity to follow long and complex sermons when the content makes a vital connection with the experience of the congregation, when the language of the sermon is vivid, when the message moves so that the congregation can easily follow it, and when the preacher embodies the sermon in an engaging way."

Allen is not arguing that preaching should be rooted in theology as opposed to scripture. Rather, he believes we should "preach from the Bible, consciously and critically, through the lens of systematic theology." Thus, our interpretation and presentation of individual passages will be rooted in a wider theological foundation and understanding of God's truth.

While not arguing for it as an exclusive model, Allen does cite the value of some sermons which are centered "not in the exposition of a biblical passage but in an element of doctrine or systematic theology." Such sermons might grow out of affirmations of faith or doctrinal statements, such as the Apostles Creed. Most pastors will readily understand the value of such sermons from time to time, which deal with an issue or concern more broadly than may be possible from the exposition of a single biblical passage.