Will Power

I'm not a huge fan of printed sermons, especially sermon collections, but here on the cusp of another annual conference I spent some time perusing The Collected Sermons of William H. Willimon.  As one might expect, this is a large book, and Willimon seems to have a lot to say.  He also says it well.

Willimon is now bishop of the Alabama Conference (UM Church) but our paths crossed when I was a student at Duke Divinity (1982-1985).  Willimon ended up spending 20 years as Dean of the Chapel, while also teaching courses in the Div School and serving as chaplain to the university.  He also seemed to enjoy hanging out with Stanley Hauerwas, and I recall reading some years back that their collaborative effort, Resident Aliens, was the all-time best-selling book that Abingdon ever published.  Back then, that was 50,000 copies--which just goes to show that a "best-seller" in the religion market is nothing like a best-seller at a major New York firm, which could be in the millions of copies.

Ah, but Bishop Will . . . I want to thank him for agreeing to write an essay for my book, The Ultimate Christian Living, which was published last year.  This small collaborative effort was completed via online and phone conversation, and Willimon seems to be accessible in his episcopal role.  At least he's always eager to write something.  And as one of his relatives once said, "He's never had an unpublished thought."

There are enough sermons here from Willimon's two congregational appointments (yes, only two!), his years at Duke, and his episcopal addresses to keep a pastor ensconced in words for weeks.  But it's not a bad read as far as books of sermons are concerned.  Too bad there's not a CD.  A sermon is really an auditory affair.  If I had to collect my sermons, I couldn't do it.  I never write them down.  Willimon, on the other hand, seems to write in his sleep.