Book Review: Always a Guest

 Information about the book

Barbara Brown Taylor. Always a Guest: Speaking of Faith far From Home. Westminster John Knox Press. Louisvlle, Kentucky. 2020. (Cokesbury / Amazon)

Summary

From Amazon's description: From beloved writer and renowned preacher Barbara Brown Taylor comes a new collection of stories and sermons of faith, grace, and hope. Taylor, author of the best-selling books Holy Envy and An Altar in the World, among others, finds that when you are the invited guest speaking of faith to people you don't know, one must seek common ground: exploring the central human experience. Full of Taylor's astute observations on the Spirit and the state of the world along with her gentle wit, this collection will inspire Taylor’s fans and preachers alike as she explores faith in all its beauty and complexity.

Impressions

Our Foundation sends books to donors and other friends every year as Christmas gifts.  This book was one of those Christmas gifts, and I just "got around' to reading it. The title comes from the reality that after Taylor left parish ministry 22 years ago, she has always been a guest preacher. Right away, I could relate to the book - any time I preach, I am a guest preacher.

The book is a collection of 31 sermons, delivered at different churches, seminaries, or conferences. Each sermon starts with a short scripture passage and then continues with the manuscript of the sermon. I found it interesting to start my reading by checking at the end of the sermon for when and where it was delivered.  I decided to read this book one sermon at a time.  Each day for the past 30 days, I have read one sermon, moving through the book. It took me 30 days because I read two sermons (the last two sermons) today.

This is one of those books where every page, every chapter, brings unknown-before-now ah ha moments. It's the best kind of book to read.  My copy is now riddled with highlighter, I used a section during a presentation I made a month ago, and I marked a particular sermon in my colleague's copy of the book so that he would read it. Taylor takes each scripture and brings out new revelations - new thoughts - new perspectives.  Her sermons rarely take the usual approach to a scripture - they are fresh and inspiring.

I loved this book. I highly recommend it. It's wonderful and full of wonder.

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