{"product_id":"some-of-the-words-are-theirs-the-art-of-writing-and-living-a-sermon-9780802884220","title":"Some of the Words Are Theirs: The Art of Writing and Living a Sermon","description":"\u003cb\u003eA wise and lyrical encounter with the distinctive work of a pastor, \u003ci\u003eSome of the Words Are Theirs\u003c\/i\u003e reveals the beating heart of a life measured not just in years lived, but in sermons preached.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Given the stiff competition in today's attention economy, many pastors feel pressured to make their sermons strikingly original. But Austin Carty, a longtime pastor and award-winning writer, has a different perspective: nothing we do or say is ever truly new. The power of a sermon is found not in novelty, but in the mandate it gives preachers to collect their thoughts every week and put them down in a succinct, coherent fashion. Seen this way, sermon writing is a built-in answer to the distinctly human quandary of making meaning from the stuff of our lives. As Carty puts it, \"This is the unique gift of preaching. While all writers are blessed by self-discovery, preachers are the most blessed writers of all--for we have a deadline for self-discovery each Sunday.\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In \u003ci\u003eSome of the Words Are Theirs: The Art of Writing and Living a Sermon\u003c\/i\u003e, Carty offers a masterclass in sermon writing that also explores the \"why\" driving this vocation. In so doing, he discovers how often his own sermons have been an exercise in trying to make sense of his own past, and how much autobiography lies beneath the themes he has been preaching throughout his pastoral career. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Ultimately, Carty shows how careful attention to the craft of writing a sermon--like careful attention to living a meaningful life--leads to greater self-awareness and humility. The Holy Spirit can use a preacher's words and life in ways he or she never could have anticipated. A beautifully woven tapestry of homiletical instruction and memoir, \u003ci\u003eSome of the Words Are Theirs\u003c\/i\u003e will appeal to readers of Annie Dillard's \u003ci\u003eThe Writing Life \u003c\/i\u003eand Anne Lamott's \u003ci\u003eBird by Bird\u003c\/i\u003e, and to seminarians and pastors who yearn for a more holistic understanding of the craft of sermon writing.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAustin Carty \u003c\/b\u003eis pastor of Boulevard Baptist Church in Anderson, South Carolina. He holds an MDiv from Wake Forest University and a DMin from Emory University. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eHigh Points and Lows: Life, Faith, and Figuring It All Out \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eThe Pastor's Bookshelf: Why Reading Matters for Ministry\u003c\/i\u003e, which received the 2023 \u003ci\u003eChristianity Today\u003c\/i\u003e Award of Merit and was named Book of the Year by \u003ci\u003ePreaching\u003c\/i\u003e magazine.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51500489212178,"sku":"9780802884220","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_8692c2c6-cfa1-4350-999c-0034d402f252.jpg?v=1753194201","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/some-of-the-words-are-theirs-the-art-of-writing-and-living-a-sermon-9780802884220","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}