Dr. Fred Craddock

Disappointed. I was expecting greater detail. The book reads as though the author is simply recollecting a few facts from his past, without helping the reader understand their importance or relevance.

Like many others who were born during the Great Depression, life was tough in the Craddock house. OK, I'm sorry about that. It's good to know that Craddock went on to become a great preacher of the Disciples of Christ, and a seminary professor - but that's not part of the book.

A short book. No graphics. No index. Little value.… (mais)

Fred B. Craddock. Reflections on My Call to Preach: Connecting the Dots. St. Louis, MO: Chalice Press, 2009. 117 pp. $19.99.

Fred Craddock is the Bandy Distinguished Professor of Preaching and New Testament, Emeritus, in the Candler School of Theology at Emory University. He is an ordained minister of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the founder of Cherry Log Christian Church. He has written numerous books including As One Without Authority (1971), Overhearing the Gospel (1978), Preaching (1985), Cherry Log Sermons (2001) and Craddock Stories (2001). He has delivered the Lyman Beecher Lectures (Yale) and the Cole Lectures (Vanderbilt) among many others. Dr. Craddock is one of the most influential preachers in the English-speaking world.

In his latest work, Craddock tackles perhaps preaching's most intimate issue: the call to preach. He opens the door to his own experience which is far from the Damascus Road and he nowhere implies his is normative for all. Craddock closes the book the way he opens it: 'God called' and 'I decided' are two sides of the same coin.

The autobiography reads not as a work of historical research, but of a front porch conversation. It is a book of written memories. For those who have sat at Craddock's feet before, many of the stories shared will also be an experience of remembrance.

We learn Craddock's name was derived from a book entitled Fred Brenning by Timothy Trimmer (1877) and how he went by 'Brenning' at school and 'Bud' at home, only to change it to Fred in a college registration line. We stand praying in the winter cold with Ethel as she prays for Fred as he lays dying of diphtheria in 1928 (later he would contract malaria). We meet influences such as Nicey Rounds and the people of Central Avenue Christian Church of Humboldt, Tennessee. Brenning briefly unfolds the example his father set for him as a storyteller: 'I hope I never see again what I saw today...' We stand with Craddock, the seminary student, who visits his dying father to hear him confess, 'I was wrong.'

The reader is introduced to Fred's siblings: Frieda, Walter, Alvin and Roland. We learn of Ethel's hospitality and how this further created cramped living space. Where else to escape but to interior space? Readers hear the lies of a grade school kid attempting to fit in with wealthier classmates. Social changes later came when Craddock punched the school bully. Before graduating high school as valedictorian in 1946 Fred served as class president, quarterback of the football team and competed in the 100-yard dash. More importantly, he lost his prejudice against the prosperous.

Miss Jane (who later became grandmother to Peyton and Eli Manning) impacted young Brenning in Sunday school, while numerous older ministers influenced Craddock at both church and Bethany Hills summer camp. Fred would come to choose Johnson Bible College (TN) as his place of study and Nettie Lee Dungan as his bride. Throughout these details our esteemed preacher perceives the hand of God upon his life and how he was gently moved toward the pulpit.

One need not be a minister to enjoy the story of America's favorite preacher. The insights and wisdom alone are worth the read. His ability to help the listener experience poverty and pain are as good as any you will come across.

P.S. I thank my God for the ministry of Fred Craddock. He has shaped my thinking and ministry for the better. I am grateful to my homiletics professor, Jim Johnson, who first led me to Craddock's feet.

Thankfully,
A Ramey… (mais)