A Short Book Review by Yung Suk Kim
James Henry Harris is Professor and Chair of Preaching and Pastoral Theology at Virginia Union University and Senior Minister at the Second Baptist Church, both in Richmond, Virginia. His earlier works include The Forbidden Word (2012), The Word Made Plain (2004), and Preaching Liberation (1996).
In this book No Longer Bound, as the title implies, Harris freely engages the word of God in a still race-divided society where freedom is shackled, love is superficial, faith is idolatrous, and hope is groundless. He deftly combines the art of preaching with interpretation theory, ethics, and theology. Harris claims that preaching involves an act of love based on the love of God and the love of self and community.
This book asks what preaching is, why it matters, and how it can be holy and holistic in the preacher's community and beyond. I have never seen a book like this in the field of homiletics; this book has souls of preaching that engage everything. As Paul has a spirit of test, the preacher must test everything (1 Thess 5:21). The preacher is not bound to anything because of this responsibility; in fact, there is no boundary for the preacher because everything is a topic. Harris argues that everything must be tested and interpreted for the real people today in various communities. This book asks readers who they are as preachers, and it is a must-read for all who preach and teach scriptures.
