Forward

There is in every person that which waits, waits, waits and listens for the sound of the genuine in herself.  There is that in every person that waits – waits and listens – for the sound of the genuine in other people.  And when these two sounds come together, this is the music God heard when God said, ‘let us make humankind in our image.’”^[1]

The world ever stands in need of good preaching.  In this gem of a book two ministers – one a fledgling preacher, the other a seasoned pastor, both of whose hearts hunger for God – take us on a melodic journey through fifteen years of sermonic inspiration, social engagement, self-discovery and disclosure.  The sacred saturates every page.

I first met Karen Schlack less than two years ago when she served on the Presidential search committee for Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary.  Hers was an attentive and inviting presence then.  At present a member of our President’s Roundtable, she remains so still.  This year, I was honored to spend time with celebrated pastor emeritus F. Morgan Roberts.  I look forward to doing so again. 

Reflecting on my own years of formation, I found a deep resonance with many of the experiences and insights shared by Karen and Morgan.  By Heart: A Journey in Preaching and Mentoring, is a compact tome and substantial testimony.  It offers the reader-listener a litany of biblical, theological and ethical insight, harmonic language and homiletical wisdom. 

The stories shared about sermon preparation and mentoring response accompany life’s passages for the two authors.  Their stories intersect at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary as student and esteemed staff member.  It is a covenantal relationship that continued to flourish cross country, through weekly emails, by phone and more.  We journey with them chapter by chapter, through techniques of sermon preparation and delivery, out into the daily walk of life. 

More than a manual on preaching, Karen and Morgan present a thoughtful and captivating dialogue that grapples with the dilemmas, contradictions, and joys of the preaching moment. Creating what they have called the “mentoring room,” in which the give and take of insights is shared, they faithfully discuss a range of issues from preaching without a manuscript to social justice engagement and the transition to life as a retiring pastor. 

The sermons that Karen shares in these pages are warm, instructive and perceptive.  They illumine sacred lifeways that can have pronounced impact on our contemporary society and world.  The wisdom shared throughout, while emanating from the ministerial life, translates to every vocation of compassion and care.  There is a rhythm to this text, a musicality which flows from page to page, and a cadence not unlike the call and response of preaching that nourishes my own Black church tradition. 

Reflecting the best of mentoring relationships, the scaffolding of this book wonderfully honors history and future, and vital practices of transformative exchange between two lives well and faithfully lived.  The reader is engagingly drawn into this marvelous model of intergenerational witness and spiritual proclamation pivotal for the healing of disparate lives, divided lands, and anemic pulpits in our day and time.  We cannot thank Karen and Morgan enough for sharing out of their faith and friendship.  Their summons to joy is the music God hears.  Thanks be to God!

Alton B. Pollard, III                                                                    President and Professor of Religion and Culture                        Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary