Peculiar Speech : Preaching to the Baptized

Preaching
"Peculiar Speech presents a much-needed corrective—a strong dose of gospel as a striking critique of the contemporary church. It may be Willimon's most important book to date."

Ministry
"Pastors wishing to add depth to their preaching ministry will gain much from this book. Those who take time to digest it will acquire a new perspective and impetus in their pulpit ministry."

James F. White
—University of Notre Dame
"Will Willimon has a genius for bringing together things united in life but distinct in our minds. Here he combines two subjects too long disunited in our thinking: preaching and baptism. In writing about one, he illuminates the other. This is vintage Willimon, filled with provocative ideas and illustrated with telling anecdotes. Every preacher will profit from reading this book."

Eugene Peterson
"For those of us who have been bullied into skirting the neighborhood of our distinctive Christian language and politics in favor of something supposedly 'relevant' and 'universal,' Willimon is a champion. He takes his stand on a single word, baptism, and sends the bullies packing. With the bullies gone we recover the powerful and unique identity conferred by baptism and are again bold to stick to the language and behavior that derive from it. Thank you, William Willimon — it's nice to have the neighborhood back!"

Elizabeth Achtemeier
—Union Theological Seminary
"It would be difficult to recommend this little book too highly. In pages filled with sparkling speech, biblical profundity, and a kind of holy humor, Willimon gives us (1) a hard-hitting presentation of the gospel over against pluralism and relativism of our time, (2) a sharp critique of some of our generally accepted homiletical principles, and (3) a clear-eyed, Christian understanding of what the church is all about."