This book is not light and fluffy reading. It is not a book with a few tips for compelling preaching. In My Burden is Light: Making Room for Jesus in Preaching, Bishop Satterlee tackles the heart of preaching and the theology that undergirds it.

Spanning a career of nearly four decades (so far) as pastor, professor, and bishop, my friend and colleague (full disclosure) Craig Satterlee integrates his work as systematic theologian, professor of homiletics, liturgical historian, and bishop. My Burden is Light hits all of the author’s core values around preaching, then does a deep dive into trinitarian theology, pneumatology, and soteriology, including theories of atonement.

You will encounter good questions: Are we making room for Jesus at the center of our preaching or is he just a footnote? Are we preaching Christ crucified or the self-help gospel, good advice, moral uprightness, the congregation, or the denomination’s agenda?Are we preaching as if we believe Jesus is in the building? What is the gospel? What is the good news? Is our message good? Is it news?

“For Jews ask for signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to gentiles…” 1 Corinthians 1.22-23

How are we willing to acknowledge that sometimes the good news comes as a stumbling block to some? are we willing to preach Christ even when it is inconvenient or unnerving? How do we preach to the least of these? How do we preach so people leave the building?

Have people tasted the gospel in the sermon? In his training as a barista, Dr. Satterlee noted that when you pull an espresso and hand it to someone, you don’t have to convince them it’s good. It either is or isn’t. Our job is not to arm-twist or convince, but to preach Christ and the gospel so that people can taste it.

Dr. Satterlee draws upon liberation theology, including black theology, womanist theology, feminist theology, queer theology, disabled theology, and other theological lenses that challenge the dominant patriarchal narrative. For serious preachers, is a book worth reading.

  • 2023
  • Fortress Press
  • 289 pages