Preaching in the Purple Zone: Ministry in the Red-Blue Divide

As a pastor myself and someone who is very disappointed with the polarization in our country, I would highly recommend this book. It provides an accessible model for pastors who come from all sorts of backgrounds and whose churches are red and blue and purple and various shades in between. It provides a helpful path to address complex issues and invite people into conversation around hot topics that are sometimes difficult for ministers to address. If your church has struggled with polarization or how to listen to others and love people who believe different things, this provides an important set of tools to move forward. This book is great for anyone that is interested in inviting people into conversation and prayerful reflection about complicated issues we are facing. It can help to address a particular hot button issue but also develop good habits of reflection, sharing, listening, and prayer so that when difficult things come up in church, the church Is already primed to address them well. Also a great book for seminarians or those teaching in seminary. Practical, readable, overall excellent!

Dr. Schade is her usual intelligent, clear, passionate, and conscientious self in her latest book, an important contribution to homiletics. Sermons are often full of glittering generalities that don't engage any issue meaningfully. At the same time, in binary-addicted America, it can be difficult to preach prophetically without exacerbating divisions. Schade offers a smart, sensitive proposal for facilitating dialogue and producing preaching that is both prophetic and pastoral. Further, as she notes, much of what she proposes is applicable to secular settings, as well. Indeed, I will be using a variation of Schade's sermon-dialogue-sermon approach in the classroom.

This is an excellent book for teachers and pastors in the church to help bridge our differences. We are so divided as Christians like never before.Matthew records, "But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand" (Matt. 12:25)."Being divided as Christians will not build us up. The book has really helped me to see the biasness I bring into my preachings. Therefore, I am able to create the environment that ensures dialogue and promotes unity.I recommend this book for all church teachers and pastors! We are the leaders of LOVE and UNITY.

As pastor to three diverse congregations, Leah Schade learned first hand the challenges that one who wants to address controversial issues can face. As seminary professor she discovered that many of the clergy feel ill-equipped and are therefore reluctant to deal with these issues at all. This is the book for them! Dr. Schade presents actual situations and teaches methods, such as deliberative dialogue, that will both help and encourage them to include real world problems in their sermons. I found it fascinating!E. Bogert

I echo other reviewers who note that this book is not just for preachers. I have recommended it to teachers and committee leaders, as well. Anyone who leads discussions on difficult social/ethical issues in politically mixed company will find resources and methods here for making these exchanges respectful, compassionate, and enlightening for all participants. Both the content and the writing style are pitch-perfect: this is something that busy people can read quickly, and return to repeatedly. A desperately-needed book for polarized times.

Dr. Schade walks the reader through the sermon-dialogue-sermon process and gives practical experience to back up the process. It is timely for the current experience we are all living through. It builds the fabric of community instead of ripping it apart.

This is a well written book that creates a tool that can be used in churches, or other organizations in our society, to bring together different points of view for a common cause. The book is fairly long & requires thought while reading it. It is written for both a minister & a layperson in the church to participate in using the tool.

You do not have to be a preacher to benefit from this book. I like that she supports her conclusions with data. I find it helpful in looking at controversial issues.