Year D: A Quadrennial Supplement to the Revised Common Lectionary

by Timothy Matthew Slemmons

Although one often hears of the need to preach "the whole counsel of God," few resources have seriously and specifically attempted to assist the preacher and planner of worship to do just that--until now. 'Year D' makes the case for the need and promise of supplementing the Revised Common Lectionary with a fourth year of lections and arranges many previously excluded biblical texts in an orderly, one-year preaching plan. It fills a need widely voiced by preachers that the lectionary effectively limits and censors the functional canon of Scripture. Destined to serve as a staple source of significant revitalization in mainline preaching and worship, 'Year D' banks on the agency of Word and Spirit to renew the church as few practical proposals have done in the last twenty years, lending new focus and impetus for exploring the Bible's forgotten riches. A timely and urgently needed "return to the sources," Year D represents a fresh appropriation of neglected and marginalized texts for preaching, worship, education, and devotion, and thus constitutes a substantive, scriptural attempt to address what Walter Brueggemann has called "the current preaching emergency."

168 pages, Paperback

First published May 4, 2012

Reviews

[M Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the section justifying Prof. Slemmons' idea for a Year D is overwritten but the concept is sound. I look forward to working my way through his suggested fourth year lectionary during the 17-18 church year.

[David Ackerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Theologians have long noted the distinction between the descriptions of how humans measure time (“kronos”) and how God intervenes in time (“kairos”). Discerning “kairotic” moments in the course of time (“kronos”) is a constant challenge to those seeking God’s hand at work in their lives. My discovery of Timothy Matthew Slemmons’ Year D: A Quadrennial Supplement to the Revised Common Lectionary in July, 2012, was one such “kairotic” moment for me.

I suppose that if this book had been released in 2008 instead of 2012, I would never have begun the odyssey I experienced in the writing and publication of Beyond the Lectionary (to be released in June, 2013). His book is so good that I’m sure I would have just used it and not made the effort to come up with a resource of my own. So maybe I should be thankful that we both independently came up with the same idea around the same time. Otherwise, I would have missed out on the experience that I had of writing the book that I did.

If Dr. Slemmons’ book had been second-rate, it would have been easy for me to say, “Look, I’ve built a better mousetrap.” But I can in no way say this. The truth is that he has produced a magnificent work that should become a valued resource for preachers everywhere.

While I selected and arranged texts differently and wrote my book in a different way than Dr. Slemmons, I see valid and compelling reasons as to why he made the choices he did. My sincere hope is that the “competition” that my book may offer Year D will not diminish but will elevate the importance of Dr. Slemmons’ work not only with preachers but with anyone interested in exploring neglected texts of scripture. Hopefully, our shared cause of lectionary expansion will prove to be something that will have a genuinely positive effect on the field of practical theology for years to come.