Book Review: Preaching the U2 Catalog

In October, some friends of mine purchased a book for me that was released back in 2003. The title of it is Get Up Off Your Knees: Preaching the U2 Catalog. It was edited by Raewynne Whiteley and Beth Maynard. The idea behind the book was to assemble as many sermons that used or were inspired by U2 lyrics as possible.

As with any compilation type book… the book can get a little hit and miss. I think the thing that struck me was how different I approach preaching than many of these authors. I could not, in good conscience, decide to write a sermon around one specific U2 song. However, I would say that about 65% of these sermons were written in that way. It seems like many of these presenters decided to take a song from U2 that they really liked… and write a sermon around it… and maybe throw some scriptures references around it.

I have always been taught to center the message around a biblical text… so it was kind of disturbing to see whole sermons crafted around the words of Bono… rather than the words of God. On top of that, there were about four or five readings that I finished and had to ask: What was that about anyway? Some were very, very bad.

Don’t get me wrong… I really enjoyed the book. But I say all of this so that people understand that it shouldn’t be a book you buy to read in order to get twenty new ready made sermons. (You probably shouldn’t do your sermon writing that way anyway… but I digress.) These sermons would not fly in most Wesleyan pulpits. (I’m fairly ‘liberal’ about the use of culture in sermons, but even I would be uncomfortable preaching or hearing these sermons in any church I was working/attending.) Once I got it in my head that I should not read this book trying to critique other people's sermons, it became much more enjoyable to me. I just started to read to see what other preachers took away from U2 songs. It become much more interesting.

Steve Stockman wrote a sermon called 'Pressing on with U2 and Paul' that was terrific. He took a closer look at the U2 song I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For. He mentioned that U2 got criticized by the church for this song. ‘What do you mean? You still haven’t found what you are looking for? Once you’ve found Jesus, that’s all you need.’ Unfortunately, there are knee-jerk Christians out there that are just looking to blast away at pop culture… and so they jump on whatever they can without looking deeper into the song.

The song is referring to heaven… when we will finally be reconciled with Jesus and meet God face to face for the first time. When all the colors will bleed into one: the time when there will be no more sin, racism, and war. Stockman suggested that this song mirrors what Paul wrote in Philippians 3:13-14: “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” It certainly doesn’t seem like Paul seems content to remain where he currently is. He knows that there is much more about his spiritual journey that he has yet to experience. Stockman suggests that the song is full of lyrics of yearning and hope… not dissatisfaction with what Christ has to offer.

Another great piece was written by Wade Hodges entitled Grace the Beauty Maker. He used the U2 song Grace to craft his piece, which was a riveting look at the role that grace plays in our relationship with God. He did a great job using references from various movies, interviews, and books to help further explain the beauty of grace. U2’s song is almost a modern day remake of the old hymn Amazing Grace. “Grace, she takes the blame / She covers the shame / removes the stain / it could be her name / grace makes beauty out of ugly things."

All in all… it was a great book that reminded me of why my heart resonated so strongly with U2's music in the first place: Their lyrics are meaningful and authentic. (Yes, even their 90’s stuff… you just have to know what to look for… but that is a blog post for a different day) Their lyrics address important issues about faith, suffering, peace, betrayal, and hope. Their lyrics don’t always give answers… and in fact, usually force the listener to ask even more questions. But there is one thing their lyrics always do: They always make you think.

Overall, I graded this book a seven out of ten… I would have rated it higher, but there were some truly terrible pieces included in the book. I’ll conclude by simply saying this: If you are a U2 fan, you’ll probably like this book. If you are a preacher, this book might be of minor interest to you. If you are a U2 fan AND a preacher… I think you’ll have a fantastic time reading through this book!