"Sometimes in order to move people past their old bad habits and past their old repetitive sins and past their old wicked ways, God has to shake up some mountains. God has to empty some places that used to be full. God has to take away some blessings and leave a barren land. Sometimes God has to send the wind."
-- from Chapter 9 "Lord, Send The Wind"
McLemore provides new insights into the prophets of old. Reading these sermons based on Old Testament texts will stir the imagination of the preacher today. McLemore's style is tight, with an economy of words. These messages are written to be preached. The narrative stories and illustrations are dramatic and poignant.
Sermon titles include:
A Hunger that Cannot Be Satisfied (Amos 8:1-12)
Your Reflection in God's Mirror (Isaiah 1:1, 10-20)
A Christian With a Conflict of Interest (Isaiah 5:1-7)
How to Find Water When Your Well Runs Dry (Jeremiah 2:4-13)
Dr. James H. McLemore is currently senior pastor of Bethel AME Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He holds the BA degree in Psychology and Communications from Cleveland State University, the Master in Divinity degree "cum laude" in Pastoral Psychology and Counseling and the Doctor of Ministry degree "summa cum laude" from Ashland Theological Seminary in Ohio. He has served churches in Cleveland, Barberton, Cleveland Heights, and Lima, Ohio. As an organizer of the Study Circles on Racism, McLemore was instrumental in directing the first project in race relations in the nation in which a city government, an institution of higher learning (Ohio State University), and an ecumenical clergy group collaborated to address race relations. He was a founder of P.R.I.D.E. (Positive Related Individuals Developing Excellence), a Sponsor and Director of the Mother to Son Program, a project of the Ohio Commission on African-American Males, and founder and first President of the Black Ministerial Alliance, Lima, Ohio. Among his many board memberships are the Board of Trustees, Ohio State University, and Mayor's Committee on Volunteerism, Cleveland, Ohio, Voinovich administration. McLemore has received numerous awards, including the Man of the Year award for Iota Phi Theta, Lima, Ohio. His wife Donna Gail is a registered nurse and they are the parents of five children.