Seeing with the Heart: Devotions from Marsh Chapel collects reflections, prayers, and devotions from thirty years of ministry. The devotions are pastoral. They reflect on life in ministry even as they reflect the life of ministry. To preach the gospel and to love the people remains the focus and goal of pastoral ministry. Some of the devotions are themselves prayers, some are pastoral prayers, and others are messages sent, from pastor to congregation, in the course of the challenges of ministry. Many of these writings were composed, in the moment, as introductions to meetings, openings for gatherings, or discussion openers in classes within the life of the church. They are meant to offer insight into the heart, under the guidance of the Latin phrase, cor ad cor loquitur, heart speaks to heart. The devotions are offered to the reader in the hope that they will exemplify one form of prayerful attention, and that they will encourage further pastoral and prayerful composition.

They are windows into the soul of the ministry, the spirit of the community, and the heart of the pastor. Robert Allan Hill has been preaching since 1976 and teaches Biblical Studies and Practical Theology at Boston University, where he is the Dean of Marsh Chapel. His passionate interest lies at the intersection of Scripture and life, especially in the work of preaching. His research combines publication related to the Gospel of John and Gnosticism and preaching in ministry. As an elder in the United Methodist Church, his main denominational interests have been in Large Church Ministry and Theological Education. Dr. Hill was given the Harry Denman award for Evangelism in 2003 and is currently writing a monograph on exegetical imagination.