Preaching As A Social Act: Theology and Practice http://www.servantofmessiah.org
In the biographies of two contemporary preachers whose preaching takes personal and societal transformation with equal seriousness, Edwina Hunter discerns formative factors underlying their perspectives and their passion. For them these factors interweave the social and the spiritual as seen in their experiences of their community of faith, their call to preach, and their spiritual and social formation. Later in the chapter, Edwina, as a former pastor and now a teacher of preaching, reflects on her own socialization and spiritual journey. The Bible, so central to preaching, was formed in a particular culture, is now interpreted by social beings, and is received by a social community. Walter Brueggemann writes that in every stage of interpretation the textual process is both an act of faith and an act of "vested interests." Sociology can help us uncover these vested interests, and, in the process of proclamation, preachers can become clearer about how particular passages in particular situations call for transformation, or maintain equilibrium. The gospel provides criteria to make this discernment. The language of preaching is the focus of the last two chapters. Language both reflects our social context and creates new images to expand our perception of our world. Ron Allen examines specific ways in which we use language, and how the genre of the text shapes its thrust; he also offers concrete homiletical strategies. Tom Troeger focuses on the mythic worlds created by metaphor, which he terms "landscapes of the heart," and demonstrates how communal, poetic idiom can speak to an individualistic, technological culture. Like our social world itself, the various social dimensions of preaching overlap and our perception of them varies. In the Afterword I point to connections and differences between the chapters. While the work as a whole was written from a deliberate, systematic design, it is far from comprehensive. Some suggestions, therefore, of areas for further exploration are indicated, and broader issues such as "prophetic preaching" are elaborated briefly. This analysis on analysis, then, moves toward some synthesis. In the end, of course, analysis, and even synthesis, is not enough. This is at root a spiritual struggle that includes silence, contemplation, and compassion — and after that, preaching. The Appendix enables pastors, students, and teachers of preaching to probe dimensions of their own preaching and preaching situations by setting out groups of questions. These have been distilled from the chapters as a way of sharpening and applying the analysis of this book. http://www.religion-online.org/cgi-bin/relsearchd.dll/showchapter?chapter_id=1105 (10 of 16) [2/4/03 6:14:24 PM]