1 Dr. Jeffrey Arthurs 978-646-4191 jarthurs@gcts.edu PR 721: Narrative Preaching Hamilton, Fall 2018 Monday 1:15-4:15 Course Description Expository preachers pay attention to what the text says and how it says it. This course takes both content and form seriously. Using a literary/rhetorical perspective as part of exegesis, this course unlocks the dynamics of biblical narrative and shows how to incorporate those dynamics into our own preaching. Instruction is also given in how to discern the authorial intention in terms of the theology of narrative. Learning experiences include reading, discussion, lecture, watching sample sermons, practice preaching, and self-critique. Course Relationship to the Curriculum This course provides advanced training in preaching and exegesis. It assumes knowledge of theology, grammatical-historical exegesis, and the foundational homiletical skills of organization and delivery as developed in Biblical Preaching by Haddon Robinson. The course applies rhetorical and communication theory to the actual practice of ministry. Course Objectives Knowledge: Understand a literary/rhetorical method of interpreting biblical narrative. Summarize key literary/rhetorical features of biblical narrative. Understand models of narrative preaching. Critique those models. Summarize key literary/rhetorical features of biblical parable. Increase awareness of your strengths and weaknesses in delivery. Evaluate narrative sermons. Skill: Exegete biblical narratives using literary/rhetorical methods. Preach various styles of narrative sermons (testimony, third person, first person, parable, homiletical plot). Deliver narrative sermons so that the verbal and nonverbal elements reinforce each other. Attitude: Increase reliance on the Lord while still taking responsibility as a faithful steward. Gain confidence in your ability to preach. Gain confidence in determining the meaning and function of narrative passages. Enjoy the variety and artistry of narrative preaching.
2 Required Textbooks: Arthurs, Jeffrey D. Preaching With Variety: How to Recreate the Dynamics of Biblical Genres. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2007. (isbn: 978-0825420191) Edwards, J. Kent. Effective First-Person Biblical Preaching: The Steps from Text to Narrative Sermon. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005. (isbn: 978-0310263098) Kuhn, Karl Allen. The Heart of Biblical Narrative: Rediscovering Biblical Appeal to the Emotions. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2009. (isbn: 978-0800663384) Lowry, Eugene. The Homiletical Plot (Expanded Edition): The Sermon as Narrative Art Form. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 2000. (isbn: 978-0664222642) Selby, Gary S. Not With Words of Wisdom: Nonrational Persuasion in the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2016. (isbn: 978-0-8028-7300-2) Reading Packet (PDF on Sakai) Description of Assignments Testimony. Present a narrative from your own experience. This story will function as an analogy (mundane event x is like spiritual truth z). See the sample from Tony Evans (the punching bag always returned upright because it had a foundation a weight in the bottom of the bag.... Christians persevere in trials when they build on the solid foundation of Christ). The story should have a point, a central truth. Time limit:. No notes permitted. Watch yourself on video. Sermon 1: Third Person Narrative Sermon. Preach an expository, narrative sermon in the third person from a narrative text. Time limit:. Skeletal notes permitted (1/2 page). Watch yourself on video. Sermon 2: First Person Narrative Sermon or Homiletical Plot. Preach an expository, narrative sermon in the first person from a narrative text. Time limit:. No notes permitted. Watch yourself on video **OR** Homiletical Plot/Motivated Sequence. Preach an expository sermon using Lowry s Homiletical Plot or Monroe s Motivated Sequence. Time limit:. Skeletal notes permitted (1/2 page). Watch yourself on video. Group Presentation: Working in groups of two or three, find a third person narrative sermon (video, audio, or text). Analyze the sermon by applying the things you have learned in this course. For example, does the sermon have an effective plot structure, vivid language; how does it make application, etc. You will have minutes to: o Play the sermon in class, stopping it about 5 times to give a running commentarycritique. Engage your classmates in discussion-analysis.
3 Parable. Retell a biblical parable in modern setting. Time limit:. No notes permitted. Watch yourself on video. Paper. Reflect on what you have learned. State and expound three key take-aways from this course. 3 pp. max (12 pt. font, double spaced). Reading. Self-graded. By the day indicated in the syllabus, report to Arthurs by email your grade a numerical score out of 100. Base your assessment on the quantity and the quality of your reading. No grade can be higher than the percentage of pages read. The quality if your reading should be assessed by the degree of attention and comprehension. Outside Preaching. Preach one of your class sermons to a group of at least 8 people outside of class. After you do so, write a two-paragraph report stating (1) where, when, to whom you spoke, (2) what adjustments you made in the sermon. For Th. M. credit: Paper. Choose a topic that interests you and clear it with Arthurs. E.g. How to preach Christ in a first-person sermon, the proper use of props and staging, comparison of Lowry and Monroe. 7 pp. max. Due final day of written work (see schedule). Grading Assignment Percentage of Report Card Grade Testimony 10 Sermon 1 Third Person 30 Sermon 2 First Person or Homiletical Plot 20 Parable 10 Group Presentation 10 Reading 10 Paper 5 Outside Preaching 5 Schedule Date Topics Assignments Sept. 10 Intro to Course The Bible as Literature and Rhetoric How to Study for a Narrative Sermon Read: Kuhn. The Heart of Biblical Narrative (whole book). Watch/Listen: Winfred Neely, The Power of a Biblical Story in a Storied Culture. Choose your text for Sermon 1. Inform Arthurs.
4 Sept. 17 Sept. 24 How to Study for a Narrative Sermon How to Preach a Narrative Sermon How to Preach a Narrative Sermon Read: Arthurs, Preaching With Variety (whole book) Selby, Not With Words of Wisdom (whole book). Choose your text for Sermon 1 Speaking: Testimony Read: Kuhn, The Heart of Biblical Narrative (whole book) Oct. 1 Sample sermons Write: Do approx. 3 hours of exegesis on your passage for Sermon 1. Send an email (one paragraph) to Arthurs summarizing sources you have used and what you have learned. Reading Week Write: Finish your exegesis for Sermon 1. Exegetical Idea, Theological Idea, Homiletical Idea, and Plot Structure for Sermon 1. One page max., send to Arthurs. Due Thursday of Reading Week, 4:00 p.m. Oct. 15 Sample Sermons Meet with your partner for Group Presentations Practice: delivery Oct. 22 Sermon 1 Oct. 29 Sermon 1 Nov. 5 How to preach a firstperson narrative sermon Homiletical Plot and Motivated Sequence Read: Edwards, First-Person (whole book) Lowry, The Homiletical Plot (whole book) Reading Packet: o Arthurs, Performing the Story. o Monroe Listen: Robinson, Speaking as Listeners Like It. Begin at minute 8, end when Q and A starts.
5 Reading Week Meet with a small group to discuss your third-person sermon. Play a 5-10 minute segment Give a self-critique Ask for other feedback Pray for the preacher Nov. 19 Sermon 2 Nov. 26 Sermon 2 Lecture: Parable Reading Packet: Snodgras, Stories with Intent, 1-35 Dec. 3 Group Presentations Write: Reflection Paper Reading Packet: Chapell, When Narrative Is Not Enough. Lischer, The Limits of Story. Dec. 10 Speaking: Parable Dec 13 Not a Class Period All work due: outside preaching, reading grade, watching self on video, activities for Reading Weeks, Th. M. papers. Units Lesson 1: Intro to Course; the Bible as Literature and Rhetoric This lesson provides a framework for the course. This is the key idea: expository preachers pay attention not only to what the text says (content) but also how the text communicates (form and mood). That proposition grows out of an evangelical theology of inspiration and a commitment to expository preaching heralding the author s intention. Feel intrigued and excited about adding new tools (narrative) to one s homiletical tool belt. Affirm or modify the course s key theological presupposition that God inspired the form of the text as well as content.
6 Define and illustrate literature. Define and illustrate rhetoric. Lesson 2: How to Study for a Narrative Sermon This lesson describes and illustrates literary-rhetorical exegesis of narrative, focusing on the key generic elements of plot, character, setting, and point of view. The lecture and assignments help students understand, imagine, and feel the form and mood of the text as a foundation for reproducing that form and mood in Sermon 1. Students will also grow in their understanding of how biblical narrators show theology more than they tell it. Understand narrative theory on plot, character, setting, and point of view. Apply that theory to the text you have chosen for Sermon 1. Recognize how biblical narrators show and tell. Articulate theological ideas based on exegetical ideas. Lesson 3: How to Preach a Narrative Sermon In this lesson we will apply the literary, rhetorical, and theological theory covered in Lesson 2 to the creation of a third person narrative sermon. Students will continue to prepare for Sermon 1 and they will be exposed to multiple sample sermons. Name, explain, and illustrate the steps to creating a narrative sermon. Decide how you will structure your sermon. Experiment with vivid yet conversational language. Improve your delivery skills by incorporating movement, gestures, pauses, and other forms of nonverbal communication. Lesson 4: The First Person Narrative Sermon The lesson this week focuses on a special kind of narrative sermon the first person monologue. This unusual form can be used to give special psychological insight into character and prompt the listeners to identify with the narrator. All of the previous material on literary-rhetorical exegesis applies to this sermon, as does all of the previous material on sermon form, but special consideration is given to issues such as the use of props, costuming, delivery, application, and communicating the big idea. Again, students will be exposed to multiple sample sermons. Compare first person to third person narrative sermons. Identify the unique features of this sermon form. Make decisions for Sermon 2 on how you will handle those unique features. Employ the same exegetical skills covered in previous lessons as you prepare a first person sermon. Articulate strengths and weaknesses of this creative form.
7 Lesson 5: Homiletical Plot and Motivated Sequence This week s lesson offers two more forms for narrative preaching: Lowry s Homiletical Plot and Monroe s Motivated Sequence. Eugene Lowry argues that sermons are an oral art form that occur in time, so effective sermons organize listener experience like the plot of a narrative. Similarly, Alan Monroe argues that effective persuasive speeches are also arranged according to audience psychology. The five steps of Monroe s Motivated Sequence are similar to the five stages of Lowry s Homiletical Plot. We will learn how to use these two narrative-like methods of organization. Name and explain the five stages of the Homiletical Plot. Critique the theological presuppositions behind Lowry s homiletical method. Decide if you want to adopt Lowry s method. Name and explain the five steps of the Motivated Sequence. Identify the elements of both of these models in sample sermons. Lesson 6: The Limits of Narrative This course has strongly advocated narrative preaching from narrative texts, but we are not blind to the potential weaknesses of this form. Chapell and Lischer offer thoughtful cautions that we should consider. Students will articulate their own conclusions regarding cautions. Comprehend the arguments Chapell makes. Comprehend the arguments Lischer makes. Using their arguments, and adding your own thoughts, in a short paper articulate cautions about narrative preaching. Lesson 7: Parable The final approach to narrative preaching we will study is fiction the delightful form of parable. As with the genre of narrative, we will study the literary form and rhetorical effects of the genre, and you will recreate those dynamics in your final oral assignment retelling one of our Lord s parables in modern setting. State and explain three literary features of parable. State and explain the rhetorical effects of those features. Observe and enjoy those effects in sample parables. Identify and illustrate seven suggestions for how to recreate the rhetorical effects. Delight in the creativity and interest-holding power of this genre. Lesson 8: Reflection
8 This last lesson reviews the lectures, readings, and experiences of the course. By writing a short paper, students will reflect on what they have learned. Articulate how you will employ a few transformative concepts from the course.