Choosing to Preach Discussion
#22 - Must Preaching be Monological?
Posted by Kent Anderson on August 26, 2006 19:22
Traditionally, preaching has been a monologue – one person speaking without interruption. Increasingly, however, preachers are exploring more interactive formats, including discussion and dialogue. Must preaching be monological or does it depend on the size and nature of the audience? Is there something about a small group, for instance, that lends itself to a more interactive approach?
(from page 190)
Replies
re: #22 - Must Preaching be Monological?
Posted by Keith Whitaker on Oct. 04, 2007 at 11:23
If we understand preaching to be helping people hear from God, which I most certainly believe, then we would not limit our preaching to one particular form. While the monologue is the traditional form employed by preachers we must ask the question, “How will those to whom we preach most effectively hear from God?” It is often the case that a more open line of dialogue is the better approach to meeting this end. This being said, we must be wise in choosing when, where, and how to employ such a technique. I would venture to say that generating dialogue in preaching is a harder task, but with the goal of helping people hear from God it would aid in internalizing the message in the life of the hearer.
re: #22 - Must Preaching be Monological?
Posted by Aaron Richert on Feb. 19, 2007 at 11:42
I think the nature of the audience has a lot to do with this one. For instance, in my past church we had two services; a "contemporary" service, and a "traditional" service. Our pastor would at times incorporate discussion and dialogue in his sermons, which often faired well in the contemporary service, even though it is quite large (approx. 700 people). I heard however that they never went over well in the traditional service, and I doubt that he even tries in that service anymore, even though the service is smaller (250-300). Those people are generally a little older, and grew up with monologue sermons, and that’s what they like, so that’s fine. While I think it’s easier to do interactive sermons in smaller settings, I think the bigger issue is nature of the audience. Once again, knowing the congregation is key.
re: #22 - Must Preaching be Monological?
Posted by Jon Mair on Feb. 13, 2007 at 00:12
I think there can be an aspect of dialogue to preaching no matter what the size of the audience is. A simple example of some "dialogue" in preaching can be in the form of a white board or flip chart where a question is posed and the audience can shout short answers which can then be used to propel the preaching. Alternatively after giving a segment of the sermon the audience could take some time and interact with one another regard the sermon message and then the preacher can continue after a moment. I don’t think it must always be monological there are other options that can certainly be used to get the message across no matter what the size.