Creative Thinking For The Expository Sermon

Answering the Unasked Questions in Your Text

Randal E. Pelton

Creative thinking, if it is going to be true to its name, must be thinking that is inventive or imaginative. It’s inventive in the sense that this type of thinking is somewhat original, innovative, and fresh. Creative thinking is imaginative in the sense that it is the creation of images or concepts that are not present to the senses. In a sense creative thinking is what our youngest daughter does frequently during her play time. In almost God-like fashion she creates something out of nothing. That is, of course, until you look more closely…

Upon closer examination, you notice that Amanda really isn’t creating something out of nothing. She’s actually creating something out of very little. From just one or two household items she is able to create a huge playland. Creative thinking for the expository sermon is somewhat like that-we might be uneasy if it were any more inventive or imaginative.

Few, if any, EHS members would be comfortable with the content of the message being totally creative in the purest sense. That message, rather than having the authority of God’s Word, would only have the authority of the mind that created it. We are safer to engage in creative thinking that springs from a careful study of the biblical data contained in our preaching portion.

The particular facet of creative thinking that this paper is dealing with relates to inventing or creating questions to be asked and answered in your sermon that are not explicitly dealt with in the preaching portion. From the unmistakable, well-defined data in the preaching portion comes material that fuels the preacher’s mind to create implied questions. The data, like the few household items at a pre-schooler’s disposal, is sufficient to set the preacher’s mind and, later, the parishioners’ minds on a whole new world of discovery that can play a major role in the logical development and relevance of a sermon.

Add Creative Thinking to the List of Skills Necessary for Developing a Sermon’s Points/Moves

Let’s begin by placing this skill among the other sermon development skills. Creative thinking as it relates to asking and answering unasked questions in the preaching portion is a step in the logical development of a sermon’s points or movements.

What does a preacher do to develop a main point or move within a sermon? Most of us are familiar with Robinson’s three developmental questions: What does it mean? Is it true? What difference does it make? He argues that any idea, whether a big idea (theme) or little idea (sub-themes or sub-points), can either be explained, proved, or applied (1980, 79-96). At times one or more of these questions are dealt with in a major point of the sermon. During the process of explanation much time is spent defining terms ("wisdom", "understanding", "counsel"),defining phrases ("against the Lord"), and relationship between phrases ("no wisdom, nor understanding, nor counsel against the Lord"). Preachers also illustrate abstract concepts within a point or move.

Myers uses the term logic to encompass the analysis, explanations, and definitions developed at this point in the sermonic process (1997, 5). The word "logic" is helpful because there is a reasoning process going on in exegesis that creative thinking appears. The "point" or "move" must be saying something, must be going somewhere. Often one link in the chain of reasoning is that out of the data being amassed will come reasonable, deducible questions.

From the logic which leads to the raw material for the sermon’s points or moves comes the logic which leads to the actual arrangement of them. The final modifying phase of Warren’s theological process is called "Organizing…moving from textual structure to a logical/psychological flow" (Warren 1997, 1). Many times the implied question and answer will be inserted into the sermon at their point of discovery-it logically fits there. Other times, however, a preacher may want to save the information for a more strategic point later on in the sermon. Robinson and Chapell remind us that listeners often require sermon sequence differing from the textual arrangement (Robinson 1980, 128-129). Chapell writes "listeners hear most clearly what a speaker says last. Therefore, in order for preachers to represent most accurately the truth that a biblical writer wants to emphasize, they may choose to say last what the author wrote first" (1994, 113).

Examples From Selected Proverbs

Proverbs 21:3 "To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice."

Question(s): Why are acts of justice and judgment more acceptable to God than sacrifice?

Proverbs 20:22 "Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the Lord, and he shall save thee."

Question(s): Who would say, "I will recompense evil"? Why are we so prone to say this? Why shouldn’t we say this?

Proverbs 20:21 "An inheritance may be gotten hastily at the beginning; but the end thereof shall not be blessed."

Question(s): How can a person quickly get his inheritance? Why will that hurried acquisition of the inheritance not be blessed?

Proverbs 20:9 "Who can say, ‘I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?’"

Question(s): Who would actually say something like this? How could a person try to make their heart clean?

Proverbs 20:7 "The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him."

Question(s): Why are the just person’s children blessed after him?

Proverbs 20:6 "Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?"

Question(s): Why are most men prone to advertise their own goodness? Why are faithful men so rare? How does a man become faithful?

Categorizing The Questions

From the six proverbs listed above, we can begin to categorize the questions so that they are more readily available whenever other preaching portions require their use…

Always Ask The Question, "Why?"

One habit of very young children is particularly helpful for adult exegetes-learning to ask the question, Why?, and learning to ask it often. Notice from our Proverbs that whenever an observation is given about human nature or about the way life is, the Why?-question is asked (e.g., "Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness…" leads to questioning the reason for this activity).

Ask The Question, "How?"

When God makes a statement about someone doing this or that, sometimes the question, How?, is appropriate (e.g., "An inheritance may be gotten hastily at the beginning…" leads to the question of how a person could do that; or in Matt. 7:22 "Lord, Lord, haven’t we prophesied in your name? and in your name have cast out devils? and in your name done many wonderful works?" leads to the question of how they could accomplish these things and not be Christian? Or when Genesis 6:8 records that "Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord", the question is, How did Noah find grace?).

Ask The Question, "Who?"

Whenever God asks the question, Who?, it is sometimes helpful to answer that question even though the preaching portion may not provide the answer (e.g., "Who can say, ‘I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?’" leads to the question of who would say something like that. God says that no one really can say it truthfully, but there are people who would say something like that. Who are they? Proverbs 31:10 asks, "Who can find a virtuous woman?" I can imagine a lot of single men who are serious about God’s will asking this question and wanting an answer. They would like to know, Who can find such a wife?).

N.B. It’s possible that if enough preaching portions were observed, we might be able to create questions that begin with all six of Robinson’s faithful friends-how, what, why, when, where, who? Remember that the only questions we’re dealing with are creative questions, those which are not specifically addressed within the preaching portion.

Answering the Creative Questions

The next logical question is, Where does a preacher find the answers to these creative questions? Are the answers just as imaginative or creative as the questions? There’s no sense in preachers raising these types of questions if they cannot be answered from God’s perspective. To invent answers from human wisdom is to defeat the purpose of preaching. Since these questions are implied in the preaching portion, we cannot expect to find their answers there. We can expect, however, to find them in other places in Scripture.

The place to start looking is in other sections of the Bible that deal directly with the topic under discussion. Let’s look, again, at Proverbs 20:7 "The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him." Our question was, Why are the just person’s children blessed after him? One specific answer comes from a study of Exodus 20:5-6 which reads:

"You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments."

The favor which the man of integrity received from God is now continued on to his children. In other words, God continues to treat the children just as He did the parents. He favors them and helps them. Of course, a preacher will have to ask why God does that. Searching a concordance under the headings of "children" or "generations" would lead you to these verses.

Another possible answer might come from Proverbs 13:22 which the student would have encountered in the above concordance search:

"A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children…"

These grandchildren of the good man have the benefit of a tremendous inheritance. Parents of integrity will leave something behind for their children. In a sense these children are jump-started into a successful life.

There are times, however, when, even though you may not be able to refer to verses that specifically touch on the same issue, you can refer to Scripture that answers the question in more general terms. Take, for instance Proverbs 20:9 "Who can say, ‘I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?’" One implied question might be, Who would actually say this?

Although it might be impossible to find a verse or verses which specifically show a person claiming to be clean from sin, other Scripture which deal with the nature of sin and man might help us answer this important question. One might refer to Ephesians 2, Romans 3 and 5. These sections would show why a person is not able to take care of his own sin problem. The Scribes and Pharisees and Jews of John 8 provide examples of some who claimed to be spiritually clean.

The Benefit of Asking and Answering These Unasked Questions

1. At times, this type of creative thinking fills huge logical gaps in the presentation of some biblical teaching. For example, think of the hole which would exist if a preacher preached Genesis 6:1-8 without asking and answering the question, How did Noah find grace in the eyes of the Lord while living in such a wicked culture?

2. Frequently, this type of inquiry leads to a more thorough understanding of the human condition. Chapell talks about the FCF or fallen-condition-focus as being "the mutual human condition that contemporary believers share with those to or for whom the text was written that requires the grace of the passage" (1994, 42). In his lectures, Robinson uses the phrase depravity factor. Lowery (1980, 20) explains the value of asking Why?: "The question why is most often the context for the transition into homiletical form….Every explicit theme presumes an implicit problem….In the tension produced by the interaction of these ingredients, sermons are born." In other words, asking the question, Why?, helps the preacher uncover the implied problem of the Text which, according to Lowery, should be solved late in the sermon by the Good News. To ask, Why are faithful men so rare?, while preaching Proverbs 20:6 is to delve into our fallen condition.

N.B. Lowry also writes, "ask why and [do] not be content with your answers (1980, 42)." Children develop this skill intuitively. They are not content with their parents first or second or third answer to their questioning "Why?" so they keep asking it. But, if you’ve ever been caught in one of these inquisitions, you know that by the time you’ve answered the final "Why?"-just before you resort to your final answer, "Because"-you have unearthed some truths that you haven’t considered for quite a while. You’ve gone deep into the nature of things.

3. Out of this analysis of the human condition comes greater relevance. A sermon that focuses on the human condition that needs God’s Word is a sermon that relates to where people live. Expository sermons often get labeled as dry and irrelevant. These questions, however, bring the raw data out of the lab and into the living room.

4. These questions and answers provide a logical and natural place to bring information from biblical and systematic theology into the sermon. One of the problems preaching students have is trying to bring in biblical information from elsewhere without breaking up the continuity of their sermon. At best, the listeners get a list of disjointed truths about a particular topic. Unasked questions provide a natural bridge on which the preacher can bring in other facets of the concept.

N.B. Biblical and systematic theology is normally thought of as a kind of checks-and-balance to exegesis (Warren 1991, 476-478; Greidanus 1988, 102-121; Osborne 1991, 264). This discussion, however, gives the two disciplines another function. Biblical and systematic theology goes beyond the realm of developing intended meaning or fuller meaning by adding logical connections-other facets-to the topic in question. These logical connections give the congregation added information while maintaining the flow and dominant idea of the sermon.

This is especially helpful to beginning students. Exegesis and theology occur so "early" in the study, preachers may not readily see their connection to homiletics-once the idea has been checked and refined against the data of theology, the information has served its purpose. But the process of doing biblical and systematic theology can be very helpful in developing the logic and flow of the sermon, rather than just supplying more data.

5. Creative thinking that centers on asking and answering the unasked questions of the preaching portion boosts attention and interest through dialogue. Hogan asserts that "all effective preaching must be dialogical. Verbal exchange may not be present, but the preacher must engage in silent dialogue with the congregation: by anticipating what they are thinking, by asking rhetorical questions that forces them to engage with the sermon mentally, through eye contact. Preaching that is not dialogical, at least in this sense, is likely to go right over people’s heads, or to put them to sleep" (Hogan 1997, 6; cf. also Arthurs 1997, 1).

Take the question, Why?, for example. Tension is created whenever something is questioned. That tension often creates attention by forcing the congregation to think with you and to think critically about what is being said. Lowery (1980, 1985), well-known for his work on narrative sermons, calls the second of his five-fold loop, "Analyzing the discrepancy" or simply "Ugh!" He states that "...a sermon is a plot…which has as its key ingredient a sensed discrepancy, a homiletical bind. Something is ‘up in the air’-an issue not resolved (1980, 15). Forcing people ask and answer the question, Why?, is an excellent way to create the homiletical bind.

How important is it that preachers ask questions in their sermons? One of the interesting results from Lewis’s comparison of sermons found in 20 Centuries of Great Preaching with those found in Cox’s The Twentieth Century Pulpit was that "Of the thirty-seven preachers Cox included, the sixteen popular and famous enough to be included also in the 20 Centuries work averaged twenty-two questions per sermon. The lesser known preachers included in Cox’s book averaged eleven questions" (Lewis 1989, 31).

How Do You Train A Student To Create These Questions?

1. Every preaching portion discussed in class in whatever forum provides an opportunity for creative thinking of this kind. Point out the logical gaps that could be filled by these kinds of questions.

2. It’s possible to help students work backwards. From their preaching portion, let them cross-reference and do biblical and systematic theology with creative thinking in mind. After they have isolated pertinent data elsewhere ask them if that data answers a question not dealt with in their preaching portion. If the data answers questions already covered in your preaching portion, then the student knows that the cross-referenced text is adding to his sermon by restatement or repetition. Sunday morning leaves little or no time for turning to other texts which don’t add significant truth to the preaching portion.

3. The first two are simply ways to teach students to add this type of search to their fast-improving observational skills. Teach them to look carefully for these implied questions. They are often present, but students must learn not to miss the obvious…

Juan comes up to the Mexican border on his bicycle. He has two large bags over his shoulders. The guard stops him and says, "What’s in the bags?"

"Sand," answered Juan. The guard says, "We’ll just see about that. Get off the bike."

The guard takes the bags and rips them apart; he empties them out and finds nothing in them but sand. He detains Juan overnight and has the sand analyzed, only to discover that there is nothing but pure sand in the bags. The guard releases Juan, puts the sand into new bags, hefts them onto the man’s shoulders, and lets him cross the border.

A week later, the same thing happens. The guard asks, "What have you got?"

"Sand," says Juan.

The guard does his thorough examination and discovers that the bags contain nothing but sand. He gives the sand back to Juan, and Juan crosses the border on his bicycle.

This sequence of events is repeated every day for three years. Finally, Juan doesn’t show up one day and the guard meets him in a Cantina in Mexico.

"Hey, Buddy," says the guard, "I know you are smuggling something. It’s driving me crazy. It’s all I think about…..I can’t sleep. Just between you and me, what are you smuggling?"

Juan sips his beer and says, "Bicycles."

Part of teaching students to think creatively is to encourage them to look for the obvious questions that are not so obvious at first glance. The preaching portion may not be asking and answering these questions explicitly, but they are crying out for attention.

Reference List

Arthurs, J. (1997). "Proclamation through conversation: dialogue as a form for preaching." South Hamilton, MA: Evangelical Homiletics Society.

Chapell, B. (1994). Christ-Centered Preaching. Grand Rapids: Baker.

Greidanus, S. (1988). The Modern Preacher and the Ancient Text. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.

Hogan, W. (1997). "White guys can’t preach." South Hamilton, MA: Evangelical Homiletics Society.

Lowry, E. (1980). The Homiletical Plot. Atlanta: John Knox.

—. (1985). Doing Time in the Pulpit. Nashville: Abingdon.

Lewis, R. L. & Lewis, G. (1989). Learning to Preach like Jesus. Wheaton: Crossway.

Myers, G. (1997). "An experience-based model for the teaching of expository preaching." South Hamilton, MA: Evangelical Homiletics Society.

Osborne, G. (1991). The Hermeneutical Spiral. Downer’s Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press.

Robinson, H. (1980). Biblical Preaching. Grand Rapids: Baker.

Warren, T. (1991). “A Paradigm for Preaching.” Bibliotheca Sacra, 148 (592), 463-486.

—. (1997). "Preaching’s theological process." South Hamilton, MA: Evangelical Homiletics Society.

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