Distance in Preaching : Room to Speak, Space to Listen

Based On Several Years Of Teaching And Careful Observation In Preaching Classes, This Book By Michael Brothers Explores The Benefits Of Distance In Preaching -- And Listening To -- Sermons. Having Noticed That Sermon Listeners Generally Want To Be Given Room For Their Own Interpretations And Experiences, Brothers Argues That Critical And Aesthetic Distance As A Hermeneutical Tool Is Vital To Hearing The Gospel Today And Should Be Intentionally Employed In Sermon Construction And Delivery. He Explains This Distance In The Field Of Homiletics, Equips Teachers And Students Of Preaching To Evaluate The Function Of Distance In Sermons, And Encourages Preachers To Practice The Use Of Distance In Their Preaching. Setting The Stage. A Change In Hearing ; Proposal And Plan Of The Book ; Introducing Distance In Preaching -- Aesthetic Distance In Performance. Aesthetic Distance ; Performing Distance ; Backdrop For Preaching -- Distance In Preaching : Fred Craddock's Homiletical Method. Preserving The Text : Distance In Interpretation ; Protecting The Hearer : Distance In The Sermon ; Respecting The Hearer : Distance In Delivery ; Summary -- Absorption In The Sermon : Postliberal Homiletics. Mark Ellingsen's Homiletic ; Charles Campbell's Homiletic ; Absorption Reconsidered -- Clearing The Sanctuary : Room And Space. Distance Reconsidered ; Recent Proposals ; Conclusion -- Two Sermons. Were You There? : A Sermon On John 19:16b-25 ; Sibling Revelry : A Sermon On Luke 15:11-32. Michael Brothers. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Based on several years of teaching and careful observation in preaching classes, this book by Michael Brothers explores the benefits of "distance" in preaching -- and listening to -- sermons.

Having noticed that sermon listeners generally want to be given room for their own interpretations and experiences, Brothers argues that critical and aesthetic distance as a hermeneutical tool is vital to hearing the gospel today and should be intentionally employed in sermon construction and delivery. He explains this "distance" in the field of homiletics, equips teachers and students of preaching to evaluate the function of distance in sermons, and encourages preachers to practice the use of distance in their preaching.