Variety is the spice of . . . Preaching

I just finished a book called Variety in Biblical Preaching by Harold Freeman. It was published in 1987. I believe it to be out of print at this time, as I was only able to find copies of it on the internet at "used" book sites. I cannot remember where I got this book. It was either as a part of lot from ebay or from another pastor. I was also a little skeptical that this book would be helpful, because it is nearly 20 years old.

Much to my surprise, it was a great book. It was an easy read. It was a quick read. It was packed with a great deal of help.

The main points are as follows:

1. Freeman is concerned with "biblical preaching." His concern is that the sermon is both faithful to the text of scripture and applicable to contemporary life. No matter what form of sermon a pastor would choose to use, the sermon must be biblical and applicable.

2. The first type of sermon discussed is the "dramatic monologue" in which the pastor enters the role of a biblical character to tell the story. For example, one would "become" Peter and reflect upon events that happened and deliver the message as Peter.

I have used this a couple times. The first time I did, I borrowed a sermon from a classmate in preaching class. I also wrote one of my own. I really liked doing these, and would like to do more of them in future.

3. The second type of sermon was the "dialogical message." This is when the minister "dialogues" with the congregation. There are numerous dangers in this method. Freeman asserts that one can be dialogical in principle while being monological in method. In this method the speaker anticipates questions that would arise from the congregation and answer them. It could go so far as allowing spontaneous questions and discussion.

The danger is that open-ended discussion can cause people to think that anything goes. Freeman says that questions can be predetermined, but that could seem contrived. If one is to use the dialogical method, one has to be careful.

4. The third type is the "narrative message." Freeman notes that the main difference between this and the dramatic monologue is that the narrative message is told in the third person rather than first person. The preacher retells the biblical story, either as it occurred or in a modern, updated form.

I have used this, especially with the parables of Jesus. I told the story in modern form, read the scripture and the offered application. (I'll talk more about application in a minute.)

5. He discussed briefly the "media-augmented message," the "inductive message," the "segmented sermon," and the "drama-augmented sermon."

a. In the discussion of the media-augmented message, the books age is most clear. He talks of slides rather than PowerPoint.

b. The inductive message is basically the reverse of the traditional sermon.

c. The segmented sermon is just that, segmented. One would preach for a time, take a break to do a reading or sing, then preach some more. I used this once on the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church; it went well.

d. The drama-augmented sermon is basically where one would have people act out the scene before, or during, the message.

When it comes to application, Freeman seems to prefer direct application where the minister tells the congregation directly what the application is. Indirect application can lead to subjective application.

If you can find the book, I recommend it.