| The divine offer of transformation from death to life is the great hope of the human race, for God has invited all people---soiled by sin and separated from him---to be made new. One significant means whereby this transformation is effected is the preaching of God's Word. For the preacher, there can be no greater joy than to experience this divine work of reversing the effects of sin and death. Such a work is not passive, however, but requires that Spirit-empowered preachers investigate and employ the full range of divine resources given for their task.;To the dismay of many preachers, a surprising number of the sermons they preach are non-transformative, having little result in the lives of their people. Although this problem stems from several causes, one is a homiletic that lacks a robust understanding of human beings, both as individuals and as groups. Such a homiletic can be traced back to an imbalanced reading of God's revelation, one which leaves little room for the study of general revelation. The result is that preachers are missing several divinely ordained tools---particularly those related to the human context---given to help them effectively accomplish their task.;To address the problem of non-transformative preaching, this doctoral project proposed a thoroughgoing integration with Christian professors of social science. These researchers, consulted on account of their focused study of human beings, were asked to aid the homiletical community in its understanding of transformation. Through the use of qualitative research, a grounded theory for transformative preaching was developed. This theory stated that if preaching is to be transformative, it must be personally holistic, relationally robust, structurally sound, and environmentally engaging. By taking up this fourfold work, preachers can more faithfully communicate within the human context of their congregations, thereby using the full range of divine resources given for transformative preaching. May the future use and development of such a homiletic unleash the power of God to transform the lives of his people!... |
