Thomas Long Study Notes

Question 1

What image emphasizes the preacher’s relationship to the congregation?

Answer 1

(The pastoral image)

Question 2

What image deemphasizes the personality of the preacher?

Answer 2

(The herald image)

Question 3

What image tends to turn church into a hospital?

Answer 3

(The pastoral image)

Question 4

Which image is the best at integrating the virtues of the others and holding their strengths in creative tension?

Answer 4

(witness)

Question 5

Which image runs the risk of basing religion primarily on experience?

Answer 5

(story-telling)

Question 6

Instead of “exegeting a congregation” as though they were an object or a stranger, what does Long suggest preachers should do?

Answer 6

(Be open to the congregation, pay attention to them and to the constraints and possibilities of their lives)

Question 7

What is meant by a catalytic reading of a biblical text?

Answer 7

(Hearing the gospel as a kind of force at work in the text cutting across two kinds of cultural static - the ancient world and the contemporary world).

Question 8

What is Long’s perspective on doing exegesis for preaching?

Answer 8

(Preachers should not filter out the local circumstances from the interpretation of the text. The whole aim of exegesis is to hear in that specific text a word for the congregation, and who we happen to be at this moment makes a considerable difference in how the preacher approaches the text)

Question 9

What is the meaning of lectio continua?

Answer 9

(continuous reading)

Question 10

What is one limitation of using a lectionary?

Answer 10

(Many texts are omitted, including whole books of the Bible).

Question 11

At what point in the exegetical process should the preacher address the issues of the congregation?

Answer 11

(In stating the claim of the text upon the congregation)

Question 12

What was one of the central debates that Fred Craddock’s homiletic theory generated?

Answer 12

(That this homiletic led to the use of personal stories which trump the main ideas found in the text).

Question 13

Theologically where do preachers come from?

Answer 13

????

Question 14

What is Long’s perspective on using PowerPoint in the sermon?

Answer 14

(if it supports the spoken word, use it; if the visual replaces the spoken word, eliminate it or save it for another occasion)

Question 15

When should preachers initially consult commentaries in the process of exegesis?

Answer 15

(When researching the background of a text and in creating a community of interpretation after one has done research/interpretation)

Question 16

What is one important component of an effective sermon for Lowry?

Answer 16

(experiencing the gospel)

Question 17

How did early 20th century homiletics view the illustration?

Answer 17

(As windows on the word which bring in the clear sunshine of comprehension).

Question 18

What is the primary purpose of practicing the sermon out loud?

Answer 18

(to place ourselves in the role of the listener)

Question 19

What analogy does Long use to describe the transitions in a sermon?

Answer 19

(the television sports announcers - play-by-play and color)

Question 20

According to Long, what role do the hearers play in listening to sermons?

Answer 20

???

Question 21

What terms are related to the purpose of the focus statement?

Answer 21

(concise description, controlling/unifying theme, what the sermon will be about)

Question 22

What is the limitation of a preacher choosing a biblical text every week?

Answer 22

(He tends to pick texts he already knows well)

Question 23

What is Long’s view of “stockroom” forms of sermons?

Answer 23

(That they are answers to the kind of dynamic questions about sermon form. They can be used to effectively structure sermons)

Question 24

What element does the herald image emphasize?

Answer 24

(the importance of the message)

Question 25

How would Long respond to the question, “Can preaching really be learned?”

Answer 25

(It is like learning to play the piano - some basic ability helps but hard work must be invested in it)

Question 26

What critique does Long level against David Buttrick?

Answer 26

(1- do ideas get formed in human consciousness in the way Buttrick say they do? and 2) is it adequate to say that the sermon is merely movements of language from one idea to another).

Question 27

Compare the differences between the three types of illustrations: simile, synecdoche, and metaphor.

Answer 27

(similes compare ‘A’ to ‘B’ using ‘like’, ‘as’, etc..)
(synecdoches uses examples from real life without comparing ‘A’ to ‘B’)
(metaphors compares the familiar with something unfamiliar)

Question 28

What is the limitation of Eugene Lowry’s “problem solving” approach to sermon form?

Answer 28

(It does not take into account that human creativity is fragile and unpredictable)

Question 29

What are four purposes of the introduction?

Answer 29

1. it should make an implicit or explicit promise to the hearers;
2. it should make a promise that the hearers are likely to want to keep;
3. it should make a promise at the same communicational level as the rest of the sermon;
4. it should anticipate the whole sermon and connect directly to the next step

Question 30

What is Long’s criticism of the “roundtable” sermon of McClure?

Answer 30

(the congregation does not want to listen to itself and project its own image on itself; it wants to hear Christ’s voice)

Question 31

What is the relationship between preacher, text and congregation?

Answer 31

???