The Essentials of Preaching
Inductive Movement:
The sermon is less a confrontation and more a journey of exploration and discovery.
However, inductive preaching can take on sameness from week to week that is anesthetizing and even wearying. Congregations can feel a sinking in their hearts at the thought of taking a trip every Sunday, just as they can get tired of deductive preaching that, week after week, parades points through the pulpit. Some inductive preachers have a penchant for developing surprise endings. But how often can a congregation be surprised? Inductive preachers need to monitor their sermons to be sure that they provide enough variety to nurture congregational interest.
In inductive preaching, the preacher does not state the major conclusion of the sermon until near the end.^ The preacher begins with particular questions, data, and other information, and leads the congregation through a process of consideration that arrives at a conclusion. Whereas a model for deductive preaching is holding up an oral billboard in the pulpit, a model for inductive preaching is taking a journey on which neither the route nor the destination is fully known. The congregation has a general sense of the subject matter of the sermon, but they do not know the precise conclusion until near the end of the sermon.
One of the strengths of inductive preaching is that its process of moving from question or issue to conclusion reflects the way we usually operate in life. We usually move from particulars in experience (incidents, issues, information) to generalizations. The inductive sermon creates a lifelike sense of encounter, reflection, and resolution.Another virtue of inductive preaching is that it creates a sense of curiosity in the congregation. This quality encourages the congregation to continue listening to the sermon until they hear how the sermon comes out. Still, another strength is that the congregation joins th;e preacher in the process of reflecting on the text or topic. By so doing, they often have a significant sense of ownership in the conclusion, for they share in the process of discovery that leads to that conclusion.Inductive preaching calls for considerable creativity from the preacher. Not only must the preacher determine what to say, but also the preacher must determine how to say it. There is no formula, outline, or movement for the inductive sermon.
However, this approach has some potential drawbacks. Candidly, I must say that some inductive sermons are almost impossible to follow. They never quite start, go anywhere, or arrive. The preacher appears to say whatever comes to mind, without relating it to what precedes or follows. While stream of consciousness may be high art in a James Joyce novel, it is usually an experience of frustration for a congregation. The inductive preacher needs to be certain that the sermon starts somewhere, moves in a way that the congregation can follow, and goes somewhere. The process of creating the inductive sermon is sometimes time- consuming and frustrating. The deductive preacher has a general structure into which to pour thought, whereas the inductive preacher is sometimes uncertain how to get from one question or perspective to another to a conclusion, and can even experience the equivalent of “writer’s block.”Some listeners prefer deductive preaching to inductive.
How does the Inductive Sermon Unfold?
The inductive sermon begins by calling attention to a question, an issue, an event, a feeling an experience, or some other aspect of life that calls for interpretation from the perspective of the gospel. This subject may arise from a biblical text or from life experience. The preacher may start by talking about issues raised by the Bible or doctrine, and then move to theological reflection. Or, the sermon may start with issues or incidents from a life outside the Bible or doctrine, and thence go to theological reflection. The body of the sermon brings together the resources necessary to interpret the text or topic.At some point, usually in the last third of the sermon, the inductive preacher states the major point of the sermon. Sometimes the preacher even articulates the sermon in a sentence. I say “usually in the last third of the sermon” to indicate that the preacher has considerable freedom as to when to make the major point. Sometimes the preacher saves the major conclusion until the last sentences of the sermon. At other times, the preacher recognizes that the major conclusion needs some elaboration, and so makes it earlier. The preacher then fills out implications of the big point. Occasionally an inductive preacher does not state the major claim of the sermon; the preacher leaves the listeners to figure out the primary message of the sermon.
Fred Craddock, one of the most well-known preachers at the beginning of the twenty-first century, suggests that the process ofpreparing the sermon can be the structure of the sermon itself.^ The preacher re-creates in the pulpit the process of encountering the text or topic, and identifying the questions and issues that it raises for the preacher and the congregation. The sermon traces how the preacher researches the background materials necessary to understand it, and reflects on the theological interpretation of the text or topic.The preacher sometimes takes the congregation down dead-end paths, or may invite the congregation to sit in the silent contemplation that sometimes gathers around an aspect of text or topic. The preacher may share a quote from a systematic theologian, or a poem or short story, or an experience that comes to mind. Of course the preacher cannot recall every twist and turn that took place during the preparation process, but must focus on key elements that help the congregation follow the path that leads to the conclusion of the sermon.An inductive message often develops along the lines of an authordeveloping a novel. An author begins with general ideas about the purposes of the novel, its setting, the characters, the plot, key events, and the impression that the novelist would like for the book to leave on the reader. The book often unfolds according to plan. However, in the process of writing, the plot and characters may take on a life of their own. The plot takes turns and twists that the writer did not anticipate. The characters say things and act in ways that the author did not have in mind when beginning to write. The novel may turn out to be very different from the one the writer planned.
When Do You Preach Inductively?When would you turn to an inductive sermon? Such a sermon is good for almost any Sunday. Inductive preaching can bring the congregation into an encounter with the gospel in connection with most biblical texts or topics.This style of preaching is especially amenable to texts and topics about which the congregation has questions. Inductive preaching is also a good way to approa«lf texts and topics that have an aesthetic dimension, or around which emotions are intense. It allows the preacher an optimum opportunity for poetic expression, the use of imagery and narratives. Because the inductive pattern itself is close to life experience, the preacher can easily incorporate discussion of feelings that are deep and sensitive.As previously noted, this approach is especially useful when the sermon moves into a controversial direction. Instead of throwing the major claim of the message in the face of the congregation, as is done in the deductive sermon, the preacher eases the congregation into the subject in a spirit of mutual exploration of why the issue is important, how various people are affected by the issue (and feel about it), how different Christians have interpreted the issue (and why), and how the congregation might relate to the issue today. The sermon is less a confrontation and more a journey of exploration and discovery.