From Study to Sanctuary: Planning a Calendar and Developing a Process for Effective Preaching A Thesis-Project Submitted to the Faculty of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Ministry by Phillip Hargrove Jr. Greenville, South Carolina January 2018 Copyright © 2018 by Phillip Hargrove, Jr. All rights Reserved Acknowledgements To Cary: my wife, soul mate, best friend, and ministry partner—thank you for putting up with more pouting and procrastination than productivity through the years. You make doing life together an adventure and a joy. My heart will always find its home with you. To Allie, Mia, Lincoln, and Rosa—thank you for humoring me by saying that you love it when daddy preaches. I’m starting to believe it. Table of Contents Acknowledgements iii Table of Contents iv Table of Tables x Abstract xii Chapter 1 The Problem and Its Setting 1 The Scene 1 The Problem 4 The Rationale for Planning and Developing a Process 6 The Hypothesis 7 The Ministry Setting 8 The Importance 9 The Opportunity 11 The Purpose 12 The Questions 13 The Not in the Scope of This Thesis-Project 14 Chapter 2 Theological and Biblical Foundations 15 General Theology: God Speaks, Preachers Speak 16 God Speaking in Relationship to Himself and Humanity 17 Preaching: A Theology of the Word(s) 20 Applied Theology: Preachers Plan Preaching, Preachers Prepare Sermons 24 Theological and Biblical Foundations for Planning Preaching and Preparing Sermons 25 iv Old and New Testament Practice 28 2 Timothy 4:2 34 2 Timothy 2:15 37 Acts and the Pastoral Epistles: Located in Specific Ministry Contexts 38 General Theological and Biblical Foundations on Planning 41 Jesus and Paul 42 Proverbs 45 Conclusion: Benefits and Cautions 47 Chapter 3 Literature Review 49 Introduction 49 Contemporary Texts on Planning Preaching 49 Gibson, Preaching with a Plan 50 Rummage, Planning Your Preaching 55 Classic Texts on Preparing Sermons 57 Robinson, Biblical Preaching 58 Buttrick, Homiletic 60 Stott, Between Two Worlds 63 Craddock, Preaching 65 Greidanus, The Modern Preacher and the Ancient Text 69 Chapell, Christ-Centered Preaching 72 Lowry, The Homiletic Plot 77 In General Conversation: Broad Touch Points 82 v Conclusion 84 Chapter 4 Project Design 85 Introduction 85 Planning a Preaching Calendar: Limitations, Plan 87 Congregational Evaluation: Questionnaires, 93 Focus Groups, Interviews 93 Philippians: Congregational Surveys 93 Proverbs: Congregational Surveys, Descriptive Narrative 95 Galatians: Interviews, Feed Forward Group 97 Preacher Evaluation: Ministry Narrative, Journals 100 Ministry Narrative: Descriptive Research, Journals, Interviews, Personal Case Study 101 Confirming with Others: Interviews 103 Final Thoughts 106 Conclusion 108 Chapter 5 Outcomes 110 Introduction 110 Results 112 Peace Experienced, Effectiveness Realized 112 General Results 114 Personal Synthesis 119 Reflections 119 One Size Does Not Fit All 119 vi Follow the Steps, Stir in a Bowl, Presto? 121 Preaching Is Not the Be-All, End-All 121 Contextualization Key 122 “Know Thyself” 123 Effectiveness and Unction 124 Stopping the Spigot: Safeguards for the Information Collector 125 Further Reflections 127 Questions to Address and Further Study 128 Questions Related to Effectiveness 128 How to Measure Effectiveness? 129 Further Study Areas 130 How Much Time to Spend on Sermon Preparation? 131 Too High a View of Preaching? 131 Solitary or Communal Event? 132 Big Idea Worship? 134 Conclusion: Interpretations, Implications, Recommendations 135 Implications 136 Recommendations 138 Commit to Planning an Advance Sermon Calendar 139 Gather Resources for Regular Sermon Research 139 Decide on a Sermon Preparation Process 140 vii Elicit Help 140 Establish Stops 141 Appendix A Planning a Preaching Calendar 143 “Marinating”: The Main Motivation 147 General Benefits for Planning Sermons: A Survey 150 Disadvantages to Planning a Preaching Calendar 157 Appendix B Literature Review of Authors’ Sermon Preparation Methods 161 Appendix C Professors’ and Pastors’ Sermon Preparation Process 175 Introduction 175 Background: The “Big Rocks” of Sermon Preparation and the Big Idea 176 Appendix D What Makes a Sermon Effective? 198 Sermon Effectiveness: Perspectives 199 Effectiveness: The Holy Spirit 214 Effectiveness: Evaluation Forms and Articles 216 Effectiveness: Communication Skills 221 Conclusion 223 Appendix E Personal Devotion and Sermon Preparation 226 The Inherent Tension 226 The Intuitive Ideal 229 The Personal Reality 238 The Hopeful Synthesis 242 Conclusion 243 viii Appendix F Personal Process for Sermon Planning 245 The Four-Week Sermon Cycle: Phil Hargrove’s “Month- Out Mile Plan” 246 Bibliography 251 Vita 262 ix List of Tables Table A.1: Scott Gibson’s Planning a Preaching Calendar 144 Table A.2: Stephen Rummage’s Developing a Preaching Calendar 145 Table A.3: Stephen Rummage’s Preaching Strategy Worksheet 147 Table A.4: Advantages for Advance Sermon Planning 150 Table B.1: Haddon Robinson’s Ten Stages Approach to Sermon Preparation 161 Table B.2: David Buttrick’s Homiletic Process 163 Table B.3: John Stott’s Steps for Preparing a Sermon 164 Table B.4: Fred Craddock’s Two Stages of Sermon Preparation 166 Table B.5: Sidney Greidanus’s Ten Steps to Christocentric Sermons 167 Table B.6: Bryan Chapell’s Sermon Preparation Broad Steps 168 Table B.7: Bryan Chapell’s Christ-Centered Method 169 Table B.8: Eugene Lowry’s Homiletic Plot Method 172 Table B.9: Eugene Lowry’s Sermon Preparation Process 174 Table C.1: Four Basic Elements of Sermon Preparation 176 Table C.2: Timothy Keller’s Synthesis on Basic Elements of Sermon Preparation 177 Table C.3: Phrases Used to Narrow Down to a Single Idea by a Sample of Pastors 178 Table C.4: Donald Sunukjian’s Large Framework 179 Table C.5: Alastair Begg’s Foundational Questions 180 Table C.6: Alastair Begg’s Overall Focus 180 Table C.7: Chuck Swindoll’s Overall Focus 180 Table C.8: Mark Galli and Craig Brian Larson’s Preaching that Connects 180 x