One Gospel, Many Ears: Preaching for Different Listeners in the Congregation

In the book 'One Gospel, Many Ears: Preaching for Different Listeners in the Congregation', Joseph Jeter and Ron Allen address the problem every preacher has (and, indeed, any public speaker has) of trying to get a message across to a wide-ranging audience. Think for a moment of the typical congregation, classroom, or audience. There will be young and old, rich and poor, male and female, people of varying social and educational backgrounds, people of different races, and even when it is a congregation of people from the same denomination, there will be people with differing religious experiences and theological beliefs. That is a huge diversity to contend with in preparing a message!Jeter and Allen take the task in hand to look both at the types of listeners in the congregation as well as the types of messages that work for particular and for general audiences.--Who is listening to this?-Much of the text is concerned with this question. Whole chapters are devoted addressing generational issues, gender issues, multicultural issues, learning style and mental process issues, social class issues, and 'political' issues. Prior to this, however, Jeter and Allen look at the variety that exists in congregations as a mixture - rarely does one get a congregation that fits any particular model. The authors give fair warning up front: 'Belonging to a particular cohort does not completely predetermine how a person will respond to a particular mode of expression or to a particular sermon.' This book will provide clues to finding the answer, but that answer may still remain elusive. In looking at generational issues, the task is more complicated than young versus old. Currently in congregations, according to the authors, there are four primary generations represented: the Builders (the real elders of the church), the Silents, the Boomers, and the Generation-13. Each has characteristics of responsiveness, yet within each generation is a wide range of values, priorities, and needs. In looking at different mental processes (learning styles), Jeter and Allen look at various educational and developmental psychology theories to help clarify how people become and remain who they are. Evaluation and diagnostic tools such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, Fowler's Faith Development Theory, and Neuro Linguistic Programming models give insight into the way people perceive the world, and hence hear and respond to sermons.Gender issues are more complicated than male-female, Mars-and-Venus types of constructions. Jeter and Allen give attention to a generation's work on feminist theory and ways women know and understand things, as well as the way men respond to language, instruction, and preaching. They conclude the chapter by looking at sexuality and orientation issues, one of the hot-button issues confronting many denominations today. Jeter and Allen are generally open and affirming toward such populations, recognising the real issues and pain others hav