The Teaching Sermon

One of the primary duties of a preacher is to be a teacher. This aspect of preaching often gets buried under other considerations; depending upon the denomination, preachers can see their primary duty as preparation for an altar call, preparation for communion, explaining aspects of the Bible for today's context, identifying issues of concern for the congregation and community, energising and/or consoling the congregation, and a host of other concerns. Some of these have an element of teaching implicit in the consideration, and for others it becomes somewhat of a stretch. However, preachers are, in many respects, the one and only trained teacher of Christianity with whom many people will ever come into contact. In this volume, The Teaching Sermon, Allen gives strategies and techniques for developing sermons that can embody this teaching element for the congregation. Churches often have Sunday school, adult forums, and other events in which `education' is the primary focus, but there is something special about the sermon that makes it ultimately a better vehicle for teaching the Christian faith. Allen states he has two main goals for this text: `One is to reconnoiter the ways specific sermons can have teaching and learning as their fundamental purpose. The other is to help pastors reflect on their teaching and learning possibilities inherent in each sermon and consider ways to integrate these possibilities into their regular preaching.' The Call to the Teaching Ministry Today In this chapter, Allen looks at the role of preacher as teacher. Drawing on historical precedents such as the role of the magisterium in the Roman Catholic church and the redefinition of the church's teaching authority in the Reformation, Allen argues that however the teaching ministry is perceived, it is still present in the need of the congregation and expectation from the preacher today. Now more than ever, as theological illiteracy relative to previous generations continues to increase, the teaching ministry of the church is vital for its growth, indeed for its very survival. What is a Teaching Sermon? Allen shows his ecumenical Disciples roots clearly in this chapter, showing a broadly inclusive view of what the teaching sermon is and what its intention should be. `The teacher may be information giver, question asker, mentor, gadfly, guide, mediator, antiexample, poet. The teacher may need to withhold information or speak in paradox, to help the lesson distill in the students' minds. The teacher's specific role should fit both subject matter and students. However, a Christian teacher is not just a cafeteria manager who passes options before the learners. The Christian teacher aims not only to expose students to alternative points of view, but to help the congregation weigh those alternatives carefully.' Allen cautions against the impulse to teach all of Christianity while standing on one foot, or to try to cram an entire denomination's history and doctrinal understanding