SERMON SCIENCE
How the Laws of Learning Can Increase Sermon Impact and Change Lives
About The Book
SERMON SCIENCE
Sermon Science intersects the design and development of sermons with research-based principles from instructional design that have been proven to help listeners learn, retain, and apply the content of a sermon.
Table of Contents
Preface
Chapter 1 – Why Better Sermons?
Why might it be helpful to reconsider sermon listeners as active learners. The concept of teaching is defined broadly and readers are introduced (in a non-technical way) to the field of instructional design, which has discovered principles that can be applied to sermons to enhance recall, learning, and application of the intended focus of the sermon. Brief, everyday examples of the principles are provided.
Chapter 2 – Are You Ready?
The focus of Chapter 2 is how pastors can apply principles from the learning sciences to move from a sermon topic to practical impact in the lives of their congregants. Key elements of sermon preparation and the singular importance of developing and communicating a key point of a sermon are explained and examples provided.
Chapter 3 – The Lectern and the Pulpit
Clearly there are important distinctions between sermons and teaching. In this chapter, the differences between a sermon informed by principles of instructional design and, for example, a traditional lecture are identified and explained. The key idea of communicating intended meaning and accessibility of a sermon to diverse listeners is developed and examples provided.
Chapter 4 – No Laughing Matter
Humor is often incorporated into sermons—albeit often in ways that might actually be barriers to understanding, recalling, and applying the main points of a sermon. Of note, a good deal of research exists on the effective use of humor to promote learning; those principles are presented and exemplified.
Chapter 5 – Vehicles
This chapter addresses the mechanisms for communication of sermon content, derived from what the field of instructional design has discovered about vehicles for enhancing learning, recall, and application. Sections include the use of stories, analogies, the effective use of examples (and non-examples), and the use of technology (e.g., video, powerpoint) for presentations in the digital age.
Chapter 6 – Testing: 1, 2, 3
Those who develop and deliver sermons rarely get even the most basic information about their success. Mechanisms for gauging whether listeners have learned are almost never incorporated. This chapter explores the possibilities for gathering information on learning and sermon impact. Formal "tests" aren't the answer, but several informal mechanisms for gathering information on sermon effectiveness are possible; these are described and suggestions for seamlessly and unobtrusively integrating these mechanisms are provided.
Chapter 7 – The Critical Friend
This chapter introduces the concept of a critical friend. Here, “critical” connotes candid, thoughtful, supportive. The principle of feedback is defined and the power of feedback provided by a trusted mentor or peer in a context where it is both given and received with trust and encouragement is illustrated. The characteristics of an appropriate person to serve in the capacity of a critical friend are described; the process for structuring the critical friend interactions and obtaining feedback on sermons is detailed; and suggestions for the safe and open processing of that feedback are provided.
Chapter 8 – Dear Pastor
This chapter is a more intimate, personal letter to those who develop and deliver sermons. It provides a brief summary, reviews key conclusions, and provides suggestions for next steps, but it also includes encouragement and recognition of the important work of preaching and value of incorporating principles identified in the field of learning sciences for increasing sermon impact.
About the Author
SERMON SCIENCE
The inspiration to write Sermon Science crystallized after my wife, Julie, and I were heading home from church one Sunday. We typically engage in a kind of informal “debriefing” that begins with some variant of a basic question: “What did you think of the sermon today?”
Our conversations are helpful in clarifying what we think we heard; they stimulate deeper consideration of how we believe God is teaching and leading us; they they bring us closer together spiritually.
“That was a really good example he gave about....”
“I never thought about .... that way in my life.”
“I didn’t understand what he meant about....”
“That point about.... really hit home for me.”
Too often, however, my wife might ask what key points I took away from the sermon—that concluded only moments earlier—and I am at a loss to even remember the general topic. Often, we both struggle to recall a single key takeaway or to articulate even a vague idea of what the main idea was. That didn’t seem good.
Based on years of sermon observations and his background in the learning sciences, Dr. Gregory J. Cizek set out to apply research-based principles of how people learn to the development and delivery of sermons. His passion is to help preachers develop and deliver sermons that help their listeners grasp, retain, and apply what hey have heard--reconceptualizing listeners as learners.
Dr. Cizek earned his PhD in Measurement and Evaluation, with a concentration in instructional design from Michigan State University. He recently completed 20+ years of teaching, research, and service at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.