Philip Arthur Bence PhD Thesis - Research@StAndrews:FullText

CHAPTER FIVE NOTES (p. 183-264)
1 Several survey questions did not play as important
a role in this study as originally planned. These questions
dealt with potential changes in preaching (and the teaching
of preaching) both at individual colleges as well as in the
broader context of the church as a whole. A summary of the
overall response to these questions appears in appendix six.
2This chapter rarely considers individual settings
where homiletical education occurs. The various comparisons
are based on statistical descriptions of contrasting groups
of institutions. To achieve its goal, the study required
this methodology. Within this chapter, the individual
settings (where live lecturers interact with actual
students) regretfully disappears into the mist of the
composite. As Paul Tillich wrote, "Types are logical ideals
for the sake of discerning understanding; they do not exist
in time and space, and in reality we find . . . a mixture of
types in every particular example." Christianity and the
Encounter of the World Religions. (New York: Columbia
University Press), p. 54,55.
3 Although this goal of teaching preaching did not
specifically mention the Bible, there seemed to be a
correlation between a high priority given to this goal and
an awe before Scripture as evidenced in other survey
responses. See talbles 26,28,30, and 31 below.
"A few incorrect figures, particularly large ones,
can greatly skew an average, while their effect on a median
Is smaller.
F.R. Jolliffe, Survey Design and Analysis.
(Chichester: Ellis Horwood Ltd., 1986), p. 25.
s There certainly would have been more than one
method of coding the responses to the open questions. In
notes 7-11, I list actual survey responses which underlie my
system of coding.
7 In many cases, the lecturers used phrases identical
to the ones I used in coding. Question ten brought more
variety than the others. Other lecturer wordings include:
Bible: "Exposition," "God's Word," "Exegesis," "The
text in context," "Interpretation"
Congregation: "Knowing the people," "Relevance to
audience," "Awareness of listener response," "Empathy,"
"Knowledge of the culture to which one is speaking,"
"Pastoral work," "Sensitivity," "The contemporary context,"
"Feedback systems," "The need to listen," "Preach to the
people," "Community," "Contextualisation," "Realism in
presentation," "Openness toward the world," "The local
church," "Appropriateness," "Rapport," "Knowing the people"
Sermon construction: "Content," "Shaping of material,"
"Different sorts of sermons," "Having one idea,"
"Organisation," "Having something to say," "Sermon
preparation," "The structure of a sermon," "Introductions
and conclusions," "Illustrations," "Written sermons,"
"Study," "Simplicity of thought," "Methods of preaching"
Communication skills: "Clarity," "Words," "Delivery,"
"Brevity-conciseness," "Imagination," "Humour,"
"Enthusiasm," "Interest," "Can it be understood?"