I have been for years now teaching homiletical theories and methods to students at World Mission University in Los Angeles, California. I have been aware of certain problems in the theory and practice of preaching prevailing in the Korean church. One of the most critical issues is that Korean preaching largely consists of the topical-deductive method. Another is that a hierarchical structure enforces the gap between the preacher and the congregation. The study explores, within the framework of the theologian Johannes van der Ven’s empirical-theological research program, text-guided preaching, based on the American homiletician Thomas G. Long’s theory that the sermon should regenerate the impact of the biblical text, in the context of the Korean church and its tradition of preaching. The study looks at the history and characteristics of Korean preaching (Chapter 2) and also at the emergence, characteristics, and styles of new American preaching (Chapter 3). The empirical component of the study deals with a case study involving a preaching workshop for theological students as an illustration of the reception by Korean preachers of the proposed theory for preaching (Chapter 5). My proposal is that text-guided preaching (described in Chapter 4) will benefit those Korean preachers and students willing a homiletical exploration. The basic premise of this model of preaching is that a text seeks to impact its reader; or, to use Paul Ricoeur’s words, confronts its readers with a particular world of understanding; or, from the standpoint of speech-act theory, performs multiple illocutionary acts. Text-guided preaching as it is presented in this study incorporates the notion of application, a notion introduced to hermeneutics by Hans-Georg Gadamer that says that understanding a text always aims at some practical application. Homiletically refined by H. J. C. Pieterse and C. J. A. Vos, it means that the preacher’s understanding of a biblical text is partly determined by the particular, historically contingent situation of the congregation. This study adopts an empirical-theological approach to practical theology. As a part of the theological induction phase of the empirical-theological cycle, a preaching workshop was conducted with eight student-participants. The case study produced some significant results. The clearest finding has to do with the task of interpreting the life situation of the congregation. It leads to the conclusion that theological education at World Mission University has to be modified to include trainings that would produce competent interpreters of the cultural context of Christian life. / Thesis (PhD (Practical Theology))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Practical Theology / PhD / unrestricted

Text in Afrikaans / Summaries in Afrikaans and English / Die inhoud en vorm van 'n preek is 'n eenheid. Beide aspekte vorm deel van die teologiese teorie van die prediking. In hierdie studie word daar teoreties besin oor 'n bepaalde vorm van prediking. Dit behels 'n ondersoek na die literere vorm waarin die boodskap gestruktureer en verwoord word. Die Skrif bevat 'n verskeidenheid literere vorme wat deur Bybelskrywers aangewend is om die intensie van die teks effektief te kommunikeer. Elk van hierdie vorme besit 'n eiendomlike kommunikatiewe aard. Die ontwikkeling van die moderne literatuurwetenskap sedert die tagtigerjare van die twintigste eeu het stukrag verleen aan die insig dat die Bybel ook as 'n versameling godsdienstige literatuur bestudeer kan word. Dit het meegebring dat die intensie van die teks van die Bybel op 'n teologies verantwoordbare wyse, met inagneming van die historiese verbande, beter begryp kan word deur die gebruikmaking van insigte uit ander literatuur. As sodanig word erkende literere kunsvorme wat naas die logies-analitiese ook die emotiewe betrek, aanvaar. Die resultaat van hierdie ondersoek dui aan dat die preek as kunsvorm geevalueer en in die moderne preekteorie geregverdig kan word. Die proses van transformasie wat die moderne hermeneutiese benadering kenmerk; die veranderde beleweniswereld en verstaanshorison van die huidige hoorders asook die eiesoortige aard van Bybelse literatuur is vanuit 'n kommunikatiewe aanname in 'n kunsvorm binne die moderne homiletiese teorie haalbaar. Die teorie orienteer binne die kommunikatiewe handelingsteorie as meta-teorie wat ingestel is op dialogiese kommunikasie wat betekenisgewing deur waarnemerbetrokkenheid bevorder en 'n bepaalde denkwyse by die hoorders tot gevolg het. Die tradisionele vorm van prediking, gekenmerk deur absolute dominasie van die rede en intellektualisme uit die modernistiese tydvak, het teen die einde van die tweede millennium in ernstige diskrediet gekom. Die radikale verandering in die samelewing deur die moderniseringsproses met gepaardgaande paradigma verskuiwinge dwing die homiletiek om teoreties te herbesin. In hierdie studie word die preek as kunsvorm afgebaken tot die verhalende preekvorm, konseptueel ontwikkel en teoreties omskryf asook geplaas binne die moderne homiletiese teorie as komponent wat daarby pas. Die resultaat is verkry deur 'n vergelykende studie van gemeenskaplike wesenstrekke wat voorkom by erkende kunsvorme in die moderne kunsteorie; die verhalende kunsvorm in die moderne literere teorie met spesifieke verwysing na die Afrikaanse roman asook die verhalende preekvorm in die moderne homiletiese teorie. Deur hierdie vorm van prediking in die moderne preekteorie op te neem, kan 'n sinvolle bydrae gemaak word om die Christelike boodskap deur oortuiging sander enige vorm van dwang te kommunikeer. / In a sermon form and content are one. Both aspects form part of the theological theory of preaching. This theoretical survey investigates one of the various literary forms through which the biblical writers attempted to communicate the intention of the biblical text in the most effective way. Each of these forms possesses a distinctive communicative character. The development of modern literary theory since the eighties of the twentieth century was a propulsive force leading to the conviction that the Bible was also a collection of religious literature. This conviction implied that the intention of the biblical text could be more clearly understood in a theological justified manner within the historical context by using insights gained from other literature. Acknowledged literary art forms adhering to the emotive as well as the logic-analytical are embraced as such. In this study the sermon as an art form is limited to narrative preaching, developed as a concept; theoretically described and placed within the modern homiletical theory as a suitable component. Results are obtained by means of a comparative study of mutual features that are distinctive to acknowledged art forms in the modern theory of art; narrative art forms in modern literature theory specifically in the modern Afrikaans novel, as well as the narrative form of preaching in the modern homiletical theory. The modern homiletical theory is orientated within the communicative acts theory as meta-theory focusing on dialogical communication which promotes meaning through the involvement of the observer. The conclusions reached indicate that the sermon as an art form can be evaluated and justified within the modem homiletical theory. Taken up in this theory, it can prove significant in communicating the Christian message to the listeners in a convincing rather than compulsive manner. / Practical Theology / D.Th. (Practical theology)

Text in Afrikaans / Summaries in Afrikaans and English / Die inhoud en vorm van 'n preek is 'n eenheid. Beide aspekte vorm deel van die teologiese teorie van die prediking. In hierdie studie word daar teoreties besin oor 'n bepaalde vorm van prediking. Dit behels 'n ondersoek na die literere vorm waarin die boodskap gestruktureer en verwoord word. Die Skrif bevat 'n verskeidenheid literere vorme wat deur Bybelskrywers aangewend is om die intensie van die teks effektief te kommunikeer. Elk van hierdie vorme besit 'n eiendomlike kommunikatiewe aard. Die ontwikkeling van die moderne literatuurwetenskap sedert die tagtigerjare van die twintigste eeu het stukrag verleen aan die insig dat die Bybel ook as 'n versameling godsdienstige literatuur bestudeer kan word. Dit het meegebring dat die intensie van die teks van die Bybel op 'n teologies verantwoordbare wyse, met inagneming van die historiese verbande, beter begryp kan word deur die gebruikmaking van insigte uit ander literatuur. As sodanig word erkende literere kunsvorme wat naas die logies-analitiese ook die emotiewe betrek, aanvaar. Die resultaat van hierdie ondersoek dui aan dat die preek as kunsvorm geevalueer en in die moderne preekteorie geregverdig kan word. Die proses van transformasie wat die moderne hermeneutiese benadering kenmerk; die veranderde beleweniswereld en verstaanshorison van die huidige hoorders asook die eiesoortige aard van Bybelse literatuur is vanuit 'n kommunikatiewe aanname in 'n kunsvorm binne die moderne homiletiese teorie haalbaar. Die teorie orienteer binne die kommunikatiewe handelingsteorie as meta-teorie wat ingestel is op dialogiese kommunikasie wat betekenisgewing deur waarnemerbetrokkenheid bevorder en 'n bepaalde denkwyse by die hoorders tot gevolg het. Die tradisionele vorm van prediking, gekenmerk deur absolute dominasie van die rede en intellektualisme uit die modernistiese tydvak, het teen die einde van die tweede millennium in ernstige diskrediet gekom. Die radikale verandering in die samelewing deur die moderniseringsproses met gepaardgaande paradigma verskuiwinge dwing die homiletiek om teoreties te herbesin. In hierdie studie word die preek as kunsvorm afgebaken tot die verhalende preekvorm, konseptueel ontwikkel en teoreties omskryf asook geplaas binne die moderne homiletiese teorie as komponent wat daarby pas. Die resultaat is verkry deur 'n vergelykende studie van gemeenskaplike wesenstrekke wat voorkom by erkende kunsvorme in die moderne kunsteorie; die verhalende kunsvorm in die moderne literere teorie met spesifieke verwysing na die Afrikaanse roman asook die verhalende preekvorm in die moderne homiletiese teorie. Deur hierdie vorm van prediking in die moderne preekteorie op te neem, kan 'n sinvolle bydrae gemaak word om die Christelike boodskap deur oortuiging sander enige vorm van dwang te kommunikeer. / In a sermon form and content are one. Both aspects form part of the theological theory of preaching. This theoretical survey investigates one of the various literary forms through which the biblical writers attempted to communicate the intention of the biblical text in the most effective way. Each of these forms possesses a distinctive communicative character. The development of modern literary theory since the eighties of the twentieth century was a propulsive force leading to the conviction that the Bible was also a collection of religious literature. This conviction implied that the intention of the biblical text could be more clearly understood in a theological justified manner within the historical context by using insights gained from other literature. Acknowledged literary art forms adhering to the emotive as well as the logic-analytical are embraced as such. In this study the sermon as an art form is limited to narrative preaching, developed as a concept; theoretically described and placed within the modern homiletical theory as a suitable component. Results are obtained by means of a comparative study of mutual features that are distinctive to acknowledged art forms in the modern theory of art; narrative art forms in modern literature theory specifically in the modern Afrikaans novel, as well as the narrative form of preaching in the modern homiletical theory. The modern homiletical theory is orientated within the communicative acts theory as meta-theory focusing on dialogical communication which promotes meaning through the involvement of the observer. The conclusions reached indicate that the sermon as an art form can be evaluated and justified within the modem homiletical theory. Taken up in this theory, it can prove significant in communicating the Christian message to the listeners in a convincing rather than compulsive manner. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / D.Th. (Practical theology)