Psychological type and the pulpit : an empirical enquiry concerning preachers and the SIFT method of biblical hermeneutics

A sample of 389 experienced preachers completed a measure of psychological type. They then read Mark 1:29-39 and recorded their evaluations of the four reflections on this passage proposed by Francis (1997) and which were derived from the SIFT method of biblical hermeneutics and liturgical preaching. Three main conclusions are drawn from these data. First, compared with the United Kingdom population norms, preachers within this sample were significantly more likely to prefer introversion, intuition, feeling and judging. Second, preachers were four times more likely to prefer a sensing interpretation of the text rather than a thinking interpretation, emphasising the richness of the narrative rather than facing the theological questions posed by it. Third, there was little evidence to suggest that preachers were less likely to appreciate interpretations consonant with their less preferred or inferior function than those consonant with their most preferred or dominant function. In this sense, the richness of the SIFT method should be accessible to preachers of all psychological types

Preaching with all our souls: introducing the SIFT method

Preachers know all too well that preaching is not a simple task. As preachers we carry an important responsibility for proclamation, but also for interpretation. As preachers we engage seriously with reading the scriptures, but also with interpreting the scriptures. As preachers we engage seriously with reading the movement of the Holy Spirit in God’s world, but also with interpreting the Spirit. As preachers we engage seriously with reading the contemporary context in which we live, but also with interpreting that context. As preachers we are involved in the complex task of interpretation, whether we are aware of it or not; and generally it is better to be aware of what we are doing rather than to take too much for granted and to leave too many of our assumptions untested. The study of hermeneutics is the study of interpretation. Increasingly people concerned with studying scripture are taking hermeneutics seriously. The aim of this article, therefore, is to explore one relatively new theory of hermeneutics that is relevant both for studying scripture and for thinking about preaching. The theory is known as the SIFT method of biblical hermeneutics and liturgical preaching

Hip Hop Hermeneutics: How the Culture Influences Preachers

Hip Hop Hermeneutics essay lays out findings of current research into how Hip Hop culture has been formational for African American preachers, and how that culture informs their preaching. There is a generation of preachers leading congregations today that have grown up with Hip Hop. Hip Hop culture has left an indelible mark upon them; just as the church has. How does the cultural influence of Hip Hop affect their preaching? Hip Hop hermeneutics is the response put forth by this article. This article traces the practice and theology of early African American preachers, the work of James Cone in Black Liberation theology, and Womanist theologians to demonstrate how Black theology has always included the Black experience as part of its theological norm. The article then posits that the next generation of Black theology must take into account that Hip Hop is also part of that Black experience, before going on to delineate a Hip Hop hermeneutic. A Hip Hop hermeneutic is a particular way of reading scripture that embraces the honest and raw fullness of the Black experience

Storytelling the word: homilies and how to write them

Bausch, William J. Storytelling the word: homilies and how to write them. Mystic, Conn: Twenty-Third Publications, 1996. Bausch, William J. World of stories for preachers and teachers. Mystic, Conn: Twenty-Third Publications, 1998

Five loaves and two fishes : an empirical study in psychological type and biblical hermeneutics among Anglican preachers

The sensing, intuition, feeling and thinking (SIFT) method of biblical hermeneutics and liturgical preaching has its roots in three fields: a theology of individual differences situated within the doctrine of creation, an application of Jungian psychological-type theory and empirical observation. The present study tested the empirical foundations for this method by examining the psychological-type profile of two groups of Anglican preachers (24 licensed readers in England and 22 licensed clergy in Northern Ireland) and by examining the content of their preaching according to their dominant psychological-type preferences. These data provided further support for the psychological principles underpinning the SIFT method of biblical hermeneutics and liturgical preaching

Reading Scripture in Public: A Guide for Preachers and Lay Readers

Reviewed Book: McComiskey, Thomas Edward. Reading Scripture in Public: A Guide for Preachers and Lay Readers. Grand Rapids: Baker Bk House, 1991

Imagination shaped: Old Testament preaching in the Anglican tradition

Reviewed Book: Davis, Ellen F. Imagination shaped: Old Testament preaching in the Anglican tradition. Valley Forge, Pa: TPI, 1995