HOMILETIC: MOVES AND STRUCTURES By Ronald J. Allen The ...

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The jacket of David Buttrick's Homiletic states that the book is "the most substantial work on the subject of homiletics since the nineteenth century." In this age of ...
HOMILETIC: MOVES AND STRUCTURES By Ronald J. Allen The jacket of David Buttrick's Homiletic states that the book is "the most substantial work on the subject of homiletics since the nineteenth century." In this age of overstatement, such a claim is hardly surprising. However, it is surprising to find that the effusion of reviewers sometimes surpasses even that of the publisher. For instance, Richard Eslinger describes Homiletic as "a watershed document" (Eslinger, 1987a:45). "It's a grand slam," claims Arthur Van Seters (Van Seters:1). Thomas G. Long thinks, "Buttrick is clearly onto something important in homiletics, perhaps even revolutionary" (Long, 1987a:111). Many reviewers are critical of Buttrick's work. But all agree that the book is one with which preachers need to reckon. This short essay will first describe Buttrick's approach to homiletics and will then offer an assessment. Foundational Theological Matters For Buttrick Christian preaching tells the story and names the name of "God-with-us--beginning, Presence, and end" (17). The story of Jesus Christ is the central chapter in Buttrick's understanding of God-with-us. Jesus "announced the imminent kingdom of God and urged people to repent and believe in the gospel" (449). The resurrection validated the message of Jesus, and thus, the community understood itself as a being-saved new humanity in the world (450). The church "continues the preaching of Jesus in the world" (451). The preacher announces and interprets God's great eschatological climax: a "new social reality in communion with God . . . in which forgiven people are free for love and may live together as family of God" (452). Gospel preaching, Buttrick hopes, will evoke the interrelated responses of faith and repentance. Because "we believe not merely in Jesus but in Jesus Christ as the inauguration of the kingdom . . . faith is best understood as entrance into a new order of life and concomitant turning from an old order (repentance) through Jesus Christ" (454). One of the distinctive features of Homiletic is its persistent emphasis on the gospel as inaugurating a new social world and upon preaching as directed to "communal consciousness." However, in the end, Buttrick allows that the

*Ronald J. Allen is Assistant Professor of Preaching and New Testament at Christian Theological Seminary. ENCOUNTER

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distinction between the personal and the social is "more a matter of focus than anything else" (420). For "we live in a shared world construct that has been internalized and is, therefore, always with us. In consciousness, there is always a self-in-a-social world and a social-world-within-the-self" (421). Like his colleague at Vanderbilt, Edward Farley (Farley, 1975, 1982) Buttrick thinks "the unassailable fact that faces us today is a dramatic, perhaps inevitable collapse of authority" (239). This necessitates a rethinking of the nature of authority for preaching, and not simply with "particular notions of `authority' but with the whole authority model per se" (243). Buttrick proposes such a model shift: we no longer have a locus of authority (such as the Bible) but "we are located by God's authority in the presence of Christ crucified where we may know who we are . . . " (246). In Buttrick's view, preaching is mediation. "Preachers talk of God to people" (251). This mediation is accomplished by means of language. The language of preaching is analogical because God, whom Buttrick often describes as mysterious Presence-in-Absence, is "not an object in view" (116). While "God must be conceived as an unlimited Consciousness conscious of us, the `interior' of God's consciousness is defined by Jesus Christ" and especially by the "display of impotent, suffering love on Calvary" (117). The cross is the norm by which to judge all imagery in Christian tradition and all images proposed for the sermon (118). The preacher is engaged in a double hermeneutic, on the one hand exploring the "mystery of God through Christ" and on the other hand interpreting "being saved in view of revelation" (258-260). An important part of the exercise of the double hermeneutic is the interpretation of Biblical texts. Buttrick says that most hermeneutical approaches in use today assume that there is something "perennial" which bridges the chasm between past and present, but that the most commonly found perennials (truth, experience, faith, church) collapse in the middle of the span. Instead, Buttrick contends that the only reliable perennial is the structure of consciousness (268-69). This emphasis upon structure opens the way for us not to be fenced in by the original meaning and yet to relate to an original meaning. Buttrick sees the key to the hermeneutical movement in the fact that texts have an intending within a theological field of meaning. Buttrick ends an example by noting in the *Ronald J. Allen is Assistant Professor of Preaching and New Testament at Christian Theological Seminary. ENCOUNTER

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case of the particular text that we can likely discover "(1) some index of intention--the author was writing to someone for the purpose of cheering up and (2) some notion of the hermeneutical field out of which the writer writes-understandings of life which may be grounds for cheer" (276).

The Beginning Point of Buttrick's Homiletical Theory In order to help preachers prepare sermons which can accomplish the purpose of preaching, Buttrick seeks to "describe how sermons happen in consciousness" (xii). This aspect has caused Buttrick's approach to be called a "phenomenological approach to preaching" (Eslinger, 1987b:133; cf. Biddle, 1984). Buttrick suspends a priori convictions as to what communicates successfully in sermons. Instead, he draws upon "years of research" into what actually happens in consciousness. Based on this research, Buttrick lays out rules for the design of the sermon. Only one other author in contemporary homiletics, to my knowledge, has made a serious attempt to begin thinking about the sermon from the standpoint of the listener on the basis of empirical research (Van der Geest). "Consciousness" is a key term for Buttrick's proposal, but, strangely, it is never fully defined. Consciousness seems to be the process and result of coming to awareness which leads to a symbolic universe (Berger and Luckmann) or a life world (Schutz). While individuals have consciousness, Buttrick is really concerned that the sermon aim at "communal consciousness" (276-77; 295-97). Buttrick contends that language functions in consciousness in predictable ways. Preachers must become intentional in their design of the sermon if the language of the sermon is to penetrate and "form" in consciousness. The bulk of Homiletic presents the homiletical program by which Buttrick thinks preachers can create sermons which can develop "faith consciousness." The book is organized into two parts: moves (the micro-parts of the sermon) and structures (the macro-design of the sermon). Micro-Matters When we speak and listen, we do so in steps. Language forms in modules which occur in sequence. Buttrick names these modules "moves." The move is the basic unit of the sermon and is a single rhetorical unit of meaning which contributes to the sermon in much the same way that conversation

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partners contribute to a conversation. The sermon is made up of a series of moves. Each move can develop only a single idea and must last three to four minutes. A twenty minute sermon can contain five and "certainly no more than six" moves (26). In order to work, each move must be developed according to the following formula: (a) Statement of the subject of the move in at least three reiterative sentences (37-40); (b) Development of the subject of the move (40-50; cf. 153-170); (c) Closure (50). Thomas G. Long develops one of Buttrick's own images to show how the move works and how moves work together in a sermon. In each move, the preacher invites the hearer to `take a picture of this.' The mind's shutter opens and through the guidance of the opening statement, the lens comes to focus. The interplay of light and shadow causes the image to form on the film, and when the exposure has been sufficient, the shutter is closed, ready for the next scene. A sermon is a series of these snapshots, a filmstrip, in which each picture must be different in theme, mood, and perspective in order to maintain interest, but logically connected to each other to maintain continuity (1987a:110). Thus, the preacher must learn how to develop and connect the moves in order for the sermon to do its work. Enumeration of "points" is forbidden because such points are usually artificially related and oral enumeration "enlarges congregational restiveness" (69). Instead, Buttrick counsels, moves can be connected to one another through conversational logic or through the logic of point of view. The introduction focuses the consciousness of the listener and provides a hermeneutical orientation (83). Introductions should be at least seven sentences long and no more than twelve (86) with each sentence being "short, uncomplicated, and without much adjectival elaboration" (87). The conclusion must conclude the sermon by establishing "reflective consciousness" without tipping off the congregation to the fact that the sermon is concluding (101). Examples (128-135) and illustrations (133-135) are two of the important ways whereby preachers make metaphors which can shape congregational consciousness. In order for the sermon to develop a communicative metaphor, the preacher should think carefully about the "image grid" that is made up by the

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interacting images, examples and illustrations (153). The strongest images need to appear at the point in the sermon which is the most crucial. All the images need to work together (none overpowering the others) (158). In the course of the whole sermon, "we must mix up illustrations, noticing if they are visual or audible, quotes or pictures and so on" (168). In developing the sermon, the preacher uses "connotative language with theological precision" (184). Indeed, all homiletical language is governed by three norms: (1) Theological aptness; (2) Ability to form in congregational consciousness; (3) Service of the move in which it is used (193-96). Certain types of language fail these norms and cannot be used in Christian preaching, (e.g. the racially denigrating use of the language of color, sexist language, and antiSemitic language (196-98). Macro-Matters Buttrick then turns to the large, "macro," concerns--mapping the strategy for the whole sermon. Every sermon needs to do something in the consciousness of the listeners (297-98). The intention of the sermon is carried out by means of a plot. The plot is a series of moves organized to achieve the intention of the sermon (290-93). A given sermon will ordinarily imitate one of three "moments of consciousness." These are three processes through which consciousness moves as it comes to understanding. Buttrick calls them the mode of immediacy, the mode of reflection and the mode of praxis. A helpful analogy explains their interrelationship. As we attempt to explore symbols of revelation, there are phases not unlike those in the consciousness of the artgallery visitor: there is an immediate forming of understanding; a reflection on understanding; and a looking at the world in a new way through understanding (321). Each suggests a different mode of preaching. The mode of immediacy is that mode in which the plot of the biblical text, usually a narrative, "forms immediate, episodic movement in our consciousness" (321). The sermon designed in this mode imitates the movement of consciousness as consciousness hears the story. In its simplest form, the plot of the text might become the plot of the sermon and "the design of the sermon will travel as a series of responses to the text in which analogies of understanding form" (322). In the moment of reflection, we reflect on the meaning of a Biblical text.

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Buttrick points out that many passages which lend themselves to the reflective mode manifest particular types of "logic" and will form in consciousness according to the characteristics of that mode of logic (391). Hebrews 12:1-4 is an example of visual logic which, therefore, calls for visual examples and illustrations (391-94). The mode of praxis comes into play "when human communities wonder what they are doing and what they should do. Usually such moments occur when normal ways of deciding ourselves have broken down" (326). Praxis preaching reads the situation which has raised questions, then draws the situation into Christian hermeneutical consciousness and searches for a field of meaning through which to interpret the situation (430). Buttrick cautions that praxis situations do not automatically lend themselves to sermons which arise from Biblical texts. Moving too quickly to Scripture may lead the preacher to a mistaken association with a text. It may even cause the preacher to overlook the theological field which can best help interpret the situation (328; cf. 418-420). Thus, the preacher can easily and validly preach in the praxis mode without any reference to scripture. Buttrick warns against developing praxis sermons which simply describe human situations "as humanly understood" and then ("presto!") introduce the gospel as a panacea. Instead, Buttrick advocates that "every situational sermon will have to include some critical assessment of our human understandings" (417; cf. 437-438). This is Buttrick's version of mutual critical correlation. The structure of the praxis sermon is considerably more fluid than sermons in the modes of immediacy or reflection (430-431). Most likely, "the design of a set (of moves) may imitate the way we think through meaning" (436). In any case, reviewers have rightly pointed out that preaching in the mode of praxis, while highly suggestive, needs further elaboration (e.g. Eslinger, 1988:47). Assessment Homiletic is one of the most theologically sophisticated books in the current literature of homiletics. Buttrick suggests that ultimately, "biblical preaching" is a preaching of the gospel (374) thus suggesting gospel itself is the norm by which to evaluate the content of Christian preaching. Clearly, Buttrick also employs norms of intelligibility and of moral credibility as standards for Christian preaching. And while Buttrick discusses the principle of mutual critical correlation primarily in the context of the praxis

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sermon, the fundamental principle of mutual critical correlation can be applied to the interpretation of all texts and situations. Those who take seriously the theological method of Homiletic will not be left at the mercy of the theological witness of the Biblical text or of the latest sociological, psychological or political analysis. From the standpoint of contemporary homiletical theory, the surprising element in Homiletic is the turn to the empirical investigation of "listener consciousness" as the basis for determining "what works" in sermon design. Fred Craddock has articulated the highest doctrine of the listener in previous homiletical writing, but Craddock's picture of the listener is informed more by Kierkegaard than by investigation of what happens in the mind of the listeners (Craddock, 1978). Others of the newer homiletics are informed by literary criticism (e.g. Wardlaw, 1983; Long, 1989; Greidanus, 1989). However, C. Ray Penn argues that current research in communication theory modifies--and even contradicts--Homiletic at many points (Penn: 1989). In the post-Buttrick era, scholars of homiletics must assess whether it is possible to identify the phenomenology of consciousness (and consequent homiletical rules) with the precision Buttrick claims. Some aspects of Buttrick's program are not brand new. Thomas G. Long notices that prior to the Biblical theology movement, homiletics typically turned to theories of rhetoric as bases for thinking about how to put sermons together. The Biblical theology movement insisted that consideration of the sermon be located almost entirely within the framework of Biblical theology. Buttrick does not return to classical rhetoric, but does turn to phenomenological description of the rhetorical event (Long, 1988c: 88). Years ago Edmund Steimle introduced his students to the idea that something like "plot" was the structural organizing principle of the sermon (1980:171). Likewise, an idea of intentionality in sermon design was present in David Randolph's The Renewal of Preaching (1969) and in the work of Fred Craddock (e.g. 1985:177). Where literary criticism insightfully calls for each text to be heard in its own uniqueness, Buttrick's search for the structure of the text (which is somewhat reminiscent of structuralism) and for the placement of the text in a theological field often reduces a text to little more than an instance of a general theological principle. For instance the multivalent story of the healing of the centurion's slave (Luke 7:1-10) becomes little more than a representative of the relationship between law and gospel (1987:300). The particularity of the story

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qua story is lost. Buttrick does not offer a systematic summary and critique of the "old homiletics," preferring instead to take sideswipes as he lays out his own constructive theory. But clearly he thinks that the old homiletics--typified by the making of "points" (23)--is locked into a rational pattern which does not conform to the way consciousness works. In Homiletic Buttrick thus implicitly locates the problem with the older homiletics largely at the level of homiletical technology. This analysis is not entirely satisfying at two points. First, the old homiletics may have gone dry as much because of the theology which was (is) preached as because of the inherent failure of sermon design. How many sermons do I hear which are vacuous, dull, impertinent, moralistic, passionless, without apparent significance to the real world? Arthur Van Seters asks, "Is the power of this (Buttrick's) homiletical approach ultimately in theology or in the phenomenology of language?" (Van Seters, 1989:5). Even while acknowledging an important theological core in Buttrick's work, Van Seters quite rightly points out that no amount of technique can substitute for a living theological center. Secondly, Buttrick seems to be shy of acknowledging the power of ideas to affect consciousness. Homiletic is not allergic to ideas and certainly the development of an argument should take account of Buttrick's concern for imagery. But ideas and arguments as ideas and arguments can be powerful, even transformative. This reviewer suspects that most any homiletical technology will "carry the freight" if it is fueled by a credible, dynamic theology which is given voice with passion, clarity and relevance. In a later book, as well as in Homiletic itself, Buttrick deals with the theological content of preaching. Here Buttrick is better at criticizing current practice than at developing his own constructive proposal. Buttrick correctly laments that much current preaching has fallen victim to the "triumph of the therapeutic" (Rief, 1966). Jesus is pictured as little more than one who cares for individuals (e.g. 273; Buttrick, 1988: 33ff). However there are often serious problems in contemporary preaching which Buttrick does not name and which are at least as important as the conversion of the sanctuary into a counselor's office: theological amnesia, moralism, the credibility of the Christian vision in the contemporary setting, the relationship of Christian claims to other claims regarding meaning and value in our pluralistic world, various forms of theological reductionism. Further, Buttrick's notion of the gospel is problematic. The heart of

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Buttrick's gospel is that God's "new age has begun in Christ" (382; cf. Buttrick, 1988: 35ff) (my emphasis). The language of "new age" and "old age" is drawn from apocalypticism of the Hellenistic era. Professor Buttrick himself notes that the apocalyptic world view as such is no longer intelligible to us. In accord with his own program to let the intention of the text be the guiding star for crossing the hermeneutical gap, he drops the apocalyptic world view. But he seeks to preserve the "intending" of apocalyptic language by using "new age" to speak of the new social world which began in Jesus and is even now being formed in our midst by God's grace (e.g. 450-452; cf. Buttrick, 1988:57ff). The sermon, then, is to be "a continuation of the preaching of Jesus Christ" (449). This view of the Gospel is problematic. As has been pointed out elsewhere, the metaphor of the two ages as a way of understanding God's relationship to the world is theologically unsatisfying, morally incredible, and phenomenologically undemonstrated (Allen, 1989:93-94). When Buttrick appeals to Jesus as a source for theological assertions it is often unclear whether he is referring to the historical Jesus or to the resurrected Jesus. Appeal to the historical Jesus is quite strange and unnecessary in the light of three distinctive aspects of Buttrick's own program. (1) The historical model of revelation is problematic (113-116). (2) The Jesus who is authoritative for the church is the risen Lord who is known to us as Living Symbol (e.g. 13-16, 258259; cf. Buttrick, 1988). (3) Our current methodology for reconstructing the life and teaching of the historical Jesus cannot yield conclusive results (Buttrick, 1988:57ff) (cf Allen, 1989:94). When I read Homiletic the first time, I was put off by its doctrinaire tone and I was skeptical of many of its incredibly specific rules. Skepticism regarding many of the specific rules remains. However, as I think about how I conceive and prepare sermons, I find that Buttrick's general description of moves and plot is an approximate anatomy of my own homiletical practice. On the one hand, this is hardly surprising since we have been influenced by many of the same forces in homiletics. But, on the other hand, my own practice-through informed and refined by critical reflection--is largely native. This report suggests that Buttrick has named a process that is indigenous to at least one human consciousness. Nevertheless, I doubt that subsequent years of homiletical research and practice will accord imperial status to the program outlined in Homiletic. There are too many variables in the event of preaching to be taken into consideration by one homiletical technology, e.g., theological dynamics, personal vitality,

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context, and perhaps even in the way consciousness functions from person to person and from community to community. Homiletics has room for a pluralism of approaches as long as each approach communicates the gospel with power.

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1989b

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Preaching Jesus Christ. Philadelphia: Fortress.

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As One Without Authority. Nashville: Abingdon. Op 1971. Preaching. Nashville: Abingdon.

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Greidenaus, Sidney 1989

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Penn, C. Roy 1989

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Wardlaw, Don M., ed. 1983 Preaching Biblically. Philadelphia: Westminster. Waznak, Robert "Forum: Homiletic, Response to David Buttrick" Worship 62:269-279.