Hearing the Sermon

Plot

Hearing the Sermon is a total revolution in the "how-to's" of preaching. It is the result of an extensive study that made those who listen to sermons the teachers of effective preaching. Using Aristotelian categories of rhetoric as a basis for analyzing the effectiveness of the sermon -- the audience's perception of the of the preacher (ethos), the audience's perception that the message of the speech is true (logos), and the audience's response to the feelings and identifications generated in connection with the sermon (pathos). Allen explores the workings and influences the three factors have on listeners. He shows preachers how to incorporate material into their sermons that will minimize resistance and maximize the possibility that listeners may hear and assimilate the sermon as the preacher intended for it to be heard. Allen concludes with an illustrative sermon on Luke with comments that show how the theories of ethos, pathos, logos fit within the sermon text. From the Channels of Listening series.