New Homiletic

Definition and Meaning

The New Homiletic is a movement in preaching theory that emerged in North America in the late 1960s. Traditional deductive preaching draws several propositions (claims that can be judged true or false) from the text and develops them logically. In place of this approach, the New Homiletic seeks to enable listeners to discover and experience meaning for themselves as they hear the sermon.

Its principal features are as follows:

• Inductive development: The sermon begins with a concrete story or experience and moves toward a conclusion.
• Plot and tension: The sermon employs a structure that creates conflict and then works toward its resolution.
• Listener-centered focus: Priority is given to the process by which hearers arrive at meaning.

Because of these features, the New Homiletic is closely connected with narrative preaching.

Biblical and Historical Background

Proponents point out that a substantial portion of the Bible is written in narrative form and that Jesus taught in parables.

The term "New Homiletic" is generally said to have been coined by David J. Randolph around 1969. Fred Craddock's As One Without Authority (1971) is commonly regarded as the starting point of the movement. Subsequent works such as Eugene Lowry's The Homiletical Plot (1980) and David Buttrick's Homiletic (1987) expanded the theory. In the background stood the New Hermeneutic, which regarded the proclamation of the Word as an event, as well as a reaction against authoritarian, one-directional preaching.

The movement has also drawn criticism. Evangelical and Reformed critics contend that it may weaken the propositional truth of Scripture and the preacher's authority to proclaim. They also argue that the listener's experience may take precedence over the text. Postliberal homileticians such as Charles Campbell (postliberalism being a theological movement that emphasizes the distinctiveness of the church community and the biblical narrative) have criticized the movement for leaning too heavily on individual experience. In response, proponents argue that the inductive form does not abandon content but renews the manner in which it is communicated.

Practice in the Korean Church

The New Homiletic is reported to have been introduced to Korea in earnest from the 1990s onward, through practical theology courses at graduate schools of theology and through translated works. Until then, the so-called "three-point sermon," which divides the text into three main points, was widely used in Korean churches. The New Homiletic attracted attention as an alternative to this approach.

The degree of acceptance varies by denomination and seminary:

• Seminaries affiliated with the Presbyterian Church of Korea (Tonghap), the Korean Methodist Church, and the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea have given relatively active attention to narrative and inductive preaching.
• Denominations with a strong Reformed orientation, such as the General Assembly of Presbyterian Church in Korea (Hapdong) and the Presbyterian Church in Korea (Kosin), emphasize expository preaching and are regarded as tending to receive the New Homiletic critically.

In pastoral practice, preachers often combine several approaches rather than insisting on a single method. For example, some incorporate narrative elements within the framework of textual preaching or topical preaching.