The Great American Sermon Survey

Description

This is a book about the forbidden topic-the Sunday morning sermon! According to The Great American Sermon Survey, one thing pastors and people in the pew don't talk with each other about is the sermon. This remarkable book calls pastors to competency in communication; challenges parishioners to practice excellence in listening; shatters the common stereotype that a sermon is a monologue; reveals what sermon listeners will never tell their preacher; uncovers the differing expectations between pulpit and pew; discovers the surprising mutual desires of pastors and lay people; insists that sermons are potentially transformative, even today; proposes ways that listeners and preachers can dialogue and interact together; applies communication research to help pastors increase the impact of their spoken words.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction by Dr. David R. Mains
Section One-The Power of the Spoken Word
Chapter 1 -- We're in This Together
Chapter 2 -- The Co-creation of Meaning
Chapter 3 -- Rethink These Please
Section Two-Talk to One Another
Chapter 4 -- Listeners' Leanings
Chapter 5 -- Preachers' Perspectives

Chapter 6 -- Let the Dialogue Begin
Section Three-Time to Listen
Chapter 7 -- The Preach as a Teach
Chapter 8 -- Listening to the Preacher
Chapter 9 -- Listening to the Listeners
Section Four-Transformation
Chapter 10 -- The Gift Is Ours Index

About the Author Lori J. (Hickerson) Carrell holds an Endowment for Excellence Chair at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh where she is an Associate Professor of Speech Communication. For most of her academic career, she has investigated human communication in educational and intercultural contexts. Dr. Carrell has won both an outstanding teacher award and a research award from her professional association. Professor Carrell earned her Ph.D. in Speech Communication from the University of Denver, her MA in Counseling/Education (with a cross-cultural focus) from the University of Alaska-Anchorage, and a BA in Speech Communication/Theater, Education, and Psychology from Anderson University, graduating summa cum laude from each institution. She feels passionate about sermons, feeling that face-to-face communication is the best way to convey the message of Christianity.