Developing Biographical Narratives: Insights for Preaching from Charles Swindoll
Indirect
application occurs throughout Swindoll’s sermons but especially in the
body of the sermon which contains the retelling of the story through the narrative
texts. Equally, direct application is scattered throughout the body of the sermon
and especially noticeable by the prolific use of second person personal pronouns.
Swindoll freely employs first and second person singular and plural pronouns
throughout his sermons. He favors the use of the more direct “you”
and “your” pronouns in his sermon conclusions.
Sermon
Structure
Swindoll’s
sermons contain a blend of inductive and deductive elements. The basic shape
that Swindoll’s biographical sermons take is that of a story told.11
Some of Swindoll’s sermons are completely inductive with the exception
of a deductive “lessons” section in the conclusion. A common feature
in some of Swindoll’s sermons is the use of the traditional “key word”
method, popularized by Charles Koller and generations of later homileticians.12
A typical example of the “key word” design was the sermon “Every
Crutch Removed” in which “crutches” is the key word for five
major deductive movements in the sermon body.
Some
form of outline was present in most of the sermons analyzed. The number of divisions
ranges from three to six. Usually, Swindoll’s outlines were unobtrusive
and followed the flow of the narrative as exemplified in the sermon “Riding
out the Storm.” In this sermon David’s four responses to the storms
of his life chronologically traversed the narrative of 1 Sam. 12:15-25. In the
sermons that did not contain a stated outline, the flow of the sermon followed
the plot of the story and was easily distinguishable through the various scenes
in the story.
Suggestions
for Developing Biographical Narratives
1.
Focal Verse(s) For Contact and Direction
Look
for a “narrative-directing” verse or focal verse within a larger narrative
as a way to discover the theme and entry point into the story. The focal verse
often provides the entry point into the story and may be a crystallization of
the sermon theme, or it may represent the climactic turning point in the story
of the Bible character. The focal verse allows the preacher to obtain an immediate
point of contact with his or her audience’s needs. In the language of story,
this aspect of the plot will often be either the tension/stress or resolution/new
situation in the narrative.