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About a year and a half ago I posted an article about the preaching methodology of Rev. Mark T. Davis of the First Presbyterian Church in Boise Idaho.
Immersion in the Text
In Davis’ approach, the preacher does not attempt to determine what he or she is to say. The preacher is simply immersed in the text. The the preacher preaches out of that preparation. Note that structure is not a part of this preparation. This is a very interesting approach that may be helpful to some preachers.
Recently Fred R. Lybrand has written a book that describes his methodology of Preaching on Your Feet. That method is similar to Davis’ approach. Here the preacher is not attempting to preach a set sermon, but is attempting to let the preparation and immersion in the text flow from the preacher to the people.
On Your Feet versus Without Notes
Lybrand distinguishes between the idea of “Preaching on your Feet” from “Preaching without notes. When you preach without notes like in Joseph Webb’s approach you totally define what you will say although you don’t define “how” you will say it. You do a lot of practicing, but you know what you are to say in the sermon. In Lybrand’s and Davis’ method, you do not know exactly how the sermon will end, you simply stand up and preach and allow a combination of the Spirit and your preparation to guide you in the moment.
I have only skimmed Lybrand’s work, but I will post more information on this work as I spend more time digesting the material.
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