Kaleidoscopic Preaching: Incorporating Multiple Voices into an Evangelical Sermon

Abstract

The sermon still dominates in many evangelical churches. Evangelical preachers seek to capture and communicate the author’s intention in the biblical text. This can be challenging because the Bible is multi-faceted. How can evangelical preachers acknowledge this multiplicity? Preachers need to be willing to play in both the text and the way they communicate. In this article, I propose a strategy I have named the kaleidoscopic approach. I draw on the feminist scholar Mieke Bal and her work on the song in Judges 5 and bring some of her ideas to preaching. I believe a kaleidoscopic approach can help to amplify marginal (often female) voices in the text and bring fresh thinking on how we can continue to preach in the future.