Listening to Listeners - John S McClure - Bog

This book draws on one of the first large scale studies in North America that used sermon listeners to identify qualities of preaching that motivated them to engage sermons, and qualities of sermons that prompted disengagement. Using actual interviews and analysis based on traditional rhetorical categories?the listener's perception of the preacher (ethos), appeals to reason in the content of the sermon (logos), and the role of feeling (pathos)?Listening to the Listeners presents case illustrations to show preachers how to listen pastorally to their own parishioners, to understand how their listeners? participation in the sermon is affected by ethos, logos, and pathos, and how pastors can use this understanding to preach in ways that engage listeners. Pastors are encouraged to compare their own perceptions of preaching with those expressed by their parishioners and to reflect more broadly about preaching in their own congregations.