Page 18 - A Dissertation for Doctor of Philosophy

and function of preaching can be expressed through three categories of preaching: (1)

conservative moralistic preaching; (2) pragmatic life-situational preaching; and (3) syncretistic

Pentecostal preaching.

The dominant methodology of contemporary Korean preaching needs to be examined and

challenged by the methodology of the preaching of Jesus, the archetype of the Christian preacher

and preaching, author of the faith, and master communicator of all the ages.12 The dominant

homiletical form of Korean preaching is an authoritative deductive topical three-point method of

preaching that was transplanted by the western missionaries about 120 years ago and has been

cherished by Korean preachers. Korean people were accustomed to a Confucian teaching method

of literal quotations and imparting moral principles. Typically Korean sermons coming from an

authoritative didactic approach which were based on literal scriptural quotations and

propositional points appealed to them.

Presentation of the Word by the Western modern way of analytical and logical reasoning

also worked among the Korean people not because it was pertinent to the Korean epistemology,

but because of the Korean cultural trait of obeying authority. Yet, the authority and credibility of

the contemporary Korean church encounters a crisis today. New methods and styles of preaching,

therefore, need to be applied to gain a hearing that is pertinent to the contemporary Korean

people and their epistemological process.

Some aspects of Jesus’ methodology of preaching and his employment of communicative

techniques need to be applied to the Korean pulpit today. The main thesis of this dissertation,

12
Webster’s New International Dictionary, 2d ed., s.v. “Methodology.” It explains
Methodology as “A branch of logic dealing with principles of procedure whether of theoretic or

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