Mark Allan Powell’s What Do They Hear? Briding the Gap Between Pulpit and Pew is a terrific resource for pastors and preachers wondering just how their people hear and respond to their sermons and to the Bible itself. A short book, What Do They Hear barely exceeds 100 pages and can be read in one sitting, but its brevity in no way damages its impact. Powell includes the results of fascinating surveys that show how clergy and laity respond differently to biblical texts, especially when it comes to empathizing with certain biblical characters over others.
Take the Parable of the Prodigal Son for instance. Powell shows how Western readers typically see the story in terms of individual wastefulness and sinful living. Eastern readers see the “famine” as central to the storyline. The boy is a fool, not because of his wasteful living so much as because of his rejection of family and friends. Both readings are taken from within the text itself and are legitimate. Yet the reader’s experience definitely what he/she sees within the text.
Powell also includes helpful research for preachers who want to better connect with their audience. In stories about Jesus, preachers tend to empathize or cast themselves in the role of Jesus. Church members see themselves in the disciples.
Perhaps the most tantalizing piece of information comes at the very end of this short book. When asked “What does this passage mean to you?” and then “What does this passage mean?,” the laity did not indicate any difference in their answers. What the passage meant to them is what the passage means. The clergy, however, pointed to authorial intent when asked what the passage meant. Whether we advocate or teach “reader-response” criticism or postmodernism, our churchmembers are already there.
What does this mean for the pastor? Well, Powell doesn’t take us through all the implications of his research. He leaves that for us to figure out. Be warned. If you read this book, you will be thinking about its concepts for a long time!
written by Trevin Wax © 2007 Kingdom People blog
