Enhancing the Project Director’s Collaborative Preaching Skills

in order to improve Sermon Planning

at Christview Christian Church, Southaven, Mississippi

A Final Project Proposal Submitted to

the Faculty of the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

in Candidacy for the Degree of

Doctor of Ministry

by

Victor R. Lyons

New Orleans, Louisiana

August 2018
 Chapter 1

Description of Ministry Setting and Needs

Christview Christian Church1 is a multiethnic, multigenerational congregation

consisting of less than 100 members. Christview is located at the northern end of

Southaven, Mississippi, near the Tennessee and Arkansas border. The church is ten miles

south of the Memphis International Airport, the second busiest cargo airport in the world.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Southaven’s population in 2017 was

approximately 54,031, including 69.2% Caucasian, 25.7% African American, and 5.1%

Latino. Median household income from 2012-2016 was $58,427, with 12.4% of people

living in poverty, mirroring the national average for 2017.2

Christview’s demographics reflect the neighborhood: 70% Caucasian, 20%

African American, and 10% Hispanic. The church membership consists of blue-collar

and white-collar professionals working in the education, transportation, food service,

finance, and logistics industries. Many of the adults have a college education.

The leadership of Christview consists primarily of the Senior Pastor and elders. In

2017, the church added a Sunday afternoon Spanish language worship service to serve

the needs of the growing Hispanic population in the area. The Hispanic pastor has joined

the leadership team of Christview. The church is closely associated with Mid-South

Christian College in Memphis, Tennessee. Many of the church members are alumni,

students, professors, and support staff of the college.

1
. Also known as “Christview Church” or “Christview” throughout the remainder of this paper.
2

. “U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: DeSoto County, Mississippi; Mississippi;

United States.” Accessed June 12, 2018. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/.
 Before Christview hired the Project Director as Senior Pastor, three elders rotated

the weekly preaching duties for over a year. They were able to do so with some success

as each elder held an undergraduate or graduate degree in Biblical studies. Two of the

elders served as professors of the nearby Bible college. When the church hired the Project

Director to serve as the Senior Pastor, they voted to continue using a rotating pulpit. The

Senior Pastor would serve as member and coordinator of the four-person preaching team.

This preaching team model has now been in place for two years. However, the

only true coordination that takes place within the team is the coordination of who

preaches on which Sunday. There has been little attempt to coordinate a sermon series or

even to stay within one theme or series of Scripture passages. This means that sermon

topics or scriptures are quite disjointed from week to week. Each individual preacher of

the week prepares his own sermon, in isolation, without input from anybody else on the

team. The rotating preaching schedule leads to a general feeling of “whiplash;” there is

no thematic or expository continuity between the weekly messages.

Despite these challenges, there are two contextual reasons why Christview

continues to maintain a rotating pulpit ministry. These reasons are related to the Project

Director and congregational demographics. The Project Director, who serves as the

Senior Pastor and Worship Leader, is bivocational. He teaches full time as a high school

English teacher and professor at Mid-South Christian College, as the church is currently

unable to compensate a full-time pastor. Instead of paying for a full-time pastor, the

church has opted to use a rotating preaching team.

The second contextual factor which favors the rotating preaching model has to do

with the congregation. The church prides itself in being unique, and the pulpit ministry
certainly reflects this. Most of the people who attend the church come from other parts of

the country, having moved to Southaven for work-related reasons. The diversity means

that the members are very open to change and experimentation. Surveys and

conversations with church members reveal that the majority enjoy hearing from more

than one preacher, and much of that satisfaction has to do with their diverse cultural and

religious backgrounds.

This congregational preference creates inevitable challenges for the pulpit

ministry. The church needs to speak with a clear, united voice. Without a united message,

the church’s diversity can easily fall into division and disorder. Using collaborative skills

in the preaching preparation process will be crucial for the church’s success in achieving

unity despite diversity.

Not only does Christview need a united message, but the preachers need to

communicate that message in such a way as to best reach the people within the

congregation. On the surface, Christview’s rotating pulpit ministry is an effective model

because the membership itself is multigenerational and culturally diverse. Having

different voices in the pulpit reflects the different ears in the pew. In the case of

Christview, however, having more voices in the pulpit does not necessarily mean having

more diverse explanations, illustrations, and applications. In fact, the preachers often use

similar kinds of explanations, illustrations, and applications regardless of the sermon text

since they come from similar cultural and social-economic backgrounds. Using

collaborative skills by including select members in the preaching preparation process can

help the church succeed in connecting with every member in the pew.
 Chapter 2

Project Proposal

The purpose of this project is to enhance the project director's collaborative

preaching skills in order to improve sermon planning at Christview Christian Church in

Southaven, Mississippi. The Project Director will plan, write, and preach one sermon per

week for seven weeks using best practices of collaborative preaching. The sermon

planning Team and the congregation of Christview Christian Church will evaluate these

sermons using a sermon planning rubric. This rubric will measure the effectiveness of

using collaborative preaching skills in the sermon planning process.

  The first goal of the project will be to research collaborative preaching skills that

improve sermon planning. To accomplish this goal, the Project Director will work with

an expert in the field of collaborative preaching to complete an Annotated Bibliography.

This Annotated Bibliography will include relevant books, articles, projects, theses, and

interviews on collaborative preaching skills. The Project Director will then synthesize the

information found in these resources to determine collaborative preaching skills that

improve sermon planning. He will then write a Report on how collaborative preaching

skills can best improve sermon planning.

The second goal of the project will be to write a series of sermons using

collaborative preaching skills that improve sermon planning at Christview Christian

Church. To accomplish this goal, the Project Director will plan a series of sermons using

collaborative preaching skills. The Sermon Planning Team will evaluate these plans using

a sermon planning rubric. The Project Director will then write these sermons in an

expanded outline format. An expert in the field will evaluate these sermon outlines.
 The third goal of this project will be to preach a sermon series using collaborative

preaching skills. The congregation of Christview Christian Church and the Sermon

Planning Team will evaluate these sermons each Sunday. They will conduct this

evaluation using a rubric which will measure the effectiveness of collaborative preaching

skills on the sermon.

Collaborative preaching is “a particular form of conversational preaching in

which there is an intentional effort to involve others.”3 Collaborative preaching may take

place within the context of a preaching team or a planning team.4 Since the purpose of

this project is to improve sermon planning, the definition of collaborative preaching in

this project will be limited to that which involves the use of a planning team. This project

will not involve a preaching team; the Project Director will be the only one who will be

delivering the sermons.

3
1. McClure, Preaching Words, 13.
4

2. Walkemeyer and Healy, “Evaluating Collaborative Approaches to Preparing and Delivering

Sermons,” 2.
 Chapter 3

The Project Director

 

The Project Director’s educational and ministerial background shaped his initial

impressions of collaborative preaching. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English

Literature, Creative Writing, and Music from Mercer University in 2005. While earning

his music degree, he focused on vocal music and choral conducting, which involved

collaboration in choral, musical theater, and solo workshop settings. While earning his

English degree, he studied the art of literary interpretation, which frequently involved the

close reading of texts in a seminar format. He also studied poetry writing and essay

composition, which required participation in various creative writing workshops. These

workshops involved many of the same practices found in collaborative preaching,

including group brainstorming, reviewing, and evaluating.

After completing his Bachelor of Arts degree, the Project Director earned a Master

of Divinity degree from George W. Truett Theological Seminary in 2008. Like his poetry

and essay writing classes, his preaching classes would often involve preaching labs and

workshops. These environments involved students and professors collaboratively

brainstorming, preparing, preaching, and evaluating sermons. Throughout his education,

the Project Director discovered that collaborative practices often yielded valuable results,

whether the discipline involved literary interpretation, singing, creative writing, or

preaching.

The Project Director’s eighteen years in music and pastoral ministry also shaped his

preliminary understanding of collaborative preaching. As a senior in high school, he

gained early exposure to the value of working with others as worship leader and choir
director at Antioch Baptist Church, in Cordele, Georgia. While attending college and

seminary, he led worship at Sandy Valley Baptist Church in Warner Robins, Georgia, and

First Baptist Church in Marlin, Texas. These churches gave him valuable experience in

worship planning, choral directing, and special event coordination, each of which

required collaborative planning, implementation, and evaluation.

After graduating from seminary, the Project Director felt called to serve as Senior

Pastor at Shiloh Baptist Church in Crawford, Texas. As pastor, he created the Shiloh

Mission Team, an effort which encouraged the church to take on new mission projects.

The creation of the Shiloh Mission Team helped the church move from a discussion-

oriented committee approach to ministry to an action-oriented team approach to ministry.

After three years at Shiloh Baptist Church, the Project Director felt called to plant a

church in Waco, Texas. With support from the Baptist General Convention of Texas, the

Waco Baptist Association, and First Baptist Church of Woodway, he formed a team to

begin La Vega Community Church. One of the many ministries of the church was a

summer meals program, which involved coordination with the local school district and

several community organizations. After planting the church in Waco, he continued to

pastor churches in Waco and Memphis, learning and growing as a preacher and church

leader.

The Project Director also served as director and professor of the Waco Hispanic

Bible Institute, a program sponsored by the Waco Baptist Association and Baptist

University of the Americas. He taught certificate-level classes for pastors and laypeople

who were serving in Hispanic churches throughout Central Texas. Those classes included

Christian Leadership, in which the Project Director studied and taught various approaches
to team leadership. He also taught preaching, in which he taught and practiced various

strategies for traditional and collaborative preaching.

The Project Director’s experience outside of the context of the local church has also

contributed to his appreciation for collaboration. He served for over six years as an

English as a Second Language teacher in public high schools in Texas and Tennessee. As

a teacher, he learned the value of working in a professional learning community, sharing

teaching techniques, lesson plans, and classroom management strategies. He also worked

for three years as a full-time hospice chaplain for Bluebonnet Health Care Services in

Waco, Texas. In this context, he learned the benefit of collaboration as he worked with a

team of nurses, doctors, social workers, and caregivers to create individual plans of care

that took all perspectives into consideration.

The Project Director’s experience with collaboration and preaching reveals

strengths and weaknesses for this project. While the Project Director has vast experience

collaborating with professionals in the fields of education and ministry, he lacks

experience in collaborative preaching with laypeople, deacons, and elders who do not

have the same level of training. While he enjoys working with others to accomplish a

variety of tasks, preaching has always been a very personal, individualistic discipline;

opening the doors to his study means allowing others into a process which he usually

conducts alone.

Nevertheless, the Project Director believes that this study will help him accomplish

two professional goals. The first goal is to increase his knowledge of collaborative

preaching skills that improve sermon planning. He will accomplish this by completing an

Annotated Bibliography with an expert in the field. This Annotated Bibliography will
include relevant works on collaborative preaching and planning methods. The Project

Director will then compile the best practices from these works in a Report on

collaborative preaching skills that improve sermon planning.

The second professional goal of this project will be to preach a sermon series

created using collaborative preaching skills. The congregation of Christview Christian

Church will evaluate these sermons each Sunday using a rubric which will measure the

effectiveness of collaborative preaching skills on the sermon. The Sermon Planning Team

will also evaluate the completed sermon series using the same rubric for determining the

effectiveness of the collaborative preaching skills on the overall sermon planning process.
 Chapter 4

Doctrinal Foundations

Theology

Preaching is “rooted in the Trinitarian being of God.”5 Likewise, collaborative

preaching is rooted in the social Trinity, an interpretation of the Godhead in which “the

three modes or persons exist in eternal, dynamic, ‘social’ relationship with one another.”6

Karl Barth describes the social Trinity in his Church Dogmatics: “In God’s own being

and sphere there is a counterpart: a genuine but harmonious self-encounter and self-

discovery; a free co-existence and cooperation; an open confrontation and reciprocity.”7

The social Trinity describes the sense in which God the Father, God the Son, and God the

Holy Spirit know, love, and act in a free, communal, and relational way. 8

Jürgen Moltmann and Stanley Grenz are two theologians frequently associated

with the doctrine of the social Trinity. Moltmann uses the term perichoresis to describe

how the Father, Son, and Spirit exist within one another:

The Father exists in the Son, the Son in the Father, and both of them in the
Spirit, just as the Spirit exists in both the Father and the Son. By virtue of their
eternal love they live in one another to such an extent, and dwell in one another to
such an extent, that they are one. It is a process of most perfect and intense
empathy. Precisely through the personal characteristics that distinguish them from
one another, the Father, the Son and the Spirit dwell in one another and
communicate eternal life to one another. In the perichoresis, the very thing that
divides them becomes that which binds them together.9

5
. Piper, Expository Exultation, 95.
6
. Allison, Historical Theology, 249.
7

. Barth et al., Church Dogmatics. Volume 1, Volume 1, 185.

8
. Allison, Historical Theology, 249.
9

. Moltmann, The Trinity and the Kingdom.

 Stanley Grenz also advocates for a social Trinitarian view of the Godhead. In

Theology and the Community of God, Grenz explains that the social Trinity is a

relationship that eternally exists in God: “The doctrine of the Trinity declares that God is

relational. The one, true God is the social Trinity – Father, Son, and Spirit. Furthermore,

the divine reality is eternally relational even apart from the world, in that the three

trinitarian persons comprise the one God.”10 Grenz, like Barth, organizes his entire

systematic theology around this relational concept of the Trinity, going so far as to say

that God’s ultimate goal in creation and redemption is to form a community which

mirrors God’s own inner community.

The social Trinity is a window into understanding the origin and purpose of

human relationships. Since God made humans in his image, it follows that the eternal

relationship between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit mirrors

relationships between humans. Barth states that a human has a “counterpart of his fellows

and has in them a counterpart, the co-existence and cooperation in God himself being

repeated in the relation of man to man.”11 Just as God is a community of Father, Son, and

Holy Spirit, so people are meant to be in community with one another. Just as God

knows, loves, and acts in community, so people should know, love, and act in

community.

Not only does the social Trinity offer a window into human society and

relationships, but it also provides a theological purpose, framework, and method for

collaborative preaching. In his book Expository Exultation: Christian Preaching as

Worship, John Piper explains how the primary characteristics of the Trinity are knowing
10

. Grenz, Theology for the Community of God, 78.

11

. Barth, Church Dogmatics, Volume 1, Volume 1, 185.

and delighting. According to Piper, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit eternally know and

eternally delight in one another. He connects this with preaching, which he defines as a

Biblical way for humans to communicate in the context of worship so that people can

know God through Biblical exposition and delight in God through exultation. Just as God

the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit know and delight in one another, so the

preacher communicates in such a way that humans can know and delight in God. For

Piper, the theological purpose of preaching is to help people know God through

expository truth in the Bible and to delight in God because of what these truths reveal

about Him:

I conclude, therefore, that preaching, as expository exultation, is rooted in

the Trinitarian being of God. He knows himself and exists as Father and Son. The
Father and Son delight in each other and exist as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Knowing and delighting are essential to who God is. Human beings have these
same capacities: knowing and delighting…The gathering of God’s people for
corporate worship, therefore, by its very nature, calls for a special kind of
communication that aims to make the truth of God clear and the worth of God
dear. The New Testament calls this special kind of communication “preaching”
(see 2 Tim. 4:2). It is more than teaching. And it is more than emotional
stimulation—because God’s Trinitarian being consists not in either knowing or
delighting, but in both.

The Trinity also provides an interpretive framework for collaborative preaching.

Piper identifies two popular methods for Biblical interpretation and preaching: moralistic

and Christ-centered. Moralistic preaching interprets the Bible as a handbook of rules that

people must obey. Piper calls this method “just do it” preaching. Redemptive-historical

preaching, on the other hand, takes into consideration the pattern and work of Christ.

Piper uses Timothy Keller’s formula as an example: “You can’t do it; but Christ did it

perfectly, so turn away from your doing to his doing, and enjoy justification by imputed

righteousness.” Instead of human-centered, moralistic preaching and Christ-centered,

redemptive-historical preaching, Piper proposes a Trinitarian formula for Biblical

interpretation and preaching. This method uses three questions which conform to the

three persons of the Trinity:

(1) What is the ultimate goal of the biblical author in the sermon text? (2)

How does the sermon text relate to Jesus Christ and his saving work? (3) What is

the way of life that leads to final salvation rather than destruction? These three

questions correspond to the three persons of the Trinity, because the answer to the

first one will focus mainly on the glory of God the Father, the answer to the

second on the saving work of God the Son, and the answer to the third on the

empowering application of Christ’s work by God the Holy Spirit.

For Piper, the Trinity guides scripture interpretation because it provides an interpretive

lens which captures the entire Biblical witness. In other words, the Bible does not simply

point to the work of Jesus, but it points to the work of the Father, the Son, and the Holy

Spirit in all aspects of life. By taking this into account, preachers can give a more

complete picture of the Biblical message.

The social Trinity also provides a method for collaborative preaching. Just as God

knows, loves, and acts as a community in Himself, so preachers can plan, practice,

preach, and appraise their sermons in community with others. June Yoder identifies six

collaborative relationships involved in preaching preparation. These include collaboration

with scripture, the Holy Spirit, expert knowledge and opinions, congregational analysis,

people within the congregation, and the worship setting.12 While preachers regularly use

scripture, the Holy Spirit, and experts to plan and prepare their sermons, they rarely

collaborate with people within their congregation. However, the social Trinity provides a
12
Greiser and King, Anabaptist Preaching, 113–19.
framework from which this very collaboration is welcome. When a pastor invites others

to join him in all aspects of preaching, he is offering them an opportunity to practice

being part of the collaborative community, a community which mirrors the collaborative

community of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy.

Bibliology

The Bible is at the center of the collaborative preaching process.13

General Principals

Chicago Statement of Faith

Single Meaning – Big Idea

Multiple Applications – Applications

Who Can Interpret Scripture

Vanhoozer, ibid., 117: “When confronted with a range of interpretive options,

Augustine’s advice is to choose the one that best fosters love of God and neighbor.”

Ecclesiology
 

The Priesthood of All Believers

Body of Christ (Ephesians 3:6) 
Household (John 1:12; Romans 8:16; 2 Corinthians 6:18; Matthew 23:8; Hebrews
2:11) 
Bride (Revelation 21:9; Ephesians 5:22-29; 33) 
Flock (John 10:14-18; 1 Peter 5:1-3) 
Assembly, Church (Acts 19:32, 39, 41; Psalm 35:18; Psalm 40:9; Psalm 149:1) 
Temple, House, Priesthood, Race, Nation, Possession, People (1 Peter 2:4-10) 
Addressing One Another (Ephesians 5:18-20; Col 3:16-17 - admonishing
one another in all wisdom) 
Two witnesses: Deuteronomy 17:6, 19:15; 30:19; Numbers 35:30; Acts 1:10, 23-24;
7:29; 9:38; 10:7-19; 12:6; 19:22; 23:23; Mark 6:7-13; Mt 18:16; Luke 10; Jn 8:17;
13
John McClure, Round-table Pulpit, 9
 2 Cor 13:1; 1 Tm 5:19; Titus 3:10; Heb 10:28; Rev. 10:1-11:19; Doubling in
Matthew: 9:27–31, 20:29–34, Luke 24:4; Ecclesiastes 4:9-12;  
 Yoke-Fellows: Philippians 4:3 
1 Kings 18:22 – are we alone the only prophets in this world? 
Acts 17 
Two spies - story of Joshua…
 
Shared Leadership
Shared Biblical Interpretation, Application
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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----------------------------------
 
Biblical Images (from Piper) 
Heralding: preaching the Word (2 Timothy 4:1-2) 
 
Evangelizomai - heralding good news - Luke 2:10-11; Luke 4:18-19;  
Romans 10:15 
 
Kērýssō - proclaiming a message from a king; Ex. 32:5; Hos. 5:8; Joel 2:1;  
                Zec. 9:9; Rev 5:2 
 
Didasko  /  Didaskalia + 
Kerysso - Matthew 4:23; Matthew 11:1; Acts 28:30-31; 1 Tim. 2:7 
Evangelizomai - Luke 20:1; Acts 5:42; Acts 15:35 
 
Two witnesses: Deuteronomy 17:6, 19:15; 30:19; Numbers 35:30; Acts 1:10,
23-24; 7:29; 9:38; 10:7-19; 12:6; 19:22; 23:23; Mark 6:7-13; Mt 18:16; Luke
10; Jn 8:17; 2 Cor 13:1; 1 Tm 5:19; Titus 3:10; Heb 10:28; Rev. 10:1-11:19;
Doubling in Matthew: 9:27–31, 20:29–34, Luke 24:4; Ecclesiastes 4:9-12;  
 
Yoke-Fellows: Philippians 4:3 
1 Kings 18:22 – are we alone the only prophets in this world? 
 
Acts 17 
 Chapter 5

Review of Alternate Programs

Maurice Brown conducted a collaborative preaching project in 1996, a year after

the publication of John McClure’s The Roundtable Pulpit: Where Leadership and

Preaching Meet. His project involved three “parish project groups” consisting of six to

eight lay members participating in a weekly sermon roundtable. Two weeks prior to

meeting, he gave the group members the sermon passage of the week along with

duplicates from relevant commentaries. On the day of the meeting, he conducted sermon

roundtables which included prayer, reading the scripture passage aloud three times,

meeting in pairs, meeting as a group, and role-playing characters. He then designed and

delivered the sermon using information he received in the meeting. On Sunday, he gave

participants a survey to complete after the service. Three days after preaching, the group

met again to provide feedback.14

Allen Burris conducted the next collaborative preaching project in 2006, a year

after the publication of O Wesley Allen’s A Homiletic for All Believers: A

Conversational Approach to Proclamation and Preaching. He met with a project study

group made up of lay members for seven weeks, preparing one sermon per week. After

preaching the sermon, he presented the congregation and study group with matching

preaching response surveys. He then evaluated the responses between those who

participated in the group and those who did not.15

14
1. Brown, “Collaborative Preaching and Congregational Response in the Edmonton Seventh-Day
Adventist Church.”
15
2. Burris and Theological Research Exchange Network, “Sermon Preparation for Hearers.”
 Kenneth Werho, a South Korean pastor, conducted the most complex

collaborative preaching project in 2011. His project involved four preaching groups who

participated in all aspects of sermon preparation. The first group determined

congregational needs, the second group found relevant scripture texts and arranged them

into a preaching calendar, the third group began initial research, and the fourth group met

with the pastor on a weekly basis to help prepare the sermons and offer feedback.16

In 2012, Roger Walter conducted a collaborative preaching project which

consisted of nine lay members who met for seven weeks to develop four sermons. He

evaluated the effectiveness of the project using a qualitative focus group and a short

quantitative survey measuring the feelings of the participants throughout the process.17

The next year, Robert A. Terrell conducted an A/B evaluative study using two rotating

preaching preparation teams. In this model, the project director collaborated with the

teams using face-to-face meetings as well as online tools to prepare and evaluate

sermons.18 Roger Hinsely conducted the most recent collaborative preaching project

featuring lay members in 2014. In this study, he led four pre-sermon and post-sermon

preparation workshops and used surveys to evaluate the effectiveness of the process.19

While the above six projects involved a diverse group of lay members

participating in all aspects of preaching preparation, two project directors designed their

collaborative preaching projects to meet specific, contextual needs. Keith Missel

16
Werho, “Developing Sermons to the Point of Delivery through the Use of a Collaborative System
Maintained by Parishioners.”
17
3. Walter, “A Collaborative Sermon Preparation Team at the Seventh-Day Adventist Community
Church of Vancouver, WA.”
18
4. Terrell, “Developing an Effective Collaborative Method of Sermon Preparation for Stevens
Point Tapestry Church of Stevens Point, Wisconsin.”
19

5.Hensley, “Enriching Relevance in Preaching by Utilizing a Congregational Team from First

Baptist Church, Jonesville, North Carolina in the Sermon Preparation Process.”
conducted a project involving four lay church members forming an “application design

team.” These members helped the pastor apply the principals of the scripture passages to

fit the lives and needs of the congregation.20 Stephen E. Teel conducted another

collaborative preaching project in 2010 which focused on finding unity in a multi-

generational context. He selected two people from four generations to participate in the

sermon roundtable. Over a five-month period, he met with the group for an input session

and a feedback session to complete seven sermons.21

Three projects directors conducted projects which involved ordained ministers.

Craig L. Oliver conducted a collaborative project in 2013 involving the ministers of his

multisite ministry. He trained and collaborated with the ministers of his church so that

they could help him with the preaching duties of his growing church.22 Daniel J. Bennett

conducted a project in 2011 consisting of six church elders who provided sermon ideas,

pre-sermon evaluation, and post-sermon evaluations.23 Tyler Campbell conducted a

collaborative project in 2017 with ten pastors and Bible teachers from throughout the city

of Perry Florida. They held weekly meetings to create thirteen sermons.24

After reviewing these eleven collaborative preaching projects, the greatest

differences between them were the makeup and purpose of the collaborative sermon

preparation groups. Six projects featured an intentionally diverse group of lay members

who met with the pastor to brainstorm, prepare, and evaluate sermons. Two projects
20
7. Missel, “‘We Are Preaching with You Pastor.’”
21

8. Teel, “Preaching In A Multi-Generational Church: How Collaborative Preaching Can Be Used

To Enhance The Unity Of The Church.”
22
9. Oliver, “Developing a Collaborative Preaching Team in a Multisite Ministry Context.”
23

10. Bennett, “Incorporating Lay Leadership into the Expository Preaching Ministry at Bethany
Community Church, Washington, Illinois.”
24
11. Campbell, “Implementing a Collaborative Approach to Sermon Preparation at First Baptist
Church, Perry, Florida.”
narrowed the purpose of their collaborative groups to meet the needs of the local

congregation, including focusing on application and multi-generational unity. Three

projects did not include lay membership at all. Instead, they included ordained pastors

and elders who were responsible for their own preaching and teaching ministries.

The purpose of this project is to enhance the project director's collaborative

preaching skills to improve sermon planning at Christview Christian Church in

Southaven, Mississippi. In this context, recruiting both elders and lay members to serve

on the sermon planning team will serve to enhance the project director’s collaborative

preaching skills. To improve sermon planning, the project director will encourage the

sermon planning team to contribute to all aspects of sermon preparation. This project

does not narrow the focus to one aspect of the sermon planning process or limit the team

to either lay or ordained members. Instead, this process will seek to be deep and wide,

using sermon rubrics and surveys given to the congregation and team to evaluate whether

this method is beneficial to the sermon planning process at Christview Christian Church.
 Chapter 6

Ministry Resources

A key resource in the field of collaborative preaching is The Roundtable Pulpit:

Where Leadership and Preaching Meet.25 In this book, Dr. John McClure, Charles G.

Finney Professor of Preaching and Worship at Vanderbilt Divinity School, argues that

traditional and inductive forms of preaching fail to bridge the gap between the preacher

and the listener. The main reason for this failure is because both propositional and

narrative forms of preaching require the speaker to make assumptions regarding the

hearers. McClure’s answer to this dilemma is collaborative preaching preparation. He

defines collaborative preaching as a method in which the preacher works in partnership

with a group of lay members in “sermon brainstorming. Preaching becomes a ‘rhetoric of

listening’ through which the biblical interpretations and theological insights of the

congregation find a voice in the pulpit.”26 McClure uses the image of a roundtable to

describe this method of sermon preparation. The preacher, serving as a host to the

conversation, facilitates discussion regarding scripture interpretation and application,

taking notes as each of the members share their insights regarding interpretations and

applications of the passage.

Another book which strongly supports collaborative preaching is The Homiletic

of All Believers: A Conversational Approach to Proclamation and Preaching27 by O.

Wesley Allen. In the text, Allen argues for a new theology of proclamation “in which all

members of the congregation are seen not only as recipients of the church’s proclamation

25
McClure, The Roundtable Pulpit.
26
McClure, 7.
27
Allen, The Homiletic of All Believers.
but also providers of it.”28 Like McClure, Allen views sermon preparation as an

opportunity for spiritual conversation. This conversation helps the church become the

community of God as it wrestles to interpret and apply scripture. Allen believes that

conversational preaching is the best way to express the nature and purpose of the church,

as it reflects the importance of everyone taking part in the mission, ministry, and

articulation of the gospel.

While McClure and Allen write from an academic perspective, Doug Pagitt’s

book, Preaching in the Inventive Age,29 comes from the perspective of a practitioner.

Pagitt, like McClure and Allen, believes that preaching should reflect ecclesiology.

Instead of preaching a sermon prepared in isolation, the sermon should reflect the story of

the congregation. While Pagitt’s association with the emergent church movement is

controversial controversy, his view on preaching preparation is not too different from the

views of McClure and Allen. At his church, Solomon’s Porch, he does not hold

discussions or actual conversations in the pulpit. Instead, his view of collaboration

centers around the preparation process. He then speaks in light of the conversations he

has carried on throughout the week with members of the congregation.

Three books use changes in technology and communication as a metaphor for

collaborative preaching. Land Whitsitt’s Open Source Church: Making Room for All,30

takes the metaphor of open source software, in which a person can freely see and edit

computer software programs, as a metaphor for the way in which pastors should view the

church. Instead of simply being passive receivers, the congregation should be involved in

mission and ministry of the church. He offers Wikipedia, as an encyclopedia that anyone

28
Allen.
29
Pagitt, Preaching in the Inventive Age.
30
Whitsitt, Open Source Church.
can see and edit, serves as a good model for preaching preparation and church life in

general.

Another book that speaks of collaborative preaching using a technology metaphor

is Crowdsourcing the Message31 by Jeremy Jernigan. He explains that crowdsourcing is

“the practice of obtaining needed services, ideas, or content by soliciting contributions

from a large group of people and especially from the online community rather than from

traditional employees or suppliers.”32

A third book that uses technology as a metaphor for collaborative preaching is

David J. Lose, who published Preaching at the Crossroads: How the World-and Our

Preaching-Is Changing.33 In this text, he describes traditional preaching as “Web 1.0,” in

which a single person contributes information. He argues for a “Web 2.0” style of

preaching, which is characterized by people contributing and creating to cites such as

YouTube. He argues that the major difference is that Web 2.0 is very concerned with

interactivity. He argues that collaborative preaching helps move preaching from “Web

1.0” to “Web 2.0.”

This project will use two books on expository preaching as resources for general

sermon preparation practices. Text-Driven Preaching: God’s Word at the Heart of Every

Sermon, edited by Daniel L. Akin, emphasizes the significant role that scripture plays in

every aspect of the sermon. Part II, which features chapters on sermon preparation,

includes helpful information on the role that exegesis, genre, and Biblical theology

should play in proper scripture interpretation. Part III, which features chapters on sermon

31
Jernigan, Crowd Sourcing the Message.
32
Jernigan.
33
Lose, Preaching at the Crossroads.
delivery, has chapters on communication theory and delivery which will also guide the

sermon preparation process.

Another book on expository preaching which informs the theological and

practical aspects of this project is Expository Exultation: Christian Preaching as Worship

by John Piper. In this book, Piper argues that preaching is not only exposition of

scripture, but an act of exultation in which the preacher delights in the reality of God.

Preaching is both an act of teaching and an act of worship. He also argues that preaching

should not only be Christ-centered, but should reveal the work of God the Father, God

the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. He believes that a Trinitarian interpretation of scripture

offers a more comprehensive and honest lens through which preachers can interpret,

illustrate, and apply the truths of God’s Word.

Keith Sawyer’s book, Group Genius: The Creative Power of Collaboration,

provides a helpful framework for collective brainstorming. Chapter Four, “From

Groupthink to Group Genius,” offers a comprehensive analysis of the practice of group

brainstorming. The book acknowledges that traditional group brainstorming practices are

frequently inferior to simply allowing individuals to innovate to create by themselves.

Indeed, people can be extremely creative when they are given some time to think by

themselves. However, there is power in collaboration and diversity, so the book suggests

an alternative method of brainstorming which takes advantage of individual creativity.

This practice, called brainwriting, will be the cornerstone approach of this project.
 Chapter 7

Description of the Project

The Project Director will begin by researching, reviewing, and synthesizing

information regarding collaborative preaching skills that improve sermon planning. He

will first review the sixteen research-based projects and eleven field-based projects he

discovered in his preliminary investigation. Throughout this process, he will search for

more collaborative preaching projects, books, journal articles, and online articles which

might provide valuable information on collaborative preaching and group brainstorming.

As part of his research, the Project Director will consult with experts and

practitioners in the field of collaborative preaching, including John McClure, O. Wesley

Allan, and Kent Walkemeyer. While consulting with these experts, he will ask about best

practices or pitfalls that he might encounter as he conducts his project. He will also

consult with at least three ministers, who use collaborative preaching techniques. After

completing this research, the Project Director will determine best practices for

collaborative preaching preparation and complete a report.

Using the best practices discovered in his research, the Project Director will create

a plan for collaborative preaching preparation at Christview Christian Church. For

logistical purposes, he will present this plan to the elders of the church. After consulting

with the elders, he will create and send out a formal letter of invitation to select lay

members to be part of the Sermon Planning Team. Members will be selected based on

character, competency, and chemistry.

 Once the Project Director selects the members of the Sermon Planning Team, he

will invite them to attend an orientation meeting on Sunday evening at Christview. The

materials that he will prepare for this initial meeting include the following: copies of a

sermon planning team covenant, preaching calendar, and scripture passages. He will also

prepare a room with multiple Bible translations, sticky notes, self-stick easel pads,

markers, and pens that the group will use for brainstorming ideas, both individually and

collectively.

On the Sunday morning of the first meeting, the project director will preach a

non-collaborative sermon which will introduce the upcoming sermon series. After the

sermon, he will provide the congregation with the first sermon survey. In the evening, he

will conduct the first Sermon Planning Team meeting. In this meeting, he will begin by

discussing the Sermon Planning Team Covenant, which will include norms regarding the

value of time, the value of privacy, and the value of each other’s contributions.

After the members discuss and sign the Sermon Planning Team Covenant, the

Project Director will lead the group in a discussion of the morning’s message. This

sermon will help the planning team begin to think about sermons in general. He will talk

about the feedback process the group will be using each week, including the use of

“Glows and Grows.”

Next, the Project Director will describe the sermon planning process. First, a team

member will read aloud the scripture passage two times. Members will then take five

minutes to silently reflect on the passage and write down on a sticky note the big idea of

the scripture. This sticky note will be posted on the pre-created “Big Idea” chart paper on
the wall. The Project Director will then facilitate a five-minute discussion to determine

the one big idea which will guide the direction of the meeting and the sermon.

After the group decides on a big idea, each team member will then spend five

minutes silently writing down on sticky notes any illustration on that big idea that comes

to mind, including images, stories, and connections to other scriptures. The member will

then post the ideas on the pre-created “Illustrations” chart paper on the wall. After the

five minutes are over, the Project Director will ask them to repeat the process, this time

focusing on applications to the big idea. They will record and post these on the pre-

created “Applications” chart paper on the wall. Finally, they will then spend five minutes

writing down any questions, problems, or other random thoughts (i.e. “Hodgepodge”)

they might have on the passage and big idea. Hodgepodge notes will be posted on a

fourth sheet of pre-created chart paper. The Project Director will then facilitate a fifteen-

minute discussion regarding the illustrations, applications, and hodgepodge. The

remaining five minutes will be spent summarizing the meeting.

The Project Director will create a closed Facebook group so that the team can

continue to collaborate on the sermon throughout the week. This online collaboration will

begin with the Project Director uploading meeting’s minutes to the closed Facebook

group. Group members will be encouraged to continue to give feedback throughout the

week. The Project Director will write the sermon, in part, using the results of the

collaborative process. The names of those who participated on the Sermon Planning

Team will be included in the bulletin. The Project Director will conduct this collaborative

process for a total of seven weeks. After the final sermon is preached, there will be a

meeting to celebrate and reflect on the collaborative process.

 Chapter 8

Project Evaluation

Ministry Goal One

The first goal of the project is to research collaborative preaching skills that

improve sermon planning. The first step is to research collaborative preaching skills. This

will involve reviewing at least sixteen research-based projects, eleven field-based

projects, books, journal articles, and online articles which provide information on

collaborative preaching and group brainstorming. The Project Director also consult with

at least three experts and three practitioners in the field. He will use this information to

put together an annotated bibliography of collaborative preaching. Dr. Kent Walkemeyer,

Associate Professor of Ministry at Azusa Pacific University, will evaluate the annotated

bibliography to determine if it includes a comprehensive list

The second step is to determine collaborative preaching skills that improve

sermon planning. The Project Director will synthesize the information found in the

Annotated Bibliography to determine collaborative preaching skills that improve sermon

planning. He will then use this information to write a report on how collaborative

preaching skills can best improve sermon planning. Dr. Kent Walkemeyer will read the

Report to make sure that it includes all of the adequate information.

Ministry Goal Two

The second goal of the project is to write a series of sermons using collaborative

preaching skills that improve sermon planning at Christview Christian Church. The first

step in accomplishing this goal is to plan a series of sermons using collaborative

preaching skills. The Project Director and Sermon Planning Team will use individual and

collaborative brainstorming techniques to analyze a scripture passage. They will collect

information on four principles: “The Big Idea,” “Illustrations,” “Applications,” and

“Hodgepodge.” The Project Director will facilitate a discussion around these collected

elements. He will then create a sermon plan based around these elements, which will then

be posted to a closed Facebook group. The Sermon Planning Team will evaluate the

sermon plan using a “Glows” and “Grows” feedback process created by the Project

Director which incorporates positive and constructive feedback.

The second step in this process is to write these sermons in an expanded outline

format. The Project Director will take the information collected by the Sermon Planning

Team as well as the feedback received through the online Facebook collaboration. He

will then write a expanded outline of the sermon text using a combination of the

collaborative process and his own studies. Dr. Gregory Waddell, an expert in the field of

Christian Leadership, will evaluate the completed sermons using a sermon planning

rubric.

Ministry Goal Three

The third goal of this project will be to preach a sermon series using collaborative

preaching skills. After completing the sermon outline, the Project Director will preach the

sermon for the Sunday morning service at Christview Christian Church. At the

conclusion of the service, the Project Director will display a QR code and weblink to an

online Google Form survey the Project Director will develop using the research of

Terrell34 and Burris.35 He will also provide paper copies of the forms for members of the

34
Terrell, “Developing an Effective Collaborative Method of Sermon Preparation for Stevens Point
Tapestry Church of Stevens Point, Wisconsin.”
35
Burris and Theological Research Exchange Network, “Sermon Preparation for Hearers.”
congregation who do not have online access. The feedback of this survey will be

compiled and evaluated in order to determine how collaborative skills have improved

sermon planning.

The second step in this process is to evaluate the sermon planning process with the

Sermon Planning Team. The team will use the same survey completed by the

congregation in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the sermon series. The results of

this survey will be compared to the results of the same survey with the congregation. The

Sermon Planning Team will also complete a culminating “Grows” and “Glows”

evaluation on the final evening, in which the group will collaborate on ways in which the

collaborative preaching process improved sermon planning.

Professional Goal One

The Project Director believes that this study will help him accomplish two

professional goals. The first goal is to increase his knowledge of collaborative preaching

skills that improve sermon planning. The first step will be to research collaborative

preaching skills. The result of this research will be the completion of an Annotated

Bibliography of collaborative preaching. Dr. Kent Walkemeyer, Associate Professor of

Ministry at Azusa Pacific University, will evaluate the annotated bibliography to

determine if it includes a comprehensive list.

The second step is to determine collaborative preaching skills that improve sermon

planning. The Project Director will synthesize the information found in the Annotated

Bibliography to determine collaborative preaching skills that improve sermon planning.

He will then use this information to write a Report on how collaborative preaching skills
can best improve sermon planning. Dr. Kent Walkemeyer will read the Report in order to

make sure that it includes all of the adequate information.

Professional Goal Two

The second professional goal of this project will be to preach a sermon series

created using collaborative preaching skills. The first step of this process will be to

preach the sermon series to the congregation of Christview Christian Church. The

congregation will evaluate these sermons each Sunday using a survey developed by the

Project Director using the research of Turrell and Burris. This survey will be available

online using a Google Form as well as through hard copy.

The second step in this process is to evaluate the sermon planning process with the

Sermon Planning Team. The team will use the same survey completed by the

congregation in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the sermon series. The results of

this survey will be compared to the results of the same survey with the congregation. The

Sermon Planning Team will also complete a culminating “Grows” and “Glows”

evaluation on the final evening, in which the group will collaborate on ways in which the

collaborative preaching process improved sermon planning

 The Sermon Planning Team Process

Fellowship and Feedback

Glows – 5 minutes

Grows – 5 minutes

Collective Reading of Scripture – 5 minutes

The Big Idea

Individual Reflection on the Big Idea – 5 minutes

Collaborative Discussion on the Big Idea – 5 minutes

Illustration, Application, Hodgepodge

Individual Reflection on Illustration – 5 minutes

Individual Reflection on Application – 5 minutes

Individual Reflection on Hodgepodge – 5 minutes

Collaborative Discussion on Illustration – 5 minutes

Collaborative Discussion on Application – 5 minutes

Collaborative Discussion on Hodgepodge – 5 minutes

Closing – 5 minutes
Congregational Sermon Survey
LETTER OF RECRUITMENT FOR A COLLABORATION SERMON PREPARATION
TEAM
This letter of recruitment is asking for your assistance in sermon preparation and to
co-work with the preacher of First Baptist Church of Jonesville, North Carolina in a
six-week series of workshops.
You will be learning, reading, thinking, and responding to sermon texts and ideas.
You will be asked to participate in group discussions, scripture exegesis, read and
apply some free association with a text, respond to the general theological theme, to
find an agreed movement of a text, share in stories and illustrations from your own
life experiences.
Your involvement is to help me in fulfilling requirements for the degree Doctor of
Ministry in the Gardner-Webb University School of Divinity.
I fully commit myself to participate in these workshops.
I understand that we will meet on the following dates: May21, 28, June 4,11,18, 2
I understand that all workshops will start at 7 p.m. and will last until 9 p.m. (not to
exceed in time). There will be five- minute breaks every 30 minutes.
Signed:________________________________________________________________________________________
Date:______________________________________________
 Collaboration Team Covenant
As a participant in this collaborative group, we agree:
We value our time as a group and therefore:
- Commit to attend the weekly meetings, allocate the necessary amount of time
and effort to complete the actions of the team in a sermon building process
- Start and end meetings on time
- Give our best efforts to each step of the workshop
We value our privacy and therefore I will:
- Keep personal information strictly confidential
- Share honestly with the group any feelings, thoughts, and or questions
We value each other’s contributions to our discussions and therefore I will:
- Encourage and allow all to contribute equally as they wish
- Listen closely and without judging other’s contributions
- Treat each other with respect, compassion, and kindness
- Keep discussion on the topic being discussed
Agreed upon by:__________________________________________________________________
Date:________________________________________________________________________________

DEVELOPED BY

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Worship.” D.Min., Drew University, 2012.
https://search.proquest.com/dissertations/docview/1026696359/abstract/18BD93FCF72E
4B49PQ/2.
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Reid, Robert Stephen. Four Voices of Preaching, The: Connecting Purpose and Identity
behind the Pulpit. Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2006.
Ritschl, Dietrich. A Theology Of Proclamation. Literary Licensing, LLC, 2011.
Robinson, Haddon W. Biblical Preaching: The Development and Delivery of Expository
Messages. 3 edition. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2014.
Rose, Lucy Atkinson. Sharing the Word: Preaching in the Roundtable Church. 1st edition.
Louisville, Ky: Westminster John Knox Press, 1997.
Sawyer, Keith. Group Genius: The Creative Power of Collaboration. New York: Basic Books,
2007.
Seters, Arthur Von. Preaching As A Social Activity. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1988.
Slaughter, Mike. Out on the Edge: A Wake-Up Call for Church Leaders on the Edge of the
Media Reformation Book with CDROM. Pap/Cdr edition. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press,
1998.
Snyder, Dave. The Laws of Communication for Preaching. Independently published, 2018.
Stanley, Andy. Deep and Wide: Creating Churches Unchurched People Love to Attend.
32298th edition. Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan, 2012.
Stanley, Andy, and Lane Jones. Communicating for a Change: Seven Keys to Irresistible
Communication. 1 edition. Sisters, Or: Multnomah, 2006.
Taylor, Barbara Brown. The Preaching Life. Eighth Printing edition. Cambridge, Mass:
Cowley Publications, 1993.
Thomas, Dr Frank A., and Henry H. Mitchell. They Like to Never Quit Praisin’ God: The
Role of Celebration in Preaching. Revised, Updated ed. edition. Pilgrim Press, 2013.
Tisdale, Leonora Tubbs, and Lenora Tubbs Tisdale. Preaching as Local Theology and Folk
Art. First Edition edition. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1997.
Troeger, Thomas H. Imagining a Sermon: Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1990.
Untener, Ken. Preaching Better: Practical Suggestions for Homilists. 49801st edition. New
York: Paulist Press, 1999.
Vines, Jerry, Jim Shaddix, and R. Albert Mohler Jr. Progress in the Pulpit: How to Grow in
Your Preaching. Moody Publishers, 2017.
Volf, Miroslav. After Our Likeness: The Church as the Image of the Trinity. First edition.
Grand Rapids, Mich: Eerdmans, 1997.
Weldon, Christopher R. Using Creative Teams in Expository Sermon Preparation, 2010.
White, James Emery. The Church in an Age of Crisis: 25 New Realities Facing Christianity.
Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2012.
Whitsitt, Landon. Open Source Church: Making Room for the Wisdom of All, 2011.
http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=1674099.
Willimon, William H. Conversations with Barth on Preaching, 2006.
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=856600.
Willimon, William H, and Richard Lischer. Concise Encyclopedia of Preaching. Louisville:
Westminster John Knox Press, 2010.
Wilson, Paul S. Practice of Preaching, 2010.
Wilson, Paul Scott. Preaching and Homiletical Theory. St. Louis, Mo.: Chalice Press, 2004.
———. The New Interpreter’s Handbook of Preaching, 2008.
http://www.ministrymatters.com/reader/9781426735707/#cover.html.
Yoder, June Alliman, Marlene Kropf, and Rebecca Slough. Preparing Sunday Dinner: A
Collaborative Approach to Worship and Preaching. Scottdale, Pa.: Herald Press, 2005.
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=197724.
York, Hershael W, and Bert Decker. Preaching with Bold Assurance: A Solid and Enduring
Approach to Engaging Exposition. Nashville, Tenn.: Broadman & Holman Publishers,
2004.
Zizioulas, John D., and Jean Zizioulas. Being as Communion: Studies in Personhood and the
Church. St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1985.

Research Projects

Adams, James William. “Creative Collaboration as a Catalyst for Postmodern Preaching and
Worship.” D.Min., Drew University, 2012.
https://search.proquest.com/dissertations/docview/1026696359/abstract/18BD93FCF72E
4B49PQ/2.
Baker, Barry Dean. “A Critical Analysis of the Theory and Practice of Preaching in the
Emerging Church Movement.” Ph.D., Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary, 2006.
https://search.proquest.com/dissertations/docview/304933857/abstract/6387567EC88E49
F8PQ/17.
Balagtas, Rodel G. “Communal Preaching for Transformation:  Insights from a Filipino-
American Congregation.” D.Min., Aquinas Institute of Theology, 2008.
https://search.proquest.com/dissertations/docview/287938945/abstract/6387567EC88E49
F8PQ/24.
Barnett, Kristopher Kim. “A Historical /Critical Analysis of Dialogical Preaching.” Ph.D.,
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2008.
https://search.proquest.com/dissertations/docview/304407920/abstract/18BD93FCF72E4
B49PQ/5.
Doyle, Stuart Allen. “Collaborative Preaching among Southern Baptist Pastors in the Dallas-
Fort Worth Area,” 2016.
Hartshorn, Leo C. “An (Ana)Baptist Homiletic of Community: Preaching as a Communal and
Dialogical Practice.” D.Min., Lancaster Theological Seminary, 2002.
https://search.proquest.com/dissertations/docview/276249268/abstract/585C021DE18346
D3PQ/9.
Heo, Chan. “Preaching with the Congregation: Appropriating John Mc Clure’s Homiletical
Theory for a Korean Context.” PhD Thesis, Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University, 2015.
Kelchner, Alan Dale. “Toward a Collegial Homiletic: The Conversational Preaching Paradigm
of Lucy Atkinson Rose in Light of the Conversational Hermeneutics of David Tracy.”
Ph.D., Graduate Theological Union, 2003.
https://search.proquest.com/dissertations/docview/305330645/abstract/585C021DE18346
D3PQ/1.
Mitchell, Richard Thomas. “Participatory Preaching for a New Millennium: Toward a
Postmodern Practice.” D.Min., Drew University, 2003.
https://search.proquest.com/docview/305339661/abstract/DBB34690BDF8429APQ/1.
Patterson-Sumwalt, Susan A. “Bridging the Gap between the Pulpit and the Pew:
Conversational Preaching in the Congregation,” 2006.
Pearson, C.F. “Collaborative Sermon Preparation Teams.” Gordon-Conwell Theological
Seminary, 1999. https://books.google.com/books?id=dglHOAAACAAJ.
Russell, Stephen J. “Sharing the Word:  A New Pastors Model for Preaching Transition to
Empower the Leadership of the Traditional Church.” D.Min., United Theological
Seminary, 2004.
https://search.proquest.com/dissertations/docview/305101498/abstract/7B6EEE5E520844
5EPQ/16.
Smith, Sarah Jane. “Hearing Sermons:  Reader-Response Theory as a Basis for a Listener
-Response Homiletic.” Th.D., Emmanuel College of Victoria University (Canada), 2003.
https://search.proquest.com/dissertations/docview/305280997/abstract/6387567EC88E49
F8PQ/87.
Walkemeyer, Kent. “Recognizing and Overcoming Obstacles to Collaborative Preaching,”
2009.
Walkemeyer, Kent, and Tara Healy. “Evaluating Collaborative Approaches to Preparing and
Delivering Sermons,” 2009.
Wells, Brian Jeffrey. “Transforming a Congregation for the Future: From Domination to
Relational Forms of Church Existence.” D.Min., United Theological Seminary, 2001.
https://search.proquest.com/dissertations/docview/276294456/abstract/6387567EC88E49
F8PQ/149.

Field Projects

Bennett, Daniel Jedidiah. “Incorporating Lay Leadership into the Expository Preaching
Ministry at Bethany Community Church, Washington, Illinois.” D.Min., The Southern
Baptist Theological Seminary, 2011.
https://search.proquest.com/dissertations/docview/864562819/abstract/6387567EC88E49
F8PQ/64.
Brown, Maurice. “Collaborative Preaching and Congregational Response in the Edmonton
Seventh-Day Adventist Church,” 1999. http://aaron.swbts.edu/login?
url=http://site.ebrary.com/lib/swbts/Doc?id=80192498.
Burris, Allen, and Theological Research Exchange Network. “Sermon Preparation for
Hearers: A Collaborative Approach to Preaching in the Mitchell Church of Christ,” 2006.
Campbell, Tyler James. “Implementing a Collaborative Approach to Sermon Preparation at
First Baptist Church, Perry, Florida.” D.Min., Union University, 2017.
https://search.proquest.com/dissertations/docview/2015528665/abstract/59A1727CC7744
8AEPQ/4.
Hensley, Roger E. “Enriching Relevance in Preaching by Utilizing a Congregational Team
from First Baptist Church, Jonesville, North Carolina in the Sermon Preparation
Process.” D.Min., Gardner-Webb University, 2014.
 https://search.proquest.com/dissertations/docview/1630101259/abstract/6387567EC88E4
9F8PQ/26.
Missel, Keith Patrick Michael. “‘We Are Preaching with You Pastor’: Congregational Input
for the Accurate and Relevant Application of the Word of God.” D.Min., Asbury
Theological Seminary, 2007.
https://search.proquest.com/docview/304716220/abstract/AB1B8A8734DB4AE5PQ/2.
Oliver, Craig L. “Developing a Collaborative Preaching Team in a Multisite Ministry
Context,” 2013. http://mp3.puritanseminary.org/068-0971.pdf.
Teel, Stephen. “Preaching In A Multi-Generational Church: How Collaborative Preaching Can
Be Used To Enhance The Unity Of The Church,” 2010.
Terrell, Robert A. “Developing an Effective Collaborative Method of Sermon Preparation for
Stevens Point Tapestry Church of Stevens Point, Wisconsin.” New Orleans Baptist
Theological Seminary, 2013. http://aaron.swbts.edu/login?
url=http://site.ebrary.com/lib/swbts/Doc?id=80189647.
Walter, Roger. “A Collaborative Sermon Preparation Team at the Seventh-Day Adventist
Community Church of Vancouver, WA,” 2012.
Werho, Kenneth L. “Developing Sermons to the Point of Delivery through the Use of a
Collaborative System Maintained by Parishioners,” 2011.