Scripting a Sermon: Using the Wisdom of Filmmaking for Impactful Preaching (The Preaching and... Series) - Softcover

Hannan, Shauna; Chandler, Gael

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0664268161 ISBN 13: 9780664268169

Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press, 2024

Synopsis

Scripting a Sermon approaches common challenges for crafting sermons looking toward the essential components of filmmaking to help preachers create more potent sermons.

In this third volume in the "Preaching and…" series, Shauna K. Hannan and Gael Chandler combine their expertise to focus on the convergences between the crafts of homiletics and filmmaking. Looking to enliven the preached word, this book draws attention to the ways in which the sermon is set up to captivate the audience. For example, sermon openings, which are frequently disconnected from the sermon’s overall point or needlessly long, are explored through the techniques of filmmakers who use opening shots to introduce the narrative. Readers will be enlightened to how filmmakers use these openings to set the tone of the film, involve the audience in the characters’ story, and establish expectations for what the audience will encounter throughout the film. Hannan and Chandler give detailed and practical advice on specific aspects of this and other processes that preachers could use to craft far more effective sermons. Other chapters cover building scenes and characters, being a good editor of your work, and crafting effective sermon endings. Equipped with the wisdom of the best filmmakers, skilled preachers will gain greater insight into powerful methods for captivating hearers and impacting our world.

About this title

About the Authors

Shauna Hannan is Professor of Homiletics at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary (of California Lutheran University) and Core Doctoral Faculty of the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. She is ordained in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and is the author of The Peoples’ Sermon: Preaching as a Ministry of the Whole Congregation. Her other published work can be found in journals such as Word & World, Dialog, Journal of Lutheran Ethics, and The Christian Century. Hannan, a well-regarded presenter, workshop leader, and preacher, is especially interested in equipping the next generation of lay preachers.

Gael Chandler has three decades’ experience in editing comedies, dramas, documentaries, and corporate videos in Los Angeles, where she also trained hundreds of filmmakers to operate digital-editing equipment. Chandler has authored four books on film editing and has taught classes on editing history, theory, and practice at universities. She is also the cofounder of Picture Your Book, a book trailer company. The connecting thread in her work as a writer, editor, and teacher is her passion for creating and distilling material for an audience, be it readers, learners, or moviegoers.

Edition details

• Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
• Publication date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0664268161
• ISBN 13: 9780664268169
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 206