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Abstract the Effectiveness of an Expository Sermon ABSTRACT THE EFFECTIVENESS OF AN EXPOSITORY SERMON SERIES ON THE BOOK OF JONAH TO PRODUCE COGNITIVE, ATTITUDINAL, AND BEHAVIORAL CHANGE AT CROSSROADS UMC IN WASHINGTON, ILLINOIS By Jason B. Woolever Expository preaching is a style of preaching not currently being taught in seminaries which train United Methodist pastors even though it has been successfully utilized in various forms in other Christian traditions for centuries. There was an interest among some people of Crossroads United Methodist Church in Washington, Illinois for biblical preaching with a focus on life application. This intervention project tested effectiveness of expository preaching at Crossroads to produce cognitive, attitudinal, and behavioral changes among worship participants. The sermons in this five-week sermon series were designed in a running commentary style, taking the congregation verse-by- verse through the book of Jonah during the season of Lent. The literature review drew from the writings conservative evangelical preachers who have emphasized the expository method, such as John Broadus, Charles Swindoll, Brian Chappell, and Timothy Keller, and progressive homiletics professor Ronald Allen. The effectiveness of the sermon series was measured using pre- and post-test surveys for quantitative data collection and focus groups for qualitative data collection. This research demonstrates that expository preaching increases biblical literacy in the lives of those who are regularly exposed to it and has the potential to facilitate significant changes in beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. This study also found that expository preaching has the potential to provide a positive learning experience for mainline churches when relevant application, conversational delivery, and short sermon series are utilized. A surprise finding was that using pre- and post-test surveys with the congregation increases the effectiveness of expository preaching. DISSERTATION APPROVAL This is to certify that the dissertation entitled THE EFFECTIVENESS OF AN EXPOSITORY SERMON SERIES ON THE BOOK OF JONAH TO PRODUCE COGNITIVE, ATTITUDINAL, AND BEHAVIORAL CHANGE AT CROSSROADS UMC IN WASHINGTON, ILLINOIS presented by Jason B. Woolever has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for the DOCTOR OF MINISTRY degree at Asbury Theological Seminary Dissertation Coach Date Director, Doctor of Ministry Program Date Dean of the Beeson Center Date THE EFFECTIVENESS OF AN EXPOSITORY SERMON SERIES ON THE BOOK OF JONAH TO PRODUCE COGNITIVE, ATTITUDINAL, AND BEHAVIORAL CHANGE AT CROSSROADS UMC IN WASHINGTON, ILLINOIS A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of Asbury Theological Seminary In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Ministry by Jason B. Woolever May 2019 © 2019 Jason B. Woolever ALL RIGHTS RESERVED TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... ix ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................x CHAPTER 1 NATURE OF THE PROJECT .....................................................................1 Overview of the Chapter .........................................................................................1 Personal Introduction……………………………………………………………...1 Statement of the Problem …………………………………………………………4 Purpose of the Project……………………………………………………………..5 Research Questions ..................................................................................................5 Research Question #1 ..................................................................................5 Research Question #2 ..................................................................................5 Research Question #3 ..................................................................................5 Rationale for the Project ..........................................................................................6 Definition of Key Terms ..........................................................................................8 Delimitations ............................................................................................................8 Review of Relevant Literature .................................................................................9 Research Methodology ..........................................................................................11 Type of Research ......................................................................................11 Participants ................................................................................................11 Instrumentation ..........................................................................................12 Data Collection .........................................................................................13 iii Data Analysis ............................................................................................14 Generalizability .........................................................................................14 Project Overview ...................................................................................................14 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW FOR THE PROJECT .........................................16 Overview of the Chapter ........................................................................................16 Biblical and Theological Foundations ...................................................................16 Biblical Foundations .................................................................................16 Theological Foundations ............................................................................24 Expository Preaching .............................................................................................29 Definitions..................................................................................................29 Historical Foundations ...............................................................................35 Benefits ......................................................................................................45 Criticisms ...................................................................................................50 Jonah Background ..................................................................................................53 Genre ..........................................................................................................54 Historical Setting ........................................................................................55 Authorship and Dating ................................................................................56 Themes ........................................................................................................57 Sermon Exegesis ....................................................................................................58 Jonah 1:1-3 .................................................................................................58 Jonah 1:4-16 ...............................................................................................66 Jonah 1:17-2:10 ..........................................................................................72 Jonah 3:1-10 ...............................................................................................79 iv Jonah 4:1-10 ...............................................................................................87 Research Design Literature ....................................................................................93 Summary of Literature ...........................................................................................95 CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY FOR THE PROJECT .............................98 Overview of the Chapter ........................................................................................98 Nature and Purpose of the Project .........................................................................98 Research Questions ................................................................................................99 Research Question #1 ................................................................................99 Research Question #2 ................................................................................99 Research Question #3 ..............................................................................100 Ministry Context(s) ..............................................................................................100 Participants ...........................................................................................................102 Criteria for Selection ...............................................................................102 Description of Participants ......................................................................103 Ethical Considerations ............................................................................104 Instrumentation ....................................................................................................105 Expert Review ..........................................................................................107 Reliability & Validity of Project Design .................................................107 Data Collection ....................................................................................................108
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