Die geheim van die prediking: een-stemmigheid op die kansel1

Abstract

This paper contends that preaching is a speech act in which at least four voices need to blend together in a theologically integrated way, namely the voice of the preacher, the voice of the biblical text, the voice of the congregation and the voice of God. It argues that preaching still has a pivotal role to play in and through the ministry of the congregation, and that it in fact provides an unsubstitutible insight into the spiritual and theological state of the church. Albeit an introduction, it tries to explore the homiletical implications of the relationship between the above-mentioned voices, by considering the pneumatological basis of this relationship, the consequences of a disintegration of the relationship, as well as the dynamics of the phenomenon called “voice”. The paper concludes with a definition of preaching.