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

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 the Author :
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.

Review :
"In the new digital age, attention has become the most important commodity, and companies currently spend over half a billion dollars vying for it. Giant media platforms like Netflix structure their offerings to produce “binge watching” shows, vying for more and more of our time. Rather than bemoaning these cultural shifts, in this clever and eminently practical book Hannan and Chandler take a deep dive into the world of media production, surfacing with treasures for preachers who want to be effective in forming Christian communities with the Gospel. Highly recommended." —Christian Scharen, Associate Professor, Gordon Braatz Chair in Worship, Director of the Chapel, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago   "The power of storytelling is transformative and how this works in sermons is all the more so. In this important work the beauty of story, filmmaking, cinema and sermon are brought together to help us communicate better in an age where we are looking for story. Stories on Instagram, Facebook, and the various streaming services have us clamoring for story. In this book the preacher is empowered as a cinematic storyteller. The beauty and power of cinema is put in conversation with sermons and will stand to make us more effective communicators in the age of the small and big screen." —Ralph Basui Watkins, The Peachtree Professor of Evangelism and Church Growth, Columbia Theological Seminary   "This book makes me want to be a better preacher and, maybe more importantly, an excellent storyteller. As a church planter serving a community of young people at the edges of church, I need wisdom and support in uncovering new and relevant ways to tell the stories of the Gospel. I finished this text feeling inspired and recommitted to the art and craft of preaching. Hannan and Chandler encourage preachers to hone our storytelling skills, and they offer pragmatic ways to engage our communities in transformative preaching. As church leaders seek to accompany new generations of faithful people, we must be continuing to hone our storytelling skills so that they—and we!—can experience the Gospel in ways that are relevant to our lives. Looking to cinema as a teacher of storytelling is wise and creative, and I'm so grateful for this beautiful new resource as I grow my skills as a preacher." —Erika Spaet, Pastor, Story Dwelling, Bend, Oregon