Preaching to multiple intelligences : the application of Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences to improve the communication of homiletical ideas in the contemporary large church setting

2008·1.1 MB·English

by  Schlechty, David Todd

PREACHING TO MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES:
THE APPLICATION OF HOWARD GARDNER(cid:146)S THEORY OF MULTIPLE
INTELLIGENCES TO IMPROVE THE COMMUNICATION OF HOMILETICAL
IDEAS IN THE CONTEMPORARY LARGE CHURCH SETTING

A THESIS
SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF
GORDON-CONWELL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE
DOCTOR OF MINISTRY

BY
DAVID TODD SCHLECHTY

MAY, 2008
Copyright 2008 by David Todd Schlechty. All rights reserved.
DEDICATION
To Margaret Vashti Schlechty, whose intelligences have broadened and enriched my life.
EPIGRAPH
(cid:147)Learning has a lot in common with eating:
to cater for the dislikes of the majority
even the nutrients essential to life must be made appetizing.(cid:148)
Saint Augustine, On Christian Teaching, Book 4:73
CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES viii
ACKNOWWLEDGEMENTS ix
ABSTRACT x
Chapter
1. THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING 1
The Problem: Communicating with Diverse Minds 1
The Setting: The Large Contemporary Church 7
The Research Question, Thesis and Assumptions 8
Overview 9
2. THE THEOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK: 10
GOD SPEAKS TO MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES
The Theology of the Body of Christ 10
The Theology of Divine Revelation 14
The Theology of the Incarnation 18
The Theology of the Proclamation of Biblical Ideas 24
3. THE LITERATURE REVIEW 29
Howard Gardner(cid:146)s Theory of Multiple Intelligences 29
Responses to the Multiple Intelligences Theory 39
The Application of Multiple Intelligences in Christian Education 46
The Application of Multiple Intelligences to Preaching 50
and Worship Design
v
Thematic Multi-Sensory Worship Planning and Multiple Intelligences 53
4. PROJECT DESIGN: 58
APPLYING MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES TO
LARGE CONTEMPORARY CHURCHES
Applying Multiple Intelligences Theory to Worship Planning at 58
Christ Church
Analyzing Multi-Sensory Worship at Ginghamsburg Church 62
Through the Lenses of Multiple Intelligences
5. PROJECT OUTCOME: 75
APPLYING MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES TO LARGE
CONTEMPORARY CHURCHES
Outcomes of Research at Christ Church 75
Analysis of the Worship Design Process at Ginghamsburg Church 81
Implications of the Multiple Intelligences Theory 95
for the Design of Worship Services
Appendix
1. MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES PROJECT PLANNING 100
GROUP SCHEDULE
2. MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES PLANNING GROUP 101
BIOGRAPHY FORM
3. WORSHIP FOR MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES 102
FEEDBACK INTERVIEW FORMS
4. MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES SERVICES INTERVIEW RESPONSES 109
vi
5. MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES SPATIAL OUTLINE 111
6. GINGHAMSBURG WORSHIP DESIGN SIGNBOARDS 112
7. GINGHAMSBURG WORSHIP INTERVIEWS 115
8. GINGHAMSBURG WORSHIP SERVICE 121
MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES ANALYSIS

BIBLIOGRAPHY 159
VITA 163
vii
TABLES
Table
1. Intelligences and Entry Points 39
2. Intelligences and Sacred Pathways 49
viii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I must thank the congregation and staff of Christ United Methodist Church in
Fairfax Station, Virginia and Ginghamsburg United Methodist Church in Tipp City, Ohio
for graciously allowing me to conduct my research in the midst of their worship services
and design processes. I particularly want to acknowledge John Speight, Brian Greene,
Jan Guenther, and the Celebration Design Team at Christ Church and Michael Slaughter,
Kim Miller, Penny Gooch, and the Worship Design Team at Ginghamsburg. The way
these individuals and teams welcomed my academic and theological inquiry is a
testimony to the work of Christ within them.
ix
ABSTRACT

Scholars and researchers in the fields of education and psychology offer
compelling explanations for the differences in how individuals receive communication
and learn. The implications of their research and analysis have shaped curriculum
development and teaching techniques in both secular and Christian education for decades.
Yet this research has been largely ignored by those who teach from the pulpits of our
churches. One scholar whose cognitive theory has shaped the field of education is the
Harvard(cid:146)s Professor of Cognition and Education, Howard Gardner. This thesis project
applies Gardner(cid:146)s Theory of Multiple Intelligences to preaching and worship planning in
large contemporary congregations in order to improve the communication of Homiletical
Ideas to cognitively diverse congregations.
x