Journal index

Beside his ministry, administrative tasks and teaching activities, Rvd. Dr. Dezső Bustya (February 2, 1935 – July 29, 2019) held lectures for ministers on various occasions. In the lecture published below, he interprets the narrative of judge Jephthah. He presents a historical, theological and exegetical analysis, followed by a summary of the homiletical aspects of this narrative.

A certain crisis has been around in the American Protestant preaching since the 1960’s. It was a crisis caused by boredom in the pews: people were listening to good sermons about the Christian faith, but they were not ignited by the flame of a real faith! The New Homiletic movement addressed this crisis offering narrative, inductive-style sermons, where the ancient Rhetorical notion of ‘delighting’ or delectare has become a key in turning the Christian faith into a personal conviction. Stories became regular parts of preaching, people felt a personal connection with the main characters in the stories, and suddenly they felt a close relationship with the Gospel manifested through these stories. This study presents the beginnings of the ‘narrative turn’ and discusses the necessity of more narrative, inductive-style, story-centered preaching from the Hungarian Protestant pulpits.