The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

J.R.R. Tolkien in a letter to his son Christopher writes;

Sermons. They are bad, aren't they! Most of them from any point of view. The answer to the mystery is probably not simple... good (sermons) require some art, some virtue and some knowledge.

Sermons must be balanced in each of these three areas.

On the art of sermon writing, of late I have been incredibly influenced by the book I have recently finished called The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. Gladwell is a staff writer for The New Yorker and has written a number of other books (none of which I have read, in case Sarah is reading and thinking about Christmas presents).

Malcolm Gladwell is known for his tendency to combine seemingly disparate (social) research and combine the parts to form larger theories. The concept of The Tipping Point is the question - what makes a movement tip? What is that indefinable aspect of a product or mindset or fashion that inbues it in the consciousness of the masses, and takes off? What social aspects need to be at play for a trend to become an epidemic. And more, can the success of iPods for example, be part of a wider theory of how all movements exponentially expand.

In one sense, Gladwell's writing has nothing to do with the art of sermon writing. But in the area of example and illustration he has broadened my mind to the possibilities that are out there. Particularly, as I think hard on the Scriptures, there are so many ways in which the truths contained within have very real implications on many aspects of life. How is the art of crafting a sermon able to bring the surplus of meaning alive? I think the answer lies in part through analysing why Gladwell is so readable and persuasive, and above all interesting.

This is in no way to subtract from the exegesis of reading the Scriptures (knowledge), nor from the life changes that should be produced (virtue), but hopefully the craft (art) will be improved to produce teaching which is not just faithful in some abstract sense but inherently productive.