What preachers preach is not necessarily what hearers hear. Have you ever wondered why some hearers are affected by a sermon but not others? The issue may not necessarily be the content or delivery of the message. It may be how your hearers' brains process what you say. Modern neuroscience illuminates how our brains understand and hear sermons. Verbal stimuli can be accepted or rejected depending on the context of how they are received. The brain processes new information differently than information that reinforces already-held beliefs. To have long-term effect, new information must connect with previous memory. Psychologist, physician and preacher Richard Cox shows that better understanding of the brain can help preachers be more effective in their preaching. Intentional, purposeful preaching can actually produce new neural pathways that change how the brain thinks and how its owner acts. Our brains are intimately connected with how our bodies work, especially in how brain stimuliproduce behavioral responses and how people experience comfort and healing in times of pain.God is at work in our brains to enable his people to hear him. Preach with the brain in mind, and help your hearers grow in mental, physical and spiritual health.



Richard H. Cox (M.D., Ph.D., D.Min.) is president emeritus of Forest Institute of Professional Psychology in Springfield, Missouri, and teaches in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University Medical School. He previously served on the faculties of Northwestern University Medical School and Rush University Medical School. An ordained clergyman in the Presbyterian Church (USA), Cox is the author of many journal articles and books, including The Sacrament of Psychology and Spirituality and Psychological Health.







Blazer (M.D., Ph.D.) is dean of medical education and J. P. Gibbons Professor of Psychiatry at the Duke University School of Medicine. He has authored or edited nineteen books, as well as hundreds of book chapters and peer-reviewed articles. Blazer is also an elder at the Brooks Avenue Church of Christ, Raleigh, North Carolina.



Foreward

Chapter Synopses

Preface

1. A Brainstorm Versus a Short Circuit

2. Linking Brain and Sermon

3. The Brain Sees Preaching As Unique

4. The Brain Uses Preaching For Healing

5. The Core Process of Preachingis Brain Work

6. Preaching Provides Brain Energy

7. Brain Stimuli Produce Behavioral Responses

8. Preaching and Pastoring Are Different

9. Getting To the Brain with Theology

10. Preaching and the Brain in Pain

11. BrainHealing and the Soul

12. Brain Healing and the Mind

13. Brain Healing and the Body

14. Brain Healing and the Community

Dénouement and Benediction

Acknowledgments

Appendix: Checklist for Sermon Preparation

Notes