The Narrative Characteristics of Erik EriksonAs Developed In Yeon-Gil Lee's Narrative Preaching:Autonomy, Experiencing the usefulness of identification and Self-DisclosureBy Jun-Sung SoThe Korean pulpits are dominated by the three major points style of preaching. Although many people have gotten used to listen to such sermons, they tend to consider such style of sermon as a religious lesson or discipline, rather that the Word of God that touches their hearts. Undoubtedly, this tendency negatively affects the relationship between the audience and the preacher. Then, what are the problems of sermons with three major points? Is there a possible way that a preacher can do to improve their relationship with the congregations?While I was looking for the answer, I had chances to Yeon-Gil Lee’s narrative preaching, and was amazed by the people’s responses. One of his audiences told me, “I could feel that I and the text unite into one.” Indeed, when I listened to his preaching, I found that his “As his(man) environment encourages him “stand on his own feet,” it must protect him against meaningless and arbitrary experiences of shame and of early doubt…For if denied the gradual and well-guided experience of the autonomy of free choice the child will turn against himself all his urge to discriminate and to manipulate.”In other words, parents should give autonomy to their children without making them experiencing any shame. Even if a child’s action seems to be awkward or uncomfortable, parents should guarantee their autonomy without any interference. Then, a child will develop healthy ego. On the contrary, if parents do not grant autonomy to their child, the child would be susceptible to shame and suspicion easily. “From a sense of self-control without loss of self-esteem comes a lasting sense of good will and pride; from a sense of loss of self-control and of foreign over control comes a lasting propensity for doubt and shame.”This theory can be applied to counseling and preachn, we need to look into Eugene L. Lowry’s theory of narrative preaching. Lowry’ narrative preaching has five stages. “The stages are: 1) upsetting the equilibrium, 2) analyzing the discrepancy, 3) disclosing the clue to resolution, 4) experiencing the gospel, and 5) anticipating the consequences.”According to Lowry, the ultimate purpose of narrative preaching is to making the audience identify the characters and situations in the Bible and experience the Gospel. “When that experience occurs by means of the sermon, we are able to grasp the biblical understanding of the term proclamation, which includes both the act of proclaiming and the content of the proclamation itself in one event… the actual content of the proclamation of the good news must be consistent with the diagnosis which precedes it.” In other words, narrative art form enables the audience to identify with characters and situations in the Bible and experience the Gospel and its usefulness.According to Lowry, when we listen sorrows and agonies. And the congregation would think that they listen to self-disclosure of characters in the Bible.Evidently, because the Bible itself consists of author’s experiences and a series of events, preachers cannot deeply understand them without projecting their experiences on them. In other words, they should utilize personal experiences in order to comprehend and expound them. Consequently, they will need more personal experiences and thoughts in the course of making narrative sermons. To sum up, narrative sermons have inborn characteristics of self-disclosure, and thus preachers will tend to use their personal memories to expound the Bible as the narrative form.III. Evaluation of Yeon-Gil Lee's narrative preaching with Erik Erikson's theoryGranting AutonomyWhen I looked into Yeon-Gil Lee’s sermons, I found his dominant style of preaching indirect and descriptive narration. The indirect speech implies that preachers themselves participate in sermons to some extent. He ten not said, “I believe in Lord and your resurrection.” Andthe writer of the Gospel of John did not write any confession of the resurrection.John chapter 20 is the most important chapter about the resurrection of Jesus. If so, why did not Mary Magdalene say confession of her faith. Why did she hold on Jesus?...In this sermons, Lee intrigues disequilibrium, and suggests that the audience look at the situation from the Mary’s perspective. People who experience disequilibrium naturally expect to look into the Bible from new perspective. Lee believes that such a sermonic plot enables to identify with biblical characters and experience the Gospel by identification. Consequently, his homiletical plot makes the audience feel the usefulness of the identification and experience it as an event.Self-disclosure of the preacherIn his sermons, Lee uses more self-disclosure than other Korean pastors. Although many Korean ministers think self-disclosure is dangerous, Lee does not agree with them. 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