Third, preaching is social. Although sermons occur at particular times in specific places, they are intended for real people. These people are not reducible to analytical concepts like social structure or organization. Nor are they best treated as independent individuals, separable integers who just happen to be together. Instead, preaching typically is a social event in a gathering that knows and sustains a group identity. It is an address from people to people that, among other things, speaks to
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