Over the last few decades in the United States, some homiletical theorists and preachers have questioned the hegemony of the traditional rhetorical approaches to preaching.
"The Old Homiletic" was based on reasoning in which a general thesis is stated which leads to particular applications and proofs.
"The New Homiletic," in contrast, is based on reasoning in which particular details lead both the preacher and the congregation to new ways of thinking.
The preacher would start with a thesis and prove it using a variety of techniques including Scriptural citation, story, and a series of logical deductions.
This was the model used, for example, by John A. Broadus in his 1870 text on preaching, A Treatise on the Preparation and Delivery of Sermons, which was the standard homiletics manual in English-speaking non-Catholic seminaries for over seventy years and shaped generations of preachers.
Proof-texting, in which small pieces of Scripture are taken out of context to "prove" the speaker's point, is a particular hazard of this style of preaching.
In the second variation, associated with Paul van Buren, the doctrine is embedded in the story to the extent that philosophical categorization or discussion of theology outside the narrative is useless.
Via, and John Dominic Crossan, have made contributions in the area of rhetorical and literary critical approaches to biblical studies.
Fred Craddock: a sermon should move from examples to a thesis, taking the congregation through an encounter with the text.