Historically, preaching has transformed both the individual and whole communities. However, such transformation has not always pointed the church in an inclusive direction. Moreover, sermons have sometimes been used to foster the belief within many local congregations that certain people are not worthy of ordination, church membership, or even admission into "Heaven," ultimately, God's Kingdom. As a result, many folks are excluded from the faith community because these so-called Biblically based sermons, especially those based on "difficult texts", encourage exclusion rather than inclusion. The weekly preaching experience can be the occasion to teach within the faith community, and in turn, promote healthy, theological dialogue regarding difficult texts. The following work will argue that preaching, especially preaching difficult texts, with a hermeneutic of inclusion rather than exclusion can encourage compassionate, theological dialogue among the laity, allowing for positive transformation in the church and faithful engagement in the world.
