Every sermon assumes something about how people learn.

Many sermons assume that transformation occurs when biblical truth is clearly explained. But what if preaching is less about transferring knowledge and more about inviting a community to practice faithful discernment together?

In Inviting Response(ability), Matthew Norman offers a fresh vision for preaching as a learning-centered practice rooted in participation, relationship, and shared theological reflection. Rather than positioning listeners as passive recipients, this book imagines preacher and congregation as fellow participants in the ongoing work of practical theology.

Bringing together insights from homiletics, theology, and adult learning, Norman presents both a compelling theological vision and a practical framework for designing sermons that cultivate response, deepen learning, and form communities capable of discerning and embodying God’s mission together.

This book invites preachers to design sermons that cultivate response(ability)–creating space for congregations not only to hear God’s Word but to participate in the shared work of discerning and embodying it together.