Separating Sheep from Goats: Using Psychological Type Theory in a Preaching Workshop on Matthew 25:31-46

Drawing on the theology of individual differences, Jungian psychological type theory and the SIFT method of biblical hermeneutics and liturgical preaching, this article outlines a method for constructing preaching workshops and documents the responses of 25 participants (11 Anglican clergywomen and 14 Anglican clergymen). The data support the view that naive groups selected to separate out and to cluster together dominant sensing types, dominant intuitive types, dominant feeling types and dominant thinking types approach the passage in characteristically distinctive ways. The implication of these findings are discussed for developing the capacity of preachers to extend their preaching voice in light of insights offered by the SIFT approach.