Telos statement in preaching by Art Azurdia
"The telos is a succinct statement of summary that is ruthlessly bound
to the Spirit-intended purpose of a selected text.
The telos does not incorporate the potential implications,
applications, and theological inferences of the selected text. This is not to say that these potential
implications, applications, and theological inferences cannot or should not be
mentioned in the actual sermon (which, more properly speaking, is an issue to
be determined when considering the sermon’s unity).
When constructing a telos the expositor must never impose
his own purpose on the text. Such is imposition, not exposition. Once again, the telos is a disciplined statement of
summary that confines itself exclusively to the truth contained in the
pertinent text (or, perhaps, asks a question that the truth of the text
answers).
