Introduction to the QBA, Part 2: Schema || John Pesebre

The Question Based Approach (QBA) is an expository homiletical schema developed by the late great Rev. Dr. Cornelio "Doy" Castillo, ThD (henceforth, Pastor Doy or affectionatlely "n/yung Matanda")

To understand what Pastor Doy means by QBA, kailangan nating maunawaan how he understands the concepts of homiletics and schema. Please take note that this is an attempt on my part. If any of you are fellow students nung Matanda or a member of Bread form Heaven (where he pastored for a good part of his life) and you have a firmer grasp how he understood "homiletics" or "schema" kindly inform me.

To read Part 1 - Introduction to the QBA Sermon: Homiletics, click here.

Schema and its conversational, rhetorical nature
The word "schema" on the other hand is a diagram or a plan or "an underlying organizational pattern or structure; conceptual framework." To tell you the truth, this is what drew me papunta sa QBA ni Pastor Doy.

Maaari itong maging proseso ng pagpapasunud-sunod, subalit ang pinakamahalaga na ideya sa schema is that at one point you will arrive at an ogranizing principle, the things that holds everything together.

Ganyan ang schema. Hindi siya organized lang, but organized towards an output. Ang schematic output na yan sa QBA is the MTQ or main transition question (will explain this later). We will utilize the word schema here sa context ng educational philosophy

Sa schema theory, ang schema is  -

a cohesive, repeatable action sequence possessing component actions that are tightly interconnected and governed by a core meaning

Ang importante na notion ng schema na gusto nating ma highlight dito is one that is related doon ,"core meaning." A preacher can be plagued by a directionless sermon maski pa marami itong information. For Pastor Doy, this can be solved by his QBA schema most especially the role of the MTQ as a governing concept. He will not try to launch into a sermon and try to weave a unifying idea in the end. What he does is right at the very beginning he will present you with a governing question that will secure the deliverance of the sermon as tightly interconnected.

Hence, the name Question Based Approach.

Ang advance organizer niya para sa sermon is the "question." Notice the adjective "transition". The word refers to the transition from the introduction to the body of the sermon. The transition is a bridge to universal-to-specific movement. Ang MTQ collapses the big concepts to manageable idea that will be given warrant of rationality sa body ng sermon kasi the body answers the question of the MTQ.

This helps the listener follow the sermon in a rational fashion. Ang gusto nating sabihin ng rational dito is merely the use of reason. And when we talk about the use of reason, isang notion diyan na naka emphasize sa isang QBA sermon is kabit-kabit ang mga ideya na iyong binabahagi at may causation. When we say causation is yung mga idea mo na tinagaguyod ay suportado ng mga tamang pundasyon.

All in all remember that the sermon is "conversational, rhetorical" kaya mataas ang premium understanding na may kausap ka (conversational) at kukumbinsihin mo sila (rhetorical).

This blog in a nutshel is what we mean when we say that the QBA is a homiletical schema.