Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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12 THE LUTHERAN VISITOR February 13, 1903 HINTS ON SERMONIZING. Written for Tonne Preachers Prom Preachers' Journal. IV. Delivery. Should you take your MS. into the pulpitf People in general do not like it, but it auita many of the more thoughtful in almost every congregation. As a rule, you should besofamilar with your ser* tuou—and if you have prepared it as above recommended, you will be so familar with it—that, if you should happen to leave it behind, you will be able to do without it. Yet, sometimes, owing perhaps to ill health or to a small and unsym pathetic congregation or to the de pressing effect of the weather, or to the soulless singing by the ehoir, or to the operatic character of the music, or to some unfavor able condition, you may find it very convenient to have your MS. with you; and as you never esu tell before band what influences you may have to strive against, .it is always safe to have it in the pul pit. Then, no matter how adverse your sufroqpdings, your people will have something worth listen ing to, though it may not be preached in the best manner. It seems, then, to be a good role to take it unless you feel that you are not safe without it. When, how ever, it is open befere you, do not read your sermon, but preach it, for a written sermon can be preached from the MS. just as really as one that has never beeh written stall. Be honest about it, too, and do not try to make the people believe that you are preaching without a MS. If you say that preaching in this way will make you unpopular, there is nothing to be said except that the man who preaches for the sake of popularity has missed his calling. The preach er, above all ethers, should never forret that those who on the Mount of Olivet: once exclaimed, ‘ Hoa- anna! Blessed is He that oometh in the name of the Lord,” cried out a few days afterwards. "Cru cify Him! Crucify Him!” May God have mercy on the preacher whose object is, popular applause I Man, what answer will you be able to make when you are asked, 1 "Where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flockt” As to the slowness or rapidity with which any, given passage in your sermon should be preached you must be guided by the char aoter of the passage itsefl. Your own good sense, your interest in the sermon as being your own child, your sincerity and earnest ness in your work, will be a suffi cient guide in this matter. As a rule, the instructive parts should be given more slowly; the horta tory, more rapidly; and both of them impressively. Whether speaking slowlyL_j>r rapidly you need not speak tamely; and, above all, do not speak indistinctly. Borne men can speak with marvel ous rapidity, and yet every syllable be articulate | every word under stood. But all preachers are not so fortunate, and these should be very careful to speak so as to be understood, even though to do so they must speak slowly. Many young preaohers are fool ish enongh to try to imitate the delivery of some great mao or other whom they have happened to hear prcaoh two or three times. Buch a practice, though some times ludicrous in its results, is in itself contemptible. Besides, almost every great preacher has certain mannerisms which, to say the least, are undesirable; and these mannerisms are the very things which the young preacher is almost certain to imitate. They are bad enough in the man to whom they belong; in bis imitator they are execrable. Even if the doc trine of evolution be true, the preacher, of all men, should be the last to go back to a lower type of animal, and remind us, by his an tics in the pulpit, that we are pos sibly but improved descendants of those imitative animals so often seen with an Italian organ-grinder. A man, when preaching, should be simply himself, i. e., he should be natural. He may depend upon it that in delivering his own sermons, his own manner will be the most appropriate and effective—pro vided it be not rude or very com monplace. One thing more, remember that a sermon, conventionally, is not an oration, the pulpit is not the platform; and what might be very suitable on the latter might be quite out of place in the former. Thus it is that anything approach ing noisy declamation or violent gesticulation in the pulpit—partic ularly the low and vulgar habit of thumping the sacred volume, or even the desk upon which it should be allowed to repose—cannot be too severely condemned. In general r then, it may be said that you should deliver your sermons with a quiet dignity, but energetically and im pressively. Energy and qaietnesj are not incompatible; indeed some of the most energetic forces in na ture, so far as we know, are entire ly noiseless. From Bt. Stephen's address before the Sanhedrim we wonld naturally conclude that be spoke in a very impassioned man ner, and probably he did so, but, then, be was an alleged criminal speaking in bis own defense and almost setting his unjust judges at defiance, and not a preacher ad dressing a Christian assembly. Read Bt. Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost; and whilst you certainly get the idea that be preached with very great boldness and earnestness, you never imagine that his manner was anything else than calm, collected and dignified. The late Mr H. W. Beecher onee •aid in an address to a class of embryo preachers—with a touch of irreverence indeed, which he can • not have meant and*of which he rnusi have been unconscious—that each one of them should, in preach- ing, try to be "a little Christ." Now of Him it is said, "Never mao spake like this Man," and also, "The common {people beard him gladly.” Well, just ask yourself bow the Master preached that in comparable discourse which is known'as "Oar Lord’s Bermon on the Mount,” and then mntati* mutandis preach your own sermons in the same manner as far as pos sible. If you will only be very oareful as to your preparation, and believe with all your heart every word you say, and be entirely in earnest in your work, and realise that yon are speaking to the people "in Christ’s stead,” you need take but little thought about your de livery. The standard herein indicated is not, it is hoped, a merely ideal one, but one which can be readily reached by any preacher of fair ability and intense earnestness. [The E ad.] Liddle Company, Charlotte, N. C. In addition to having the distino non of being the largest cotton press builders in the world, we make the simplest and best ginning outfit known to the art. Oar sys tem of cleaning is unsurpassed. Write for the testimonials of gin- ners and mechanics, and then write yourself. Complete outfit, includ ing power. | Engines, boilers, saw mills. MBSTIVG OF PASTORAL ASSO CIATION. J . - The eighth anniversary of the organisation of the Lutheran Pas toral Association of Wythe ooonty, Va., was celebrated in Hawkins Chapel parsons ge, Rural Retreat, * Va., Wednesday, February 5th, *1902. Rev. J. B. Greiner, the honored and popular pastor of that congregation, and his estimable wife and daughter were the host and hostesses, and to their kind ness and attention much of the pleasure of the occasion was due. Owing to a delayed train Dr. Phillippi did not reach there until ■ the meeting adjourned. Ocher en gagements prevented the attendance of Revs. D. 8. and C. M Fox. In lieu of these brethren we were honored with the prereuce of Dr. J. J. Scherer, tbe reverend head of Marion Female College, and Rev. i. C. Repose, lately pastor of tbe Washington ooonty charge and tbe Nestor, I believe, of our synod. Tbe latter has decided to make Rural Retreat his home for tbe present and has again enrolled himself as a memoer of the asso ciation. Rev. W. R. Brown, -vice p reel- dente presided, and at his request Dr. Scherer conducted the devo tional exercises.^ - To tbe roll call only Revs. Greiner, Brown and Bieg re sponded, Rev. J. C. Kepass' name being added immediately after ward. After the reading and approval of the minutes, theannosl election of offleen was held. Rev. J. C. Repass was elected president; Rev. W. R. Brown, vice president; Rev. Paul Bieg, secretary; Rev, J B. Greiner, treasurer. On account of the absence of the essayist, tbe discussion of the sub ject was postponed until next meet ing. A number of privileged ques tions were considered, a bounteous repast enjoyed, and an invitation accepted to hold the next meeting with Rev. D S. Fox, ere the breth. fen toon their leave. Tbe association, in the nine years of its existence, has been the meaus of materially increasing the mutual esteem of the brethren for one another, and by t he dissemina tion of Lutheran literature it has done much toward awakenirg a Lutheran consciousness amonir the people; and it is tbe opinion of the writer that its usefulness has just begun. Paul Bieg.