As we continue our series on Black Preaching Style, Henry Mitchell notes that a slower rate of vocal speed is usually used when presenting Black sermons. He notes that there are those who do have rapid fire delivery. Dr. Frederick D.
Author: Sherman Haywood Cox II
Vanderbilt Trained Minister (MDiv), Univ. of Alabama Trained Software Developer (MS), Author, Blogger (https://soulpreaching.com), Husband, Son, Brother, Father.
Subjectivity and Rhetorical Flair in Preaching
Henry Mitchell states: “Real soul preaching demands rhetorical flair” in the book Black Preaching: The Recovery of a Powerful Art. He also states: “The flow and phraseology of the King James Version will never die in America while Black Christianity stays Black.”
Black preaching demands not just saying what you want to say, but the way in which you say it. The preacher should use “rhetorical flair” to aid the presentation of the gospel through the sermonic event.
Story Telling and Role Playing
As Henry Mitchell notes in his book Black Preaching: The recovery of a lost art, African American preachers often engage in a sermon that is “story telling.” sometimes they even change into the character that they are preaching and preach a first person story.
Black Preaching Style – Call and Response
Call and Response is one of the central components of Black preaching. The congregational participation is so important that many preachers subconsciously pause to leave room for the congregation to respond.
Black Preaching Style – Rhythm and Cadence
Black preachers sometimes use the sound of words to make a rhythm. Sometimes this might be a pause for breath. Sometimes the very taking of the breath will make a noise that is a part of the rhythm. Sometimes even the organist joins in with the rhythm.
Sizzling Sermon Titles?
Brian Mavis has an article up on sermon title creation at this link. Mavis illustrates the importance of title by noting that the same book under different titles have had much different sales figures. Titles are very important. With that in mind one wonders why so little is written in homiletics texts on this subject. While I am by no means an expert, i have written on the subject in a few posts on this particular site.
More on Whooping – Use of Tone
Mitchell’s second characteristic of Black preaching is the use of tone. This includes “whooping” but also many forms of intonation and tuning. Mitchell notes that many use this in the “celebration” of the sermon which should be connected to the content of the sermon.
Mannerisms in Preaching
Now I am going to begin a series of posts on Black Preaching style. This will go on for a while often interrupted by other posts. In this first one I look at Mannerisms that Henry Mitchell describes in his book Black Preaching: The Recovery of a Powerful Art.
Preaching Themes in Black Churches
The Interdenominational Theological Center coordinated a survey of African American churches and found that Black churches reach out to the community in “addressing social needs, such as assistance to families, youth programs, food distribution and other outreach services.”
What was of interest is that the survey confirmed the presuppositions of some of those who presented the survey, namely that the Black church emphasizes the community aspect of Christianity more than other traditions.
New Resource Available – You Can Preach!
Download this free ebook That provides:
- Three simple ways to finding a text to preach
- A 3-step method to interpreting the scripture for preaching
- Find a purpose to your sermon
- A simple technique to finding a sermon title.
- The truth about Ending the sermon well
Bishop G. E. Patterson – Rest in Peace
The presiding Bishop of the Church of God in Christ died on March 20, 2007. You can find information on his wikipedia entry. Here is a slideshow if a few pictures. Here is a myspace page that someone has put up in his honor.
Somebody’s Calling My Name – Review
Walker provides a glimpse into the characteristics and importance of music to African Americans. It is her contention that music, preaching, and praying are all fundamentals to helping the African American survive in this land. There are a few very helpful and interesting assertions.
Weary Throats and New Songs
Teresa Frye Brown’s musical ministry forms a background for her application of music a metaphor to the preaching moment. In the book she interviews numerous preaching sistas and uses categories from her homiletics courses to structure the data that she found in the interviews.