In the Class Preaching in the Black Tradition, I saw one of my classmates, Rev. John Cox, with a hand held computer. I saw he had a hand held Bible in one hand and one of those computers in the other. He was punching things into it. I asked him after class, what is that computer?
Category: Preaching Methods
Slow Delivery and Repetition
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.
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.
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.
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.
Black Bible Reading Through the Years
Vincent Wimbush provides a history of African American interaction with the Bible in his book The Bible and African Americans. The Bible has often been held in high esteem by Black Americans and thus it is interesting to look at how this came to be.
Black Preaching to Name God in all Human Experience
In The Heart of Black Preaching Cleophus LaRue describes the different domains of experience in a sermon. These are different ways a sermon address Black (or any other) culture. Explicitly he states on page 20 of his work that:
Workshop: Preaching in the African American Tradition
Dr. Oliver Phillips presents a workshop on preaching in the African American tradition at this link.