Skip to content

Soul Preaching

Menu
  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • Popular Updates
    • Preaching Methods
    • Homiletic Theory
    • Sermon Construction
    • Exegesis
    • Feature Articles
  • SUBSCRIBE
Menu

Will The Preacher Shut Up?

Posted on October 27, 2009

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

sshhH. Beecher Hicks, in Preaching Through the Storm, writes about three things that attempt to force the preacher into being quiet when they need to speak. Are you being silenced?

The first of these is the “socio-political and economic climate of America.” Here the prevailing common wisdom seeks to force us as preachers into being quiet about injustice and anything that causes pain in the world. Much of the progress in racial matters in this country has been because the Black Preacher would not be silenced.

But today, have we sold our voice for twenty pieces of silver? Have we gone along with injustice for faith based initiatives? Sure we haven’t preached injustice, in many cases, but have we let evil grow while we have a party on sunday morning and have nothing to help people the rest of the week?


If I can push this further. Does our political affiliation silence us? You speak clearly on Abortion, can you speak so clearly on the rights of the poor? What about corporations that are killing the poor by dumping toxins in rural areas where no one has anyone to defend them? Does our political affiliation force us to be silent on one or the other issue? I tire of partisan preachers who think that God is either a Democrat or a Republican. They use the same tired arguments from the talk radio rather than the word that comes from God in the Bible.

Doesn’t the gospel have something to say to the powerful who have said that they are Christian? Doesn’t the Gospel mean that we live differently? Will the preacher preach this, or simply forever preach a Gospel that is what Bonhoffer called Cheap Grace?

Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc, or its affiliates.

Related posts:

Default ThumbnailGuide to African American Religion Default ThumbnailIs Gift Based Ministry an Excuse? Default ThumbnailDarfur – What is your congressperson’s Grade? Default ThumbnailBlack Preaching On-Line Radio

1 thought on “Will The Preacher Shut Up?”

  1. Ed Hightower says:
    November 30, 2009 at 5:36 pm

    Bro. Cox,
    I am so sorry that, once again, I’ve come to the discussion a bit late. Your question with regards to the silencing of the black preacher has plagued me from the very beginning of my ministry.

    I don’t have much to add to where, it appears, you were headed in your thinking. However, I am, perhaps more of a “glass half empty” kind of a person when it comes to what (I think) the Bible mandates vs. how we have failed to relinquish the “plantation mentality” in lieu of not “rocking da massuh’s boat”. After all, we must depend on de massah for everything we git.

    In my opinion, not only has our socio-political place in this society silenced the voices, of those supposedly called to speak truth to power, we are also internally quieted by the ignorance of those who actually call themselves pay us to speak; whether pastor, assistant minister, or the once a year evangelist… an man told me once: Rev., don’t preach about SIN so much, we know we’re sinning”. So it’s all the same.

    You know we got pay fa “things”, and heaven forbid that SIN is preached or mentioned;one may as well pack his/her bags.In the past when preaching to an audience I’m not familiar with, and when mentioning SIN, and my wife is with me, I always say: “Go start the car, honey”. The people, then, look at me like I’m crazy; they may not get it, but they don’t know how serious I am. Preaching the truth has always been risky.

    Anyway, sad to say,the answer is YES! Far too many of us are silenced all the day long, but if we succumb to such a thing, some- how, sooner or later it will become like “…fire shut up in our bones…”; dem it’s on shonuf. When we see Jesus face to face, that’s probably one of the things we might want to know more about. I’m jes sayin’.

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Recent Posts

  • Stop Sleeping In The Pulpit
  • Thou Shalt Have Good News
  • The Answer Is In The Records
  • Just Keep the Ball In Play
  • The Importance of Good News
  • Preaching Advent With Imagination
  • Why The Thorn

Free Email Training

Sign up for the New Preaching TIPS Email Newsletter. You will recieve 5-7 emails a week.

Click Here

Revised Common Lectionary

    Instagram

    shermancox

    Instagram post 18041906996079829 Instagram post 18041906996079829
    Instagram post 17910296783919000 Instagram post 17910296783919000
    Instagram post 18035493148903548 Instagram post 18035493148903548
    Instagram post 17887097775081541 Instagram post 17887097775081541
    #smule #smuleduet #easylikesundaymorning #smule #smuleduet #easylikesundaymorning
    I feel Good #smule #smuleglobal I feel Good #smule #smuleglobal
    Instagram post 18087447073438590 Instagram post 18087447073438590
    Instagram post 17851233018147535 Instagram post 17851233018147535
    Instagram post 17907649217946063 Instagram post 17907649217946063
    Intro to prayer Intro to prayer
    Instagram post 17982108473571505 Instagram post 17982108473571505
    Instagram post 18030258256647195 Instagram post 18030258256647195
    Instagram post 18128574130309862 Instagram post 18128574130309862
    Instagram post 18388873843007811 Instagram post 18388873843007811
    What’s on the wall when I’m singing? What’s on the wall when I’m singing?
    How bout some blues harp. With a blues guitarist. How bout some blues harp. With a blues guitarist.
    Goodness of God cover. Goodness of God cover.
    Instagram post 18229306630087412 Instagram post 18229306630087412
    Instagram post 17972316937910455 Instagram post 17972316937910455
    Logged into lose it and it said Logged into lose it and it said
    Load More Follow on Instagram

    Recent Posts

    • Stop Sleeping In The Pulpit
    • Thou Shalt Have Good News
    • The Answer Is In The Records
    • Just Keep the Ball In Play
    • The Importance of Good News

    Archives

    • September 2024
    • March 2024
    • December 2023
    • November 2023
    • October 2023
    • January 2020
    • December 2019
    • October 2019
    • September 2019
    • March 2019
    • August 2018
    • June 2018
    • January 2018
    • December 2017
    • November 2017
    • October 2017
    • September 2017
    • August 2017
    • April 2017
    • March 2017
    • February 2017
    • January 2017
    • December 2016
    • November 2016
    • October 2016
    • July 2016
    • June 2016
    • May 2016
    • April 2016
    • March 2016
    • February 2016
    • January 2016
    • November 2015
    • October 2015
    • September 2015
    • August 2015
    • July 2015
    • June 2015
    • May 2015
    • April 2015
    • March 2015
    • January 2015
    • November 2014
    • September 2014
    • August 2014
    • July 2014
    • June 2014
    • May 2014
    • April 2014
    • March 2014
    • February 2014
    • January 2014
    • November 2013
    • October 2013
    • September 2013
    • July 2013
    • June 2013
    • May 2013
    • April 2013
    • March 2013
    • December 2012
    • September 2012
    • August 2012
    • July 2012
    • June 2012
    • May 2012
    • April 2012
    • February 2012
    • January 2012
    • November 2011
    • October 2011
    • September 2011
    • August 2011
    • July 2011
    • June 2011
    • May 2011
    • April 2011
    • March 2011
    • February 2011
    • January 2011
    • December 2010
    • November 2010
    • October 2010
    • September 2010
    • August 2010
    • July 2010
    • June 2010
    • April 2010
    • March 2010
    • February 2010
    • January 2010
    • December 2009
    • November 2009
    • October 2009
    • September 2009
    • August 2009
    • July 2009
    • June 2009
    • May 2009
    • April 2009
    • March 2009
    • February 2009
    • January 2009
    • December 2008
    • November 2008
    • October 2008
    • September 2008
    • August 2008
    • July 2008
    • June 2008
    • May 2008
    • April 2008
    • March 2008
    • February 2008
    • January 2008
    • December 2007
    • November 2007
    • October 2007
    • September 2007
    • August 2007
    • July 2007
    • June 2007
    • May 2007
    • April 2007
    • March 2007
    • February 2007
    • January 2007
    • December 2006
    • November 2006
    • October 2006
    • September 2006

    Categories

    • 11Cartoons
    • 11Fiction
    • 11Instruction
    • Associate Ministry
    • Audio
    • Basic Preaching
    • Bible Study
    • Black Church
    • Black Preaching Style
    • blog
    • Book of the Month
    • Book Reviews
    • Devotional
    • Exegesis
    • Feature Articles
    • feedburner
    • Fixing the Sermon
    • Funeral
    • General
    • Gospel Music
    • Headline
    • History
    • Homiletic Theory
    • Issues
    • MiniBlog
    • Ministry
    • Negro Spirituals
    • Planning
    • Podcast
    • Practice
    • Prayer
    • Preaching
    • Preaching Methods
    • Preaching Style
    • Premium
    • Questions and Answers
    • racism
    • Scripture Selection
    • Sermon Analysis
    • Sermon Construction
    • Sermon Craft
    • Sermon Editing
    • Sermon Outline
    • Sermons
    • Software
    • Theology
    • Titles
    • Uncategorized
    • Video
    • Web Ministry
    • WebSeminar
    • Whooping
    • Without Notes
    ©2025 Soul Preaching | Design: Newspaperly WordPress Theme