Some preachers write religious essays, learn them by heart, and then recite them in the pulpit. They have not learned to distinguish between the essay style and the oral style. An essay is not a sermon; a recitation is not preaching

Fritz, J. H.

English

Concordia Seminary, St. Louis: Scholarly Resources

Concordia Theological Monthly Volume 3 Article 51 5-1-1932 Essay or Sermon? Recitation or Preaching? J. H. Fritz Concordia Seminary, St. Louis Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.csl.edu/ctm  Part of the Practical Theology Commons Recommended Citation Fritz, J. H. (1932) "Essay or Sermon? Recitation or Preaching?," Concordia Theological Monthly: Vol. 3 , Article 51. Available at: https://scholar.csl.edu/ctm/vol3/iss1/51 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Print Publications at Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary. It has been accepted for inclusion in Concordia Theological Monthly by an authorized editor of Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary. For more information, please contact seitzw@csl.edu. 868 Eua7 or Sermon t Recitation or PreachlngT '\'OCAto aD,Y iron-clad rulca or atereot;n>ed forms which 1hould be ob-llC!rved in thia matter. \Ve a.re willing to confine our preachmg to the pulpit, but the announcement hour offers the chmce of ~ an informal heart-to-heart talk with the young, too, and we should not let thia chance slip by. But let us be careful to get down to the level of our people in these talks or di8CU88iona on the one or the other question of Ohriatian faith or life. Let us not tolerate 8'111 a aomblonca of formalism in ourselves or our work; thUB we shall VOl'J' effcctivoly combat nnd discourage it also in our people. In brio£, let us pray God to give us wiadom ond strength m,r more to shape our entire endeavor so that ffl! mny helpfull,y serve our pcoplo ond our fellow-men ond by such acrvice enhonco the glol'J' of Hia great name. llilwaukec, Wis. Hmu,. A. STEIIOL Essay or Sermon? Recitation or Preac:Jiing? Somo prcoch~n write ~ligious essays, learn them by heart, and then recite them in the pulpit. They bovo not lcomcd to diatinguiah between tho essoy st,yle ond tho oral style. An cs oy is not a aormon; a recitation is not 11rcnching. The difference between the essay style ond tl10 ornl style is more easily demonstrated prnctically than defined. Tho CBSODtiol difference is this, tllot tho C88oyist writes for the eye, while the preacher writes for tho car. Tho render for whom thee soy boa been writton can take his time in rending it; if neccssoey, he can reread n. sentence or a paragraph or e,•en on entire chnpter; lie cnn linger ond ponder ot will over n. word or over a sentence until 110 undel'iltnnda it. The hearer can do none of these things; he is nt tho mercy of the apcaker and must therefore l1eor nnd think ns fast os tho speaker spcakl. Since tlle preacher preaches to a mixed audience of vaeying intelli-gence and education n.nd mental abilit.y, ond sinco tho overage hearer is not a trained thinker and often not e,•en of quick montal percep-tion, the preacher must speak accordingly; lie must, even more than the essoyiat, cultivate a clear st.yle, using plnin words, simple con-atructiona, ond short sentences. He must, either in tl1e Sllme or in different words, frequently make use of repetition nnd must go to greater length& than the essayist in developing n. thought. He must clear],y enunciate lllld put the emphasis where it bolonga. He must make judicioua 1188 of the pause. He must speak with his eyes, with the upression of his entire face, and with hia hands. Because of thia difference between the essay style and the oral style the beat aermom cannot be printed. Even the radio apeakor is at o great disadvantage becauae he cannot get the reaction of his audience which tells him 1Fritz: Essay or Sermon? Recitation or Preaching?Published by Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary, 1932Eua7 or Sermon! Becltatlon or PrachlngT 889 whether or not he has been. understood, a reaction which a speaker IO much c1eeiree to get; the desirable interplay between th  sp aker wl the hearer ia missing. And a man who in the pulpit reads his mmona from manWICl'ipt is by that very fact depriving himself of the DIOlt essential qualities of good speaking. Reading, no matter how well it may bo done, is, after all, reading and not preaching. Our English language still makes a distinction between a reader and a ■peaker; ■o docs tho public. The difforonce between the essay style and the oral style muat be rri'f8D due attention in tho preparation of the sermon. Thia difference doea not consi■t in this, that the esaoyiat writes his euay while the preacher doca not write his aormon. No, that is not the difference. U'nleu a preacher for mnny years carefully writes his sermons in full, airing duo caro to his language and to exact statements and to a clear development of thought, he will never be able to preach well from a mere good outline. The preacher who relics very much or altopther upon aormon helps or who even copies to a large extent the sermons of others instead of doing original work by thoroughly ■tu~ng and thinking through bis text and his subject-matter, will not only poorly supply the needs of his congregation, but will also, becauao ho has been learning by heart what others have written, recite in tho pulpit nnd not speal.: from the fulness of bis text and tho fulneaa of his own heart. Such 11 preacher may even 11t some time or 11nother find l1imself in tho position of that young man whoso 111rmon was "a masterly effort, clea  as 11 flute; tl1ere was not a word that gave an uncertain sound; it was all very, very good"; but when aomo ono sought to draw him out 11 little further, the :,oung pre11cher's conversation "revealed th11t he did not understand his own message." But the preacher must understand his own message 11nd know wh11t and how to preach to the very particular audience which he ia ad-drening at the time being. This requires not only 11 moat careful study of tl10 subject-matter, but also a thorough knowledge of the needs of his audience and due 11ttention to those psychological and mechanical factors which are needed to instruct well. The difference between the essay style and the oral style should therefore not be lost eight of, neither in tl1e preparation nor in the delivery of the ■ermon. Tho preacher's or apeaker'a style will not be the finished literary style of the essayist, but rather that of the conversationalist. That, of eourao, does not mean that the essayist cultivates a good ■tyle while the speaker need not do so, but rather that the esa&7ist i■ writing hia essay for readers while the preacher is preparing his ■ermon for hearers. Diligent study, divine enlightenment, and con-aecration are the prerequisites for such pulpit work. 24 .TouN H. 0. FalTZ. 2Concordia Theological Monthly, Vol. 3 [1932], Art. 51https://scholar.csl.edu/ctm/vol3/iss1/51

Essay or Sermon? Recitation or Preaching?

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Essay or Sermon? Recitation or Preaching?

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