Black Preaching Methods

Here is a review of Rev Jasper Williams' whooping system. The Advertisement of the system is as follows: Do you want to learn how to whoop? If so this volume is for you! Preachers and pastors will be taught the mechanics of whooping, in addition to being able to view and listen to various styles of whooping. Can you learn to Whoop with this system? Read this post to see my review.

Wyatt Tee Walker pastor of Union Branch Baptist Church in Chesterfield, Virginia has written a book that gathers much of the rhetoric of the Black church and the Black pulpit into one volume. He then provides a commentary of this rhetoric that every preacher in the African American tradition can learn from.

Sayings from the Black Church

The book first provides a history of Black religious rhetoric. Then Walker gives the results of his study to come up with 55 sayings from the Black religious tradition. Examples of these are "God will not put more on you than you can bear" and "Hold to God's unchanging hand." Anyone even remotely familiar with African American rhetoric will immediately recognize most if not all of these sayings.

Finally, the book proceeds to a "lectionary" of Black sayings. Here, Walker provides a commentary for each of these sayings that could be used as the basis of a year's worth of worship services. All one need do is select a scripture that corresponds to the "saying" and then use the African American Heritage Hymnal to find music to support the service.

The book is a good addition to the African American Preacher's bookshelf.

In Celebration and Experience in Preaching Henry Mitchell provides various sermon types. These help the preacher either categorize or simply think about how to structure a sermon. One of these types is the Monologue or Testimony. An example of this type of sermon is when a preacher takes on the persona of a Biblical character and preaches a first-person story.

An interesting variant of this type of sermon is in Dr. Martin Luther King's book, Strength to Love. In that book, Dr. King provides a modern letter from the Apostle Paul to American Christians. The sermon provides a model for approaching sermons. While I do not think this should be done too often, every now and then it could open up possibilities for the people to really experience the gospel.

The challenge of this type of sermon is that you must really understand the text and its author in their context. This will require following a multi step process to exegete the text. You then must understand the current context. Download our free book You Can Preach: 7 Steps to an Effective Sermon which provides one approach to these first two steps.Finally, you must imaginatively place the Biblical character into our modern context in the sermon. Have you tried one of these sermons? Let us know your experiences by leaving a comment.

Dr. McMickle discusses "praise" as the next reason why prophetic preaching has not been on the agenda of most preachers. Whether it is preaching conferences, journals, magazines, and church services, we are constantly given this call to praise. McMickle writes:

[T]here is a constant call to "praise God" that is seldom, if ever, followed up with a challenge to serve God in tangible ways that are benefit to our brothers and sisters, to our neighbors and friends, or to the widows, orphans, and strangers who are so constantly referenced in the Bible. Page 79.

McMickle notes that this call is constant whether on the WORD or Trinity Broadcasting Network, people of all ethnicities are calling for "praise." We are constantly told that "when praises go up...blessings come down." Certainly praise is important. The Bible itself tells us to praise God, but something is wrong when praise becomes an end to itself. Something is wrong when the preacher never gets to any ethical demands of the Christian life. Something is wrong when we depart the worship service without any intention to live a better life and/or to serve the community?

Read the Rest Here

Dr. McMickle continues helping modern preachers by forcing us to ask ourselves the question: "Am I a patriot or a prophet?" A preacher cannot be both. A patriot is one who equates the policies of a political party with the voice of God. In addition, the "patriot" thinks that God's love for America surpasses the Almighty's love for other nations.

Is America's Will God's Will?

This kind of mindset often reduces to the idea that what is good for America is God's will. You might hear such a "patriot" saying that God wants you to vote for McCain or even for Obama. Patriots often find themselves fighting for a political policy and losing track of God's perspective. When we look in the Bible we find prophets standing up for God's will even when it is at odds with the established political order. Ahab called Elijah a "troubler of Israel." Nathan Confronted David for his adultery and murder. (2 Samuel 12:7) In addition, Samuel decided to be a prophet rather than a patriot when he confronted Saul. (1 Samuel 15:11) Let us remember that John the Baptist stood up against Herod which reminds us that sometimes being a prophet will get your head placed on a plate. (Matthew 14:11)

Let's be Prophets

No, God has not called us to be beholden to political parties. We are called to be prophets. Patrick Henry is not our model as a preacher; Nathan is!! George Washington is not who we have been called to emulate; Elijah is!! Let us become the prophets that God has called us to be even if the established order does not like it.

Many people contact me wanting a step by step method to learn to whoop, here is the outline of a method.

1. Listen to Other Whoopers

The first thing that one should do if you want to learn how to whoop is listen to other whoopers. Just like if you want to learn how to play jazz, you must listen to others who do it well. Please note that there are different levels of listening. The first level is merely for enjoyment. Here you simply listen for things that you enjoy or that "speak to you" on some level. Another level of listening however is critical analysis. Here you seek to understand what is happening. You listen to the whooper trying to hear the pitch changes. When does the whooper change pitch. When does the whooper change the volume? Does the whooper only get loud at the end? Does the whooper get loud and soft? Another question one might listen for is a sequence of pitches. Does the whooper make use of a sequence (sometimes called a riff in music)? What about rhythm? Does the whooper change his or her rhythm?

Read the Rest Here

I am currently reading the important work by Marvin McMickle entitled Where Have all the Prophets Gone? In the book McMickle looks at 4 trends that have caused the prophetic voice of the prophets to be blunted in the Christian church.

The first trend that has served to minimize the prophetic witness in the Christian pulpit is the truncation of the message of Justice. Here the demands of Justice are limited to 1 or 2 issues. McMickle notes that among some mainline and liberal Christian groups the great tradition of activism for justice has been reduced to activism for homosexual and for abortion rights.

Both Conservative and Progressive Limits Justice

Certainly the demands of justice includes more than the rights of homosexuals and the rights of women. However, much of the demands for full justice which would include advocacy for the poor and those who's backs are against the wall is set aside while these two subjects dominate the discussion.

Read the rest Here

Oh Freedom, Oh Freedom, Oh Freedom Over Me And Before I'd Be a Slave I'd Be Burried in my Grave And Go Home to my Lord and be Free What is the Black Preaching Tradition? This is not an easy question to answer. I have often heard someone describe a preacher by saying, "He preaches Black." Often the preacher is using an animated style that elicits a response from the congregation. Those preachers who have such a style are said to preach "black" because they allegedly sound like a Black preacher.

Perhaps we all have heard preachers who attempt to preach in that tradition without adequate thought or preparation. Sometimes these individuals just yell. I remember hearing a preacher once who upon reaching his conclusion began yelling, he had heard other Black preachers increase their intensity at the end of the sermon, so he just started yelling. The yelling didn't fit. The yelling was simply a caricature of the tradition.

Read the Rest Here

My Sister and Brother preachers, preparation will help the preacher weather the storm of standing behind the sacred desk. It is our hope that this series of simple suggestions lifts your spirits and increases your confidence. Reverend Harris and Elder Cox believe that these suggestions will help you be heard. Links to all of the articles in this series is found follow:

• The Advantages of Preparation – Reverend Harris reminds us of why preparation so important and how it will help you.
• Re-Read your Manuscript - You cannot preach with power unless you know your manuscript. Reverend Harris reminds us that this requires reading the manuscript multiple times and well as knowing the scripture like the back of your hand.
• Know the Pastor and Congregation - To preach effectively, you must know the context. Reverend Harris gives us two parts of the context that you should know intimately, namely the pastor and the group that invited you.

Read the Rest Here

To preach in the African American Tradition one must understand and feel the culture. This comes from being a part of the community and really feeling the dual consciousness that makes the African American Tradition work. One of the best ways to feel the culture is to be reminded of the experiences of our past. Often these experiences can be tapped by referring to the music. The African American Heritage Hymnal provides a number of hymns, spirituals, and Gospel Songs that you remember if you have been in the African American church. I would encourage all preachers to add this volume to their own denominational hymnal.

How to Use the Hymnal?

Whenever you preach a sermon, always use the Scripture Passage Index of the hymnal in your preparation. Look up all of your texts to determine if there is a song that directly addresses your main text or even one of the other texts. Then keep those hymns in mind as you prepare the sermon.

You may quote the hymn, you may find questions in the song that can guide exegesis. You may structure a sermon around a hymn or song. Allow the authors of the song to help you understand the text. Allow the authors of the the text to help you understand the culture you are addressing. And finally, go ahead and sing them. I just couldn't help myself when my African American Heritage Hymnal came in the mail. I sang the songs of my youth and was transported back to all of those services where God showed up and touched the congregation. In short, obtain as many hymnals you can find and then use them in your preparation.

Get as many hymnals that you can gain insights and understandings of the text that may inform your sermonic presentations.