Whooping

Lowell Erdahl, in the book Best Advice for Preaching, quotes someone who said, "There are two kinds of preachers--those who have to say something and those who have something to say!" A preacher gains something to say by connection to the divine through the spiritual disciplines including prayer and study. Having something to say comes from an in-depth look at the scripture. Having something to say comes from time and in-depth work.

However, too many preachers simply "must say something." These preachers take shortcuts. They copy a sermon off of the internet because it is not important what they say, but that they have something to say. They grab the latest edition of The African American Pulpit and preach a sermon verbatim, but have not done the work that is necessary to have something to say. Too often preachers who must say something will whoop or yell or use some other aspect of African American preaching style to hide the fact that they don't have anything to say.

The great blessing is that any preacher who God has called can have "something to say" rather than just one who "must say something." It is time to get back on that devotional program of Bible study and prayer. It is time to start looking at the scripture exegetically. And perhaps the hardest thing, if you don't have something to say, make use of those others who do have something to say. Do not give the people just anything because you don't have something to say.

I was listening to a preacher who tried to use a "whoop" to hide his lack of preparation. In this audio I give a few principles for whooping with integrity. If a preacher follows these principles he or she will be on the way to not just whoop, but whoop with integrity.

Download the audio at this link.

Can we learn anything about preaching from musicians? Is there any correspondence between playing notes and saying words? In this audio we seek to answer this important question by encouraging preaching to play words like notes.

Download the audio at this link.

A discussion of Teresa Fry Brown's book. What can we learn from our preaching sistas?

In addition, how can the ministry of music as a metaphor help our preaching? These questions guide the book Weary Throats and New Songs.

Download the audio at this link.

Should Black Preachers whoop? Does whooping degrade our sermons? Is it an unnecessary detraction? This audio looks at these and other questions in reference to whooping.

Download the audio at this link.

To begin with, I want to assert that celebration is a good thing, but can too much of a good thing become a bad thing?

In my post discussing Jasper William's Whooping System, I wrote about the whooping Curve. This is an increase in intensity that subsides slightly as you enter the whoop and then grows again to the final climax.

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.

Here are 4 5-8 minute videos by Rev Robert Smith entitled Lessons in Whooping.

Whooping is one of the components of the Black Preaching Tradition that grabs the attention of many congregates and preachers.