IDEAS AT WORK

EXTEMPORANEOUS PREACHING

Who would deny that Billy Graham is a great preacher? While he obviously possesses unique communicative gifts, Dr. Graham readily admits that his freedom in the pulpit, liberty in articulation, and the power to retain the attention of his audience come through careful discipline and hard work.

Recently, he affirmed that his communicative skills are related to two major concerns: material saturation and commitment to illustrations. For the first five or six years of his ministry he wrote his sermons in full, and often preached each one up to twenty-five times before facing an audience. “I would find an empty church or building,” he said, “and preach that sermon until I knew my outline, where my stories fit, and exactly what I was going to say.” Even today, despite the verbal skills that have come with maturity, he still writes out a potential sermon word for word. But now, as then, he carries as little paper into the pulpit as possible.

Can you imagine standing in your pulpit with the briefest of notes, or even with no notes of any kind? What would it be like for you to stand free and open next Sunday morning and fix the congregational eye unlimited and unencumbered by a notes barrier? Would it help release your thoughts and words and propel them into communication unbound by the shackles which thoughts-anchored-to-paper create?

Such an experience is exhilarating! It casts the preacher into an immediate dialogue with his listeners, stimulating their minds and emotions as the Holy Spirit uses the full resources of the human personality to communicate God’s truth. When communication becomes intimate, direct, and powerful like this, its content increases in challenge and acceptability.

The potential for effective results is immensely multiplied.

It’s impossible to imagine the apostle Paul feverishly flipping through sermon notes as he approached Mars Hill, or Jesus constantly glancing at a scroll in his lap or artfully cupping scraps of parchment in his outstretched hand. One is reminded of a story attributed to Spurgeon, who when asked to comment on a student’s sermon said, “Well, only three things were wrong with it. He read it, he read it badly, and it wasn’t worth reading.”

Dynamic preaching combines intellectual and emotional momentum. Revelation plus personal insight builds an escalating strength in the best sermons that demands a freedom only note-free preaching can sustain. Written notes retard those forces just when they ought to crescendo, igniting the fire of congregational response. If the preacher cannot master enough logic and enthusiasm to buoyantly carry himself from introduction to conclusion, how can he reasonably expect those who listen to do so? The good news is that whether you have preached for three or thirty years, you can move successfully into experiences of effective and enthusiastic extemporaneous delivery.

One quick caution: please note that extemporaneous does not mean impromptu. The latter implies deciding what to say at the time of delivery. The former encompasses a thorough preparation right through to summary notes, but refuses to limit delivery by their use in the pulpit.

How can this happen Recently, a group of advanced graduate students and I entered into correspondence with Harold L. Adams, pastor of First Baptist Church, Downey, California. He has served thirteen years in his present pastorate, and has mastered the art of attractive exposition using only a small Bible while in the pulpit. Dr. Adams suggests the following practices for effective and enthusiastic extemporaneous preaching.

1. Structural strength. A clear outline is the first step to pulpit freedom. Materials arranged in proper sequence always advance extemporaneous delivery. The main track of thought from introduction to conclusion with appropriate stops for emphasis of major points will allow the journey to be completed on time and with satisfaction. Related sidelines must always be quickly channeled back to the main line. A “logical” memory always provides a better assistance than a “verbal” memory.

2. Material saturation. Like Billy Graham, Or. Adams regards a thorough grasp of the material as the major factor in all good preaching, especially extemporaneous preaching. Only when the mind is saturated with the material can preaching come “out of the overflow” rather than from an everdiminishing trickle. While different preachers follow differing methods, saturation through writing still remains one of the best disciplines for preaching. Ideas have no clarity unless shaped into words and sentences. The average preacher will find little fluency simply by brooding over his outline all week without disciplining himself to write about it. Total invention at the point of delivery is almost impossible for most preachers. Written expression gives him a tangible way of capturing his concepts and meditating on them, while the specific words used in the verbal presentation can be left to the inspiration of the delivery moment. Once the material is written, begin preaching it aloud. Many speakers record their message on tape and play it back many times while preaching along with the recording. Writing out a sermon word-for-word and then preaching it aloud many times will guarantee material saturation.

3. Key sentence memorization. Word precision reaches an apex in the

introduction, conclusion, and at major divisions of the outline. Short, sharp sentences hit hard and stick. Total memorization usually keeps the speaker so busy with recall that he’s unable to respond to the communication needs of the moment. Thus, the logical flow of the sermon should be captured in crisp phrases that become keys to unlocking larger sections of thought or encapsulating them with clarity. The punch line of the story or the effective explanation of a proposition is prime material to fix in the memory for appropriate recall during delivery.

4. Mastery of segmented sections. Dr. Adams says, “Very few preachers are brilliant enough to master a thirty-minute essay, but most speakers have the ability to master a five-minute speech.” Why not turn a thirty-minute sermon into six five-minute speeches? Work on each section as a distinct unit. These can then be woven together by carefully planned transitions, bridging sentences, and wellplaced illustrations. Rehearsed as a whole, the sermon will develop a unified flow that provides the preacher with an ever-growing sense of mastery.

Just a word about illustrations. Every great preacher has mastered the art of choosing and telling illustrative stories. They are the windows of every sermon; they let the light shine in while allowing the people to see out. Learn the art of good storytelling. It may make the difference between what your people will remember and what they will forget about your sermon. Jesus seldom spoke without telling a story.

5. Presentation. Obviously, extemporaneous delivery ought not be attempted under severe physical or emotional strain. Delivery should be preceded by a period of rest, meditation, and prayer. It is still the practice of Billy Graham to spend several hours of uninterrupted concentration on his material immediately prior to delivery. He recently said, “I spend that time doing three things: I rest because I need to have my physical strength; I pray; and I just think on what I’m going to say, asking the Lord to give me new and fresh thoughts even though I may have preached the sermon before.”

If you cannot go into the pulpit without your sermon notes, limit yourself to a single slip of paper that can be put in the pages of your Bible. Force yourself to preach whole sections of your message without looking at your notes. Step back from the pulpit or to one side, turn to the choir behind you, or speak to one section of the congregation with an “abandonment by faith” to direct eye-to-eye delivery.

Of course you will fail sometimes! The human condition is always subject to moods and feelings, and you may not always speak as you desire. Grammatical slips may occur; words may tumble out too fast; but the only way to swim is to launch out and start swimming. Whitfield, Spurgeon, Beecher, and a score of others mastered preaching without notes by employing this kind of discipline, faith, and courage.

A determined commitment to aim for extemporaneous delivery will more than motivate you toward its achievement. I know. After thirty years of preaching with notes as a pastor and professor, I recently tackled a seminary chapel in the above manner. I had never before been totally note-free. This time, I not only abandoned notes, but also Bible, pulpit, and lavaliere microphone. Pacing as close to my audience as I could, I preached on a subject I had never before presented. The audience was totally with me for twenty-five minutes. Before anyone could respond, I knew I had effectively communicated in a whole new way.

I probably will not be able to do this in all my speaking assignments, but I certainly intend to try. The results were far above those I ever expected.

How about you?