Black Preaching: The Recovery of a Powerful Art, by Henry Mitchell - Essay Example

Black Preaching: The Recovery of a Powerful Art, by Henry Mitchell Introduction Religion has been a vital part of our lives. Recent times have seen the cropping up of quite a number of churches, this demonstrates dynamism in religion. In the same way, the manner of delivering sermons or preaching has undergone many changes. One thing that you will acknowledge is that while there is no uniformity in the manner of preaching, there are certain elements of delivering sermons that are unique to particular groups of people. In essence, there are variations in the manner of preaching, not only within particular groups but also between groups. Certain methods of preaching are attributable to specific groups of people. Henry Mitchell addresses this disparity in the book “Black Preaching: The Recovery of a Powerful Art”. Mitchell specifically takes interest in the Black culture and the style of preaching, convincingly demonstrating that they are important in empowering the black congregations. He points out that they have much more to offer to the preaching methods used by all preachers. The book concentrates on the use of imagination, storytelling and the preaching style that is rooted in the African American culture, thereby spotlighting the techniques that would be effective in lively preaching. The book aims at exploring preaching not in theory, but rather in practice and in the specific aspect of difference in black preaching. Mitchell defines black preaching as using a medium of tonality and imagery as a way of enhancing the message. He states that this would not downgrade its quality, instead, it would upgrade its effectiveness. Mitchell states that people are not saved by intellectually impressive, exciting, and stimulating ideas, but rather, by faith, which essentially does not constitute an idea. He states that faith does not reside in cognition, but rather, in intuition; otherwise, the smartest individuals would have higher likelihood of being saved. In this case, impressive sermons would only do just that - impress, but not get people saved. The book insinuates that a sermon is supposed to be designed in such a way that it generates an experiential encounter. Henry Mitchell states that for an individual to experience a particular thing, an image that the individual can identify with has to be generated, thereby allowing for a vicarious participation. In this case, imagery would be a way of getting the congregation on board, in which case by the time the story ends, the congregation would have been identified with it, thereby leading them to salvation. Mitchell states that since time immemorial, black preaching has incorporated the use of narratives. He draws a distinction from the narrative preaching that the western circles talk of by stating that it concentrates on cognition or explanation. While he acknowledges that explanation is vital, he explains that good explanation of truth is less important than the intensity of its impact, as well as how much it is used by the Holy Spirit to save people. Mitchell also says that black preaching is characterized by dialogue where he states “proclamation with power requires dialogue”. In essence, participation would come about in the people’s attitude, since faith is caught rather than taught. He insinuates that deeply spiritual individuals would radiate a certain form of influence that would draw everyone else to the spirituality. The absence of congregational response would render the sermon impossible. However, the response would have to be spontaneous, since the congregation would participate in the extent to which they are irresistibly drawn to powerful encounter experience. The author emphasizes the need to deliver sermons in mother tongue. This is because language communicates much more than mere words. Language establishes identity. By identifying with you, they would trust you therefore hear you. Connecting with the audience would only be achieved through language. He asserts the biblical nature of emotional celebration by stating that celebration is necessary. He equates preaching that is devoid of celebration to “de facto denial of the good news in any culture”. People would not follow the teachings simply because the preachers say it is right, since they can already tell right from wrong. They would only change when emotion and intuition unite aimed at altering behavior. Tagging at the emotions of the congregation would change their feelings in which case they would want to do as the word says. Therefore, the purpose of celebration in black sermon is to impact on the emotions, thereby causing them to change. I agree with the author on aspects of connecting with individuals through the use of language in order to establish identity or rapport. There are many times when I will not give an individual a second glance, if there is nothing that connects us. In fact, I will view people suspiciously, since you never know what is up their sleeves. I will only be inclined to listen to their messages when we share a language. The same case applies to the use of images in preaching. Only when I identify with a particular image, story, or sermon, I would see sense in it and pay more heed to it. However, there arise questions about generalization. Would identity only be established in the form of language? While I may identify with a person speaking my own language, I would be more inclined to look at other aspects, such as class. In any case, language would only entice me to listen, but not to heed the word. In this case, you would not completely divorce the explanation or cognition aspect of the preaching, as they are equally important. Conclusion Aspects of creating an identity, tagging at the emotions of the individuals and allowing for participation of the congregation in the sermon are fundamental to effective preaching. As much as explanation or cognition may not appear very important, it would definitely have its place in the sermon. In essence, the combination of these would make for effective preaching and not one in isolation. Work Cited Mitchell, Henry. Black Preaching: The Recovery of a Powerful Art. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1990. Print. Read More