by Betty Bruechert
The calling of the Christian is to beseech men to be reconciled to God, who, through the offering of the Lord Jesus Christ, has been reconciled to him. For this holy purpose, he has a mighty vehicle in the English lan guage. Why then should these glorious truths be buried beneath deadly, obtuse utterances? There is nothing vapid about the Gospel; it is only its dispensers who dim its luster. Volumes without number have been written on the subject of adequate advance preparation for speaking. Obviously, prayer is the first requisite. The other require ments may be condensed into two: (1) knowing exactly what one wishes to impart (2) having one’s material under complete control. A certain professor used to require his Public Speaking pupils to write in one sentence what they intended to convey in their addresses; and in another sentence, their purpose. Nearly all speakers overprepare rather than otherwise; one should cut, and cut, and cut, even treas ured stories and cherished points. It is certain that all one knows on a subject cannot be included in one mes sage. It is as important to omit as to include. A speaker will not divert a listener from his wandering thoughts by uncertain utterances, cluttered ideas, and complex notions of his own. There must be a systematic arrangement of thought and an orderly delivery of those thoughts. One of the great literary geniuses of all time gave this rule for writing: “ If you can think logically,” said he, “ you can write.” This applies equally to public speaking. It is the thought behind it that counts. If a speaker rambles, the minds of his listeners rove; if he stumbles, the hearers hesitate in confusion. Much is written about “ audience contact.” Certainly it is the secret of successful speaking. But in order to enjoy that essential communication with his listeners, one must know his message well enough, in a sense, to forget it. It must pour forth naturally from a full heart and a disciplined mind. A good salesman so acquaints himself with his product that he never worries about his “ line” ; as he delivers his sales talk, he watches his pros pect for reactions. Some speakers seem entirely unaware of their audiences. Grimly they go about the business of delivering their sermons whether or not anyone is paying attention, whether or not the people wake or sleep. No wonder a speaker is often weary after such an experience, whereas he himself should have been refreshed and stimu lated. The faces of an audience show unmistakably what kind of impression is being made by the speaker. If there is a spiritual reason for being dull, generally it is not due to lack of love for Christ, indifference to the salvation of souls, or dearth of Bible knowledge. Back of the deadly apathy sometimes prevalent in the pulpit or Sunday school classroom is failure properly to evaluate the task of witnessing for the Lord. The servants of the Lord may be unimpassioned in speech because uncon sciously they under-rate their high and holy calling. Mrs Bruechert is formerly managing editor of the KING 'S BUSI NESS. Printed by permission of MOODY MONTH LY magazine.
There is on the part of Christian workers unhesitating acknowledgement of responsibilty to lost souls; duty, as a rule, is faithfully performed. It is then assumed that God requires nothing else. A sermon must be preached; a missionary address must be delivered; a talk for a group of young people must be prepared. Little is put into these tasks; not much in the way of results is expected. There is half-heartedness about speaking on behalf of the Lord. Is this because of failure to appreciate the fact that to be commissioned an ambassador for Christ is the greatest honor that can be bestowed upon a human being? It should not be lost sight of that a Sunday School class is a great challenge; a young people’s meeting has unim agined potentialities; a church service has possibilities of reaching the very ends of the earth. Are these tasks accounted of too little worth? Perhaps a minister is dissatisfied, discouraged because he is in a small church, obscure and unknown. He feels he is a failure because he cannot go on to bigger and better fields, according to his own schedule for his life. A children’s worker feels she can accomplish nothing in an isolated location. But it is the most magnificent task in the world! It is not the worker who is great, but the work. One spot in His vineyard is as important as an other to God. He regards His “ little people” of as much value as the world-famed evangelists and the mighty pulpiteers. The Lord is not pleased to have His work “ down-graded” by His servants. The world is a sad and lonely place. Hearts seek they know not what. If they come to the church of God for satisfaction and are turned away empty, who is to blame? If they seek instead for “ something interesting” in the world, they will lose their souls. Those who are “ the oracles of God” should feel the responsibility to present Christ to them in a way to demand attention. Years ago, when I first began to give addresses to young people, and to teach Bible classes, I said to myself: “ If there is inattention, it is your fault, not theirs.” This brave statement was put to the test many times when I found myself confronted by unsympathetic, worldly, unspirit ual adults, or giggling, whispering, uninterested young folks, but I have never had occasion to change my mind. Sometimes an unresponsive audience is a challenge to see what the Holy Spirit can do through one who has pre pared something worth the listener’s while. It is the speaker, not the listener, who is at fault, if he cannot communicate something to the group before him. If we are guilty of being uninteresting, then, for all our sincerity and nobility of purpose, actually we are misrepresenting God. By our poor presentation of Christ, we are giving the impression that all things are boring —dead and dry — and we turn away from Him those who need Him. May we determine to change this. Let us make use of every means to enliven our messages. Above all, may we pray that the Holy Spirit Himself may kindle a flame within our hearts and set our lips on fire with His Word! END.
SEPTEMBER, 1959
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