Black Preaching

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses Black preaching and how it is viewed by the preacher himself and the audience. It discusses the even components that the Black preacher uses in order to affect his or her goals of feeding God's people. It also looks at a variety of techniques that the Black preacher uses to rouse his or her audience to passion and then looks at parallelism in Black sermons.

From the Paper:

"Responses by the audience are keyed by the preacher, who uses a theme, easily repeated, which the audience can use as a response at the proper time, to a cue. Alexander gives a good example in the Rev. W.C. Thomas, Jr.'s sermon on "I'm into something and I can't shake loose." He or she describes how, during the sermon the audience is prompted to say the phrase that is the title of the sermon as the preacher discusses addiction to drugs, to alcohol and prostitution. Toward the end of the sermon, he or she has a rant about a person's desires, with the word "but" reminding the audience of the barriers to gaining them, and ties it into the reason at the end of the rant with "they're into something and they can't shake loose" which the audience happily joins him or her in saying. This complex configuration of the sermon denotes a real genius on the part of the deliverer and his or her knowledge of how an audience can be a part of and enhance the strength of the message (Alexander para. 40)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Alexander, Geoff. "An Introduction to Black Preaching Styles." Black Preaching Styles. Website: <http://www.afana.org/preaching.htm>. 1986 - 2008.
• Davis, Gerald L. I Got the Word in Me and I Can Sing It, You Know. Philadelphia: U. of Pennsylvania Press. 1985.
• Day, David; Astley, Jeff and Francis, Leslie J., Eds. African-American Preaching: The Future of a Rich Tradition by Mitchell, Henry Heywood. A Reader on Preaching--Making Connections. Hampshire, England: Ashgate Publishing Limited. 2005.
• Mitchell, Henry H. Black Preaching. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Co., 1970.
• Mitchell, Henry H. Black Preaching: The Recovery of a Powerful Art. Clarksville, TN: Abingdon Press. 1990.

More papers on Black Preaching:

• Analytical Essay # 5836 : "The Minister's Black Veil" and Minister's Life"
• Comparison Essay # 148274 : "A Raisin in the Sun" vs. "Black Man and White Woman in Dark Green Rowboat"
• Analytical Essay # 59453 : "Preaching in the Black Church"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: