The word rhetoric has developed a bad reputation over several centuries. Originally, however, rhetoric was mainly defined as the art of persuasion. Romans 10:14-15 (KJV) forms the basis of the use of rhetoric, the art of persuasion, for black preaching:
"How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? and how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!"
At the heart of black preaching is the good news that God through Jesus Christ is alive, active, and working on our behalf. Preaching is required if Christ is to be lifted up. As the Scripture asks, how can people rejoice in this knowledge if they have never heard the message of Jesus Christ? Likewise, how can people hear the message unless somebody will preach it? The preacher in the black community is a deliverer of God's good news, a messenger from heaven.
Culturally speaking
Black preaching is a rich, oral reservoir of metaphors, illustrations, and other preaching devices that are designed to make the message of the gospel relevant to the people within their cultural context. With the Holy Scriptures as the anchor, black preaching aims to encourage, motivate, maintain, stimulate, rebuke, and bring to repentance the people of God. Preaching is one of the oldest forms of Christian rhetoric and oratory. To this day, it remains the most effective method by which to equip the people of God for action within the world.
Preaching is fueled through the interaction between preacher and people. The more the people interact verbally and especially physically (standing, waving their hands, stomping, etc.) with the preacher, the stronger and more fervently the preacher will preach. |
However, according to Dr. Lyndrey A. Niles, what one finds here is not always feedback. In several instances, the audience participation precedes the words of the speaker, and preachers often respond in their preaching to the prompting of the congregation. Thus call and response may not be the call of the minister and the response of the congregation, which is the way this signature act of the black church has often been written about. It may be the opposite, with the audience stimulating (calling) the minister to new heights of oratorical excellence and insightful sermonizing.1
According to professor Evans Crawford, the typical repertoire of congregational responses to a preacher's sermon include, "Help 'em, Lord," "Well?" "That's all right!" "Amen," and "Glory Hallelujah."2
Numerous other responses, such as "Stay there, preacher!" "Take your time," and "Say it, preacher," all serve as sources of feedback to let the preacher know how the message is being received. Rhetorical devices such as "Amen lights," "Y'all don't hear me!"
"I wish I had somebody" and "I'm almost done" are used to elicit responses from the congregation in order that the preacher might discern where the congregation is and in what direction he or she should go to keep the congregation's attention. When a preacher senses from the congregation's response that he or she may have preached too long, the preacher will say, "I'm almost done." If the reply is, "Amen," the congregation is telling the preacher that he or she has preached too long. If the reply is "Take your time," the preacher knows that he or she has the consent of the people to continue preaching.
"I wish I had somebody" is a common phrase used by preachers when they have made a point that did not elicit the response from the people that the preacher anticipated. This is also the case with the phrase "Amen lights." This phrase is used when the congregation has become so nonresponsive that the preacher stands a better chance of gaining a response from an inanimate object - lights. The preacher's intent is again to arouse the involvement of the congregation through pointing out that they have ceased to play their important role in the preaching dialogue.
These devices also allow the preacher to indicate to the congregation where he or she feels the meat of the message is so that the people will take note and let certain points linger in their minds.
Unity in the pews
Another way the preacher ensures that a point (move) stays with the congregation is to ask them to turn to their neighbors and repeat a word or phrase. This device, along with others that are similar, such as "Touch two people and say…" or "Turn and give somebody a high five," are effective for memorization of the sermon title or a point and also break the ice and promote unity between saints in the pews.
These devices move the preaching moment into a corporate shared experience as saints from different walks of life jointly experience and celebrate the power of God's Word. As a congregation becomes familiar with these rhetorical devices, one will notice persons slapping high fives and saying amen without being prompted by the preacher.
Devices such as "turn to your neighbor" or "touch two people and say…" are relatively new devices that have evolved in response to cultural changes. We now live in a fast-paced, multimedia culture. For members of the dot.com generation, there must be constant stimulation. For a generation that has been reared on sound bites and video clips, these rhetorical devices are quick ways to keep them tuned into the preacher's message and to provide physical and mental stimulation.
A matter of tradition
However, older rhetorical devices, born out of the call-and-response tradition of our ancestors, are also still effective today, although some have been reworked. One that comes to mind immediately is "God is good!" The minister used to declare to congregations, "God is good," and the people would reply, "Amen." Now, when the minister says, "God is good," the congregation will reply, "All the time." The minister then says, "And all the time …" and the congregation will reply, "God is good!"
Some would ask if preaching can be done without these rhetorical devices; the answer is "yes." However, from our cultural vantage point, black preaching that does not use these or other call-and-response or response-and-call rhetorical devices has divorced itself from the tradition of our preaching ancestors, and instead of engaging in a dialogue between preacher and people, it has moved dangerously close to becoming a lecture. The emotional fervor is greatly lessened.
One of the reasons that so many houses of worship in which ministers employ rhetorical devices are jam-packed on Sunday morning is because there is a real sense among the people that the minister believes that the preaching moment is a moment of communal participation. We are really all in this together. We are all struggling and overcoming together. Rhetorical devices help preacher and people say, "I feel you." These rhetorical devices affirm pew and pulpit.
The preaching moment is a constant climb toward spiritual ecstasy and the expectation that there will be a manifestation of the Holy Spirit. The preacher may announce recognition of this manifestation by proclaiming "I feel all right now" or "I feel my help now." There is an identifiable point in the preaching moment when the Spirit of the Lord descends upon the preacher.
Following the sermon celebration (conclusion) comes the appeal. The object of the sermon is to persuade prior to the appeal. The appeal is then given to allow those who have been persuaded an opportunity to respond to the message. All of the dialogue and all of the rhetorical devices have led to this point. The lost are invited to come to Jesus to receive salvation. Members of the faith are invited to continue to trust God, to come down front for prayer, and to remember the points from the sermon for utilization in their lives in the days ahead.
All of the rhetorical devices used by the black preacher have at their root the desire to transmit the gospel in clear and understandable ways that help the hearer and lift up God. They also allow the preacher and people to tell each other throughout the sermon whether or not these objectives are being met.
Notes:
1. Lyndrey A. Niles, "Rhetorical Characteristics of Black Preaching," Journal of Black Studies 15, no. 1 (September 1984).
2. Evans E. Crawford, The Hum: Call and Response in African American Preaching (Nashville: Abingdon, 1995), 15.
David L. Blow Sr. is pastor of the Great Bethany Baptist Church in Chester, Penn.
Frank A. Thomas is senior pastor of Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church, Memphis, Tenn., and co-executive editor of "The African American Pulpit," a journal devoted to black preaching.
