Lesson #2 The Black Preaching Mindset - Amazon...

Lesson #2

The Black Preaching Mindset

By

Sherman Haywood Cox IISoul Preaching

http://www.SuperchargeYourSermons.com

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Supercharge Your Sermons: “Steps to a Supercharged Sermons”

ForewordThe feedback has been about 80% positive. You can’t please everyone, but I do want to make a valiant attempt. If there is anything that you think should be added or that you didn’t understand completely, then let me know. As always you can email me at [email protected]. We will answer some of these questions in future lessons.

There are a few additional things that I need to tell you before we get to the lesson. First, this lesson and the previous lesson are both overview lessons. For this reason you should seek to pick up pieces here and there to incorporate into your sermons. But if you are not already regularly putting together sermons, it might be difficult at first to make use of all of these materials. For that reason, I encourage you to glean what you can from these lessons. Beginning next week, you will get some practical hands on assignments that will build on the foundation of the first two lessons.

Second, don’t fall behind! If you fall behind, you are more likely to drop out of the program. Even if you stay in the program, you will not get the best of the program. Some people say that they will set a few lessons aside and come back to them later, but many never will. Please do not do this. Please do the assignments and move forward every week. If you do this, I am sure that you will see improvement in your own preaching.

Third, this course is an African American Preaching course. We seek to celebrate and lift up that tradition for emulation. We believe that it can be a benefit to the Christian world as a whole. Please note in your use of the tradition that it is not meant to put down any other ethnic tradition. I have learned much and gained much from people of many ethnic and denominational traditions.

On the other hand, let us not be ashamed of or shy away from this great tradition. If we don’t uplift it, who will? And if we don’t tell it to our sisters and brothers of all traditions, then it can’t be a blessing and a benefit for them and others. I will always remember the Black preaching course I took in seminary. Approximately 60% of the attendees were not African American. And they learned and applied this great tradition. I hope and pray that God will use this course just as God used that course to help and aid preachers of all ethnic traditions in their preaching task.

© 2009 Sherman Haywood Cox II - All Rights Reserved. http://www.SuperchargeYourSermons.com

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P.S. – OK..Enough with the housekeeping. Let’s get to this week’s training!!


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IntroductionBefore you can have successful sermons in the Black Preaching Tradition, you must have the Black Preacher’s Mindset. This mindset was introduced in the previous lesson. The mindset,as I have defined it, is made up of four components: Style, Structure, Theology, and Bible Interpretation. You need them all if you are going to preach effective sermons in the Black Tradition. In other words, to “Supercharge Your Sermons” you need to change the way you think! In this lesson we will discuss how to think like a Black Preacher. The thrust of the previous lesson was to give you the fundamental things to do when planning, constructing,and presenting a sermon in the Black Tradition. However, the thrust of this lesson tells you specifically how to think!

Pillar One – Black Preaching Style OK, how are you supposed to think in terms of style. In other words, how does style affect your mindset. Well there are a few things that we need to discuss in this section. The first is style before the preaching moment. Then we will discuss style in the preaching moment.

Before the Preaching Moment

How does style affect our preaching before the preaching moment? Before we begin to answer this question we need a little theory. African American rhetoric does not make the distinction between style and content. We don’t separate the two. We see them as inextricably locked together.

Some think of style as something that you add on to deliver your content. In this mindset, the most important thing is the content. Style is simply something that is an artifact of the communication process. However, Black rhetorical theory assumes that content and style are interconnected. Listen to a rapper. The WAY the content is delivered is just as important as the content. In fact the way that the content is delivered, the style, IS A PART OF THE CONTENT!!

Have you ever listened to a preacher whose style was such that you felt like sleeping? What was the problem? It could be faulty content. However often there is a disconnect between the style and the content. And when there is a disconnect, guess what? The people don’t get the style or the content, they


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simply check out and if you are lucky check back in for the whoop or celebration. So the first component that we must emphasize is that style and content are inseparable in African American rhetoric.

I hope this is liberating to you. When you think about how you will present the message, you are not doing something illegitimate. When you think about how you will celebrate the truth of the message, you are thinking about your content. It is just as important.

Let me say it another way, when you practice whooping and runs and other embellishments, you are not doing something wrong. You are simply recognizing that content and style are closely interrelated.

Stylistic Exegesis

The next point about the Black preaching style that we will discuss is that style affects more than just the sermonic delivery! Now, think about that! We often think about style as being something that you do in the preaching moment, but not something that should be operative in the sermon planning process, the exegetical process, and even the sermon construction process. Too many preachers forget style until the preaching moment and then try to use style to save the sermon. They take an anemic sermon into the pulpit and try to save it with a so-called Black Preaching Style presentation! This is not being true to the tradition.

I hear someone asking, “Now Cox, how can you take style into the exegetical process?” I am glad you asked! You do this in two ways. You first attempt to think about how you are going to present the concepts all the way through the process.

So let us say you are exegeting a text of scripture. Too often, we think of this as a totally academic enterprise. However, I would argue that when you are exegeting think about how you will present the topic you are studying. So you are reading about Jesus walking on the water, think about the presentation of that topic now…while exegeting. It should affect what and how you exegete. You see you are not presenting exegetical facts to Bible scholars or academic theologians, no, you are seeking to present a word of life to those who need it to just survive the coming week. Preaching is serious business. Think about style because it is serious business!


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The next way you do this is by what I call a stylistic exegesis. Look at the text…is there any style in it? What about the way the text is presented? Is there style there? The word choice of the Bible author should play here. The images the author chose to use should affect our exegesis of the text. Often times you can see style in the very text of the Bible. Look at the psalms. That is style. When you present a stylistic text, don't remove all the style. Don't dissect the style out of the text. Don't dispose of the style while you are exegeting the text. Don’t turn it into dry facts and then try to inject style back into a style-less sermonic manuscript in the preaching moment.

If the Bible says: “The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want.” Don’t turn this into a historical lesson about shepherds and then attempt to get the people back by whooping at the end. No! Leave it as style. What does the Lord is my shepherd mean? What purpose does calling The Lord my Shepherd serve? In a stylistic exegesis you start to think about what that means. Maybe you might say, the Lord is my roof on the house? Here we took an image and we replaced that image with a modern image. Is it good enough? Maybe, maybe not. But it is our purpose to attempt to re-image the text into our images. I personally don't think this is a good enough image, so we would continue looking. Well maybe Jesus is my football coach...is that a good image in the context of your sermon? I am not sure...but this lets you know about how you can re-image a text using this stylistic exegesis.

You can do the same thing with the poetry of the Bible or the songs of the Bible. You can even do it with the stories of the Bible. Can you retell a story? This is the way to think when you are attempting a stylistic exegesis. We will come back to this idea in later lessons.

Now certainly you will need to do some traditional exegesis. You need to closely look at the text using whatever methodology you are used to, but what I am hoping you will do is first attempt this stylistic exegesis that helps to keep the style that is already in the text there. Sometimes folks ask how can they celebrate a particular text and the text has the celebration right in it! We will talk more about this in the exegesis portion of the course, but for right now, think about a stylistic exegesis of the text.


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The Preaching Moment – Rules for Use of Style

Now we need to talk about the preaching moment. The first thing that we must discuss is the two important foundational rules for the use of style in the preaching moment. The first primary rule is that your preaching style should support and promote the main point of the sermon.

Your style should be for the purpose of promoting the sermon. By that I mean there should be consistency between the your style and the sermonic point. Your nonverbal communication should support the verbal communication.

The second point is just as important, and that is that your style should be natural to you as a preacher. There is nothing worse than a preacher who copies another preacher in an unnatural style. Today, I often hear grunting, hacking, and even some whooping where the style distracts from the sermon because it is either overdone or obviously unnatural to the preacher. Both of these rules must be followed if you are to preach effectively in the tradition.

Dimensions of Style

OK, what are some examples of style? Well, definitely there are vocal characteristics and there are gestures. These are your two categories. We have gestures that include all nonverbal characteristics. This will include the walking around some preachers engage in. It would also include the movement of the hands.

Always remember the two fundamental rules. But what can you do physically? You can move your hands, you can point. You can even move your head and eyes. It is important to embody your message with your body in some way. I would encourage you to think about how you can physically mimic or teach the message. Most preachers don't even think about how they will physically present the message. Even those who practice the audio sermon don't often practice the physical. However, there is an added power to a message when your physical gestures correspond to the sermon itself. This was a short presentation, but we will spend more time talking about this during the presentation lesson.

In addition to the gestures, there are audio characteristics of style. Once again, remember the two rules. And as you do that, think about how your use of your voice can embody the message. Think about how you will use rhythm in your preaching. Think about how you will use tone. Whooping is just one aspect of


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using tone, but there are other ways of using tone. In fact all of us use tone when we are speaking. As you preach think specifically how you can use tone. You can move the tone up when you are speaking of a lofting thing. You can lower the tone at other times. You can practice keeping the tone the same and see how that sounds. The point is that we are seeking to use these things to try to preach the message. Use your tone and your gestures in such a way that they correspond to the very words that you use.

Other aspects of vocal style are things like repetition. This is one that you may find in the scripture as you read it. If the Bible uses repetition in presenting a concept, then you might do the same thing in your presentation of the idea in your sermon.

Using the ConceptsNow it is time to use this in your preaching. In your next week of sermon preparation, I want you to do the following:

1. Connect Style and Content – Never write down or present anything unless you have thought through how you will present it. It is not concrete until you know how you will present it. So when you write down a fact, write down next to it, how you will present that fact to one who has lost a leg due to diabetes and one who has lost their spouse after a long illness. How will you present this to them

2. Style in Exegesis – Think about the style of any text you read. Think about what the author is doing that is more than simply giving facts. Try to retain that style in your sermons.

3. Physical Presentation – Think about how you will physically embody your sermon. In your next sermon, think about two specific gestures that will be helpful in presenting the message. Once again, always remember the two rules of style.

4. Audio Presentation - Think about how you will present audibly the message. Look at the characteristics of audible expression discussed in this presentation and try to incorporate as many as possible in your next sermon. Can you think of other audible characteristics that can help in the presentation?


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Pillar 2 - Biblical HermeneuticsHermeneutics is simply a highfalutin way of saying Biblical interpretation. Some individuals believe that there’s only one way to do Biblical interpretation, but really, we must recognize that our Biblical interpretation will change based on what questions you bring to the text. Therefore, a poor man is going to bring different questions to the text and is going to see different things in the text than a rich man will see. In the African American tradition, we come to the Bible with the questions of hurting, poor, and oppressed peoples.

To continue, someone who has been in the midst of problems, who is about to lose the house is going to see different things in the text than someone who has no such worries. So we look at the Bible specifically to see what it says to someone in these situations. The preaching in the African-American tradition comes to the Bible asking where can I find a God who is on humanities side? Where can I find a God who is going to help the poor pay for the bills? Where can I find a God who is gonna help the cancer patient? Where can I find the God of the weak?

In addition, Black Preachers seek to address practical real world issues. We ask, “What practical difference in the lives of your people does this text that I am reading make?” We are not looking for theoretical hairsplitting to enlighten those who like to debate theology. Instead we are looking for a desperately needed practical word for those who cannot survive without it!

Related to this is that the word is specific and not generic. We don’t’ look in the text to address “someone who is going through something.” There is a temptation to make sure we address the whole congregation by appealing to the generic “someone.” However, in contrast we need to address the specifics. Address the o “someone who is dying of cancer.” See the difference? Not generic, specific!

Also, in our preaching, we are looking to primarily preach Gospel and not science! We are not in the business of trying to answer all the questions of the world. Some preachers go off into answering scientific questions when their people need to know about how they are going to make it through this next week. Specifically, we are not asking questions like “how old is the earth?” Some go to the Bible with those kinds of questions. However, we go to the Bible asking what the Gospel has to say to those who need help right now? That is our basic question.

In our tradition, we make great use of our homiletical imaginations. The Bible is written with many details left out in parts. Sometimes we have to use our


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imaginations to fill in some of these details if we are going to preach a word that connects with the congregation.

Finally, we look at the Bible as ‘my story.’ We don’t read about the Israelites entering the Promised Land. We read about us entering in the land that God has promised us. We read about our steps to greatness. We read about ourselves following God’s plan. We read ourselves into the Bible.

So this week as you read the Bible, think about these things. As you prepare your sermons, think about how the text affects the weak and hurting in your own congregation. Ask the questions that they ask. Then you are well on the way to a African American Hermeneutic.

Let’s give an example. If you are going to preach about Jonah and the big fish, don’t too much time discussing whether the fish was literal or not? As we said before, go to the scripture seeking to find Gospel. I heard a sermon once that went along these lines: The first existed; you need to believe the fish existed because it was in the Bible and God doesn’t lie. Then the preacher gave an appeal and sat down. What practical good did that sermon do? However, Black preachers would come along and instead of asking, ‘Did the fish exist,’ they ask, ‘Is there anything in this story that’s going to help me understand that God is on humanity’s side? Is there anything in this story where we see God with the weak? Is there anything in this story with God making a practical difference?’ Gospel is what we are teaching, not science.

I would, first of all state —lest I would be misunderstood—I believe that the fish did swallow up Jonah. But when you preach Jonah, you are preaching God on humanity’s side and there is much in the text to help you to preach that. What is in the text that shows God on humanity’s side? Well we have God forgiving humanity because Nineveh was composed of sinners and they actually received the grace of God. Jonah himself sinned by running away from God and yet God still was on humanity’s side by forgiving. So the point that I’m making here is that we are looking for practical difference in the lives of our people rather than arguing whether the fish existed or not.

Another example, let us say that you are talking about the new Jeruselem coming down from heaven. Some preachers might spend some time dealing with how many folks could fit in that city. I have actually heard sermons where they calculated an estimate of the number of people in that city of New Jerusalem. The sermon went something like this: Don’t you want to go to heaven? Then the preacher talked about the streets of gold. Then the preacher calculated the


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dimensions and gave a number of people who could fit in that city. Then the preacher concluded the sermon by saying that there was room for you and sat down. The black preaching mindset, however, asks different questions. It might ask, what does the New Jerusalem say to those who are on the underbelly of society? What does God “drying every tear” have to say to those who have just lost loved ones? These are the questions that the Black Preaching Mindset pushes us to ask when we read the Bible.


1. Reading to Address Problems – Read the text with a real problem in mind. You will be surprised how often having a problem can be addressed by your text. Think about a number of real issues and read the text through that view.

2. Addressing Practical Issues – Never preach anything that has no practical value. If you are going to preach a doctrine, think about why it matters practically to someone in the midst of real hell on earth. What problem does it solve? In your next sermon, remove all the theoretical issues and preach to real issues and real need.

3. Good News – As you read the text look for good news. Where is the Gospel in the text? That is where your emphasis should be in reading it.

4. Imaginative Reading – Look for the holes in the text. Look for the places where everything is not told to you. And then use your imagination to fill in the breaks. Once again, think in terms of the hurting ones of your congregation when filling in these holes.

5. You in the Text – Now in your next sermon, place the people in the text. Whether you place them as a group or your individuals with the problems and issues. Place people into the text. Stop preaching about Jonah and the big fish and start preaching about your congregation and the big fishes that they confront.


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Pillar 3 - Black Preaching TheologyThe next component is Black Preaching Theology. Here the emphasis is to preach the full counsel of God. Here we seek to preach all the themes that God expects us to preach. The Black church has a history of addressing certain themes that other traditions do not address. Because we are talking about being practical, the Black preacher has no choice but to deal with the real issues that are in the congregation. That means that you will address issues of sexuality. You will address issues of gender inequality. You will address issues of job loss, even getting a job. You will address all of these things and more. It is very important to not limit the themes you deal with.

Before we begin, I think we need to address a false but popular theology that seems to be the only sermons that some in the Black community address. That is the so-called prosperity gospel. You hear these preachers that are forever preaching in such a way that turns God into a cosmic bellhop who jumps every time the sovereign human will asks something of God. This is not the full counsel.

So what is the full counsel and how can we make sure that we preach it? Well, first I would encourage you to make an effort to preach from both the old and the new testaments. I would also encourage you to preach a wide variety of text. But more than that, let us look at some of the important themes that black Preachers deal with.

“You Can Make It”

This is a very important theme in much Black basic theology. Here we see a God who makes sure that you can deal with whatever comes to you. You don’t have to worry about whether God will show up, but how God will show up. We know that God is within us, above us, and beneath us. Yes you can make it. As you read the text, look for this aspect that may be in your text.

“God Can”

This is another theme. It may be hard for others, but God can handle it. God can deal with my situation. You see when I pray I can know that everything is going to be all right because God can handle the situation. God may not do what I want God to do, and like the song sys “God may not come when you want God.” But


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God is right on time. We know God can and God will if it is in line with God’s sovereign Will.

“God is Good”

Yes, this is a basic assumption in much black theology. God is good. The people often will response “all the time.” This should not be turned into an empty repetition of a meaningless phrase. No this is true and an important component of the Black Preaching theology.

“We are Family”

Humanity is a family. No one is better than anyone else whether we are talking about gender, race, or class, or anything else. We all are equal in the sight of the just God.

But more than us all being equal, we are related. This is the key point in African American presentation.

Promoting the Church

There are important moments when you must promote the church’s institutions. You will have to raise money for the new water heater. You will have to have a youth day. You do have to build up the institution. Preachers will have to recognize the important moments iin the church and address them in the sermons.

Promoting Sound Doctrine

The black preacher with the emphasis on the prophetic justice cannot forget the need for right belief. There will be a time when doctrines will have to be addressed. Whatever the doctrines are will be different depending on the denominational tradition and the church’s needs. But you do need to address “Justification by Faith,” “Deity of Christ,” The Godhead, and other important doctrines of the Christian church.

However, when you do this, please remember that you still must follow all the rules of the Supercharge Your sermons system. You cannot simply grab your seminary course notes and preach your paper on the trinity. NO!!! You must first find a way to show the relevance of the doctrine to the people. And from there


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take them through the sermon…and even this, don’t’ forget to celebration. If you want the people to remember the importance of a doctrine, then celebrate it. Watch the people remember that doctrine.

Promoting Justice

Black preachers call for people to live up to the justice demands of God. God expects our nation to treat its poor and weak equitably. But more than that, God also expects us in the church to have a just church. We need to have a church where the child is safe and not have to dodge the deacon who wants to molest them. That is a part of justice. Don’t talk about racists in high places while you allow predators in your church.

We need a church where people can go to be counseled without being hit on by the associate. Yes justice goes both ways. So yes call the world into account, but also call your people into account. This is related to our next theme which is.

Promoting Christian Living

The Christian life also includes living right. The slaves sang, “You Better Mind…You Gonna give an account in the judgment…you better mind.” And we still have the responsibility to do this. Some of us are dropping the ball here. We fear being called a legalist or old fashioned. But God has called us to live as Christians. Something is wrong when there is no difference in living between Christians and those who are not Christians.

God has called us to live a different kind of life. And yes it is a life of justice and working for and living for justice, but it also means that we aren’t running around on our wives. It also means that we aren’t stealing money from each other. It also means living as God would have us to live. If you are going to preach everything, then you are going to have to address this at some point.

Promoting Racial Uplift

Racial uplift is a part of the Black Preaching mindset. Some people think that this is not important or at worse is actually racist. What they fail to realize is that the Black church is still the one place where black folks go to learn what they need to learn to make it. We still go to the black church to learn about the importance of


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going to school, even when cliques in our own community put down educational excellence.

It is still in the Black church where we must prepare our people not just to make it to heaven, but to make it in a world that still has great challenges for our people. So you will address the need to take care of your family. You will challenge your people to live better. Great black preachers will call for this and more.

Certainly there are other themes, but these are a number of powerful themes. I would encourage you to look for these themes in your sermons.


1. Use More Themes – Look at the themes that are comfortable for you to preach. Now go ahead and incorporate aspects of other themes.

2. Use a Theme You Know Your Church Needs – You may know of a theme that your church hasn’t heard in a while and you know it needs. Incorporate that into your sermon.

3. Scripture Themes – Look at your next scripture and interpret it through a number of these themes.


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Pillar 4 – Black Sermonic StructureThe main point to keep in mind when discussing sermonic structure is that we order the sermon for maximum impact on the people. We have discussed a few important approaches to structuring sermons, but whatever the structural methodology you use, you need to keep in mind a few important things.

Narrative

First, the African American preaching mindset is one of narrative or storytelling. The sermon may be a story, or a number of stories, but storytelling is an important component of the preaching event. I would encourage you to look for the story in the text before you preach it. In fact you are not ready to preach a text till you understand the story.

A while back, I was talking to a layperson who was excited about a sermon he had heard. He told me every major point the preacher made. I thought it was remarkable that the person remembered the points. But then I realized that each point that the layperson told me was illustrated with a story. Not only were they stories, but they were powerful stories. Remember this key point: PEOPLE REMEMBER STORIES!!! They probably won’t remember facts. They hardly ever remember theology. But they will remember stories. So if you want your people to remember your sermon, then stories must be an intricate part of it.

Now someone might be asking, “Does this mean that I can only preach the narrative components of the Bible?” The answer is no. You must preach Paul’s letters sometimes. Sometimes you have to even go to the law code of Leviticus. You may even find a sermon in the genealogies of Matthew. The point is that your sermon must tell the story. So if you are preaching about the genealogies of Matthew, then you gotta turn it into a story. You might talk about the different people in the genealogy. What did they do? Why are they in there. Tell that story.

If you are preaching a Pauline letter, then make sure that you understand why it was written and how and to who. All of that is the raw materials of what stories are made of. The Black sermon has a strong narrative component, and if you are to preach in that tradition or think like a Black preacher, then you must be always looking for the story in all that you read.


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Progression

The next important component is that the sermon is progressing to a climax. You are moving the sermon forward. The Black preaching Mindset doesn’t just structure the sermon willy-nilly. The mindset moves the sermon forward. And the way you move it forward is to move in such a way that it drives home the point of the message.

The easiest way to do this is to begin with a strong point so that the people will get on board. Then continue with a point that may be slightly less strong, but still strong. Add in elements of celebration in the sermon. Then you end with your strongest point. This is your ordering mechanism. If you have three points. Take your strongest point and your celebration will be related to that. Then take your second strongest point and see if it is strong enough to capture the attention of the people for an introduction. If not, then you have to go back to the drawing board. If you don’t grab people early, you will never get them back.

Then look at your next point. There may be a drop off in intensity between point one and point two, but don’t make it too much of a drop off. It would be best if it is just as strong as your introductory point. And then you have your most powerful point at the end.

The people will remember your final point, so make it count!!!

Celebration

Celebration is the key. If you are going to preach in the African American tradition, you need to celebrate the close. Now every sermon doesn’t need to end in celebration, but the vast majority do. And even some of those sermons that you think shouldn't end in celebration might make good use of a “celebrative challenge.”

Ok, so what is celebration? This is where you hold up the Gospel truth presented in the sermon; for celebration. People should feel the truth of the Gospel and they just celebrate it through their emotions… I think one other point that I must add, that I must emphasize, is that it must be connected to the sermon’s point.


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If your celebration is not connected to the sermon’s point, what you would do is obliterate the sermon from the people’s minds. So you must connect the sermon to the point. You must connect your celebration to the point. So don’t just preach anything and then come in with the cross at the end that ain’t got nothing to do with your sermon. All they are going to remember is what you said at the end. If you’re going to preach about the cross, then you best connect the cross to your sermon and then celebrate. But don’t just come in and throw these things up there. I’ve talked about this quickly. Celebration could obliterate the point. Celebration is very powerful because it engages all of our senses. But celebration is the icing on the cake; it’s the gravy on the meat and not the meat itself.

The key point, if they remember the celebration, they will remember your sermon.


4. Stories – Please think of stories that you will incorporate into your sermons. It is time for you to begin collecting illustrations. Have a pad and pen handy. Look at the world, and think about it theologically to come up with stories.

5. Progression – Your next sermon, take your most powerful point and put it at the end of your sermon. The power may be in an illustration or bible text or something else, but the most “powerful” point belongs connected to the celebration. Then take another powerful point and put it in the introduction. Now try to connect the dots between the intro and the celebrative conclusion.

6. Celebration – You should end in celebration. Always think about how you will end your sermon in celebration.


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This Week’s Assignments

1. Read this lesson and listen to the supplemental Audio. Please note that this is not an exact transcription of the audio. The audio is a slightly fuller presentation.

2. Take One characteristic of physical style and incorporate it into your sermon.3. Do a stylistic exegesis of your text and retain the style in your sermon.4. When you go to the text, think of real practical problems to address.5. Use a theme that you are not used to using in your next sermon.6. Order your next sermon according to the Black Preacher’s structure.

God Bless and Keep on Preaching,

Sherman Haywood Cox IISherman Haywood Cox IIPublisher, Supercharge Your Sermons

Coming Up Next ...

Lesson #3: “Quick Start: Purposeful Planning “

In the next lesson we’ll present a quick overview of the planning process. In that lesson, expect to see both a detailed description of the process, worksheets, and step by step instructions for you to complete this part of the sermon preparation process. We ask the simple question, What happens when you apply the Black Preaching Mindset to sermonic planning.


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Special Supercharge Idea for Week #2 Preach to Your People!

Instead of trying to solve all the world’s problems, you need to preach to the individuals who are sitting in front of you. Your people are not Bible Scholars or Theologians. They are not your seminary classmates either. They are real people with real problems. So please address their real problems in your sermons.

Your people didn’t come to hear a theological lecture of some point that is true. They came to hear a word of life that will help them through the week. SO GIVE IT TO THEM!!!

In planning – Think about the real needs of YOUR CONGREGATION!

In exegesis – Think about what the text is saying to YOUR CONGREGATION.

In construction – Ask yourself, what aspects of this text directly address what my congregation needs to hear?

Preach to Your People, and not a generic people, and this will Supercharge Your Sermons

Sherman Haywood Cox II


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