This part of your training as a gospel messenger presupposes that you have (1) deepened your understanding of the gospel and of the religious resources and difficulties of the people with whom you are working and (2) engaged in enough personal work to gain confidence in your ability to minister the blessings of truth to others in a one-to-one setting.
Part I. What The Urantia Book offers on proclaiming, public speaking, and preaching
The few things that The Urantia Book offers about public speaking orient us most effectively while saying little about technique. Jesus said that preaching is crucial to the planet’s achievement of its destiny. Said Jesus, “The persistent preaching of this gospel of the kingdom will some day bring to all nations a new and unbelievable liberation, intellectual freedom, and religious liberty” (178:1; 1930.6). And in seven post-resurrection appearance to groups of believers, not just apostles, Jesus exhorts every one of us to engage in proclaiming the gospel to all the world.
Proclaiming is a special form of communication. Its paradigm expression is in preaching, but not everything that passes for preaching has the quality of proclaiming. We proclaim by our lives as well as by our words. The one who proclaims participates in the circuit of revelation.
Proclaiming is a bold act of faith, reaching out to communicate, directly or indirectly (both phases of art), with another person or persons. Proclaiming is characterized by confidence and courage, and it should preserve tact and sensitivity to the duties of normal human relationships.
When our lives reach the level of proclaiming, then our words will have that power as well.
Paper 194 teaches several reasons why the Spirit of Truth–who is just like Jesus except for his body–was bestowed. It personalizes truth: if truth is, for starters, the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man, the Spirit of Truth enables us to see what that means in our Father-brother’s human life and teachings. The Spirit of Truth helps us remember and understand Jesus’ life and teachings and to witness to the realities of his teachings and his life.
We are also told on 2063, “This spirit was bestowed for the purpose of qualifying believers more effectively to preach the gospel of the kingdom . . . .” One hears from time to time the view that preaching is an outdated social form. How easy it is to criticize from prejudice, to take the most offensive as typical, to fail to suspect that one may be missing values in another’s religious practice, and to contradict the teachings of the very book on whose behalf such critique is allegedly offered! Preaching is speaking that goes beyond sharing ideas to exalt ideals; it is a mode of discourse that communicates values, supreme values. This is something we should be doing every day. Preaching in the context of the fifth epochal revelation is not a moralistic and accusatory way of relating, not tactless, ignorant, but the loftiest discourse of which we are capable. It occurs in “teaching” situations whenever a certain level of warmth and spiritual genuineness comes alive. And, after all these softening remarks, designed to build bridges with the anti-institutionalism of many modern readers, let us not hesitate to observe: preaching takes place in religious institutions, and it is very worthwhile for readers to prepare themselves to have the opportunity to use such forums. We would do better to probe to discover what the terms “preaching” and “proclaiming” mean in the context of the book’s teachings rather than to dismiss it in the light of our repulsion against certain contemporary distortions.
We need a balancing thought. Although Peter and James are noted for their excellence in public speaking, Jesus rarely spoke with strong feeling—and he was not as effective an orator as Peter was. This observation may lead us to wonder whether the virtues of oratory are ones we want to cultivate. At the very least, the following may be observed.
He announced that he had come to function as a teacher, a teacher sent from heaven to present spiritual truth to the material mind. And this is exactly what he did; he was a teacher, not a preacher. From the human viewpoint Peter was a much more effective preacher than Jesus. Jesus’ preaching was so effective because of his unique personality, not so much because of compelling oratory or emotional appeal. Jesus spoke directly to men’s souls. He was a teacher of man’s spirit, but through the mind. (141:7; 1594.4)
Part of the basis of Peter’s inspirational speaking, however, we can cultivate: “The fires of the kingdom burned so brightly within his soul that he became a great and saving light to thousands who sat in darkness.” (159:2; 1551.6).
How shall we strive, if at all, for emotional beauty in our speaking?
Cosmic concepts of true philosophy, the portrayal of celestial artistry, or the mortal attempt to depict the human recognition of divine beauty can never be truly satisfying if such attempted creature progression is ununified. These expressions of the divine urge within the evolving creature may be intellectually true, emotionally beautiful, and spiritually good; but the real soul of expression is absent unless these realities of truth, meanings of beauty, and values of goodness are unified in the life experience of the artisan, the scientist, or the philosopher. (44:7; 507.4)
There is thus a quality of emotional beauty that properly pertains to public speaking; ideally that beauty comes from a life of a certain sort. I am inclined not to recommend trying directly to cultivate emotional beauty.
If we do not cultivate certain qualities consciously, what can we hope for along the path of more spontaneous communication? Jesus gives a tantalizing promise about how speaking goes in a crisis:
And when our enemies bring you before the rulers of the synagogues and before other high authorities, be not concerned about what you should say and be not anxious as to how you should answer their questions, for the spirit that dwells within you shall certainly teach you in that very hour what you should say in honor of the gospel of the kingdom. (165:3; 1820.6)
Thus at times the spirit can effectively direct our speaking.
How did Jesus prepare for the great sermons of his career, the Epochal Sermon, for example? “Jesus was preparing for a great crisis of his life on earth, and he therefore spent much time in communion with the Father in heaven” (152:5; 1704.4). There is no evidence that Jesus spent any time on many of activities recommended in college texts on public speaking—organizing an outline, collecting illustrations and supports. Rather—and this is often the first point noted in such texts—he spent profound time getting a better understanding his audience, the problems of situation, as humanly experienced and as divinely known. Jesus sometimes spent considerable time in meditation, thinking over the issues and elaborating his response. Let us remember what a superb preparation Jesus had for his public ministry—getting to know all sorts of people and the diverse ways in which they made a living, acquiring a solid and well-balanced education, and becoming familiar with the religious literature of the religions of the world and especially of his own area. His preparation, consecration, great decisions, and life momentum were such that he could trust to spontaneity and respond as the occasion demanded.
It is customary to identify thought, word, and deed as separate. Even the Trinity are distinguished in these terms. But Jesus’ speaking was so filled with a thoughtful embrace of what the people-in-their-situation needed, that his speaking took on the character of genuine doing.
Jesus would rather have his gospel misunderstood and all but forgotten than turn it into a creed, a ritually repeated doctrine that would pave over the grass of new life with the concrete of the human will-to-power.
The Pharisees had formulated a systematic and dogmatic theology. Jesus was a teacher who taught as the occasion served; he was not a systematic teacher. Jesus taught not so much from the law as from life, by parables. (149:3; 1672.4)
This does not mean that Jesus’ mind was disorganized. On the contrary:
As a child he accumulated a vast body of knowledge; as a youth he sorted, classified, and correlated this information; and now as a man of the realm he begins to organize these mental possessions preparatory to utilization in his subsequent teaching, ministry, and service in behalf of his fellow mortals . . . . (127:6; 1405.6)
Moreover Jesus gives an exposition, in the Discourse on Reality, of a very well organized conception of universe reality. The Papers of The Urantia Book exhibit careful and exquisite design. Such intellectual order is not to be despised, though such presentations are not necessarily the same as what is required in preaching.
Let all mankind benefit from the overflow of your loving spiritual ministry, enlightening intellectual communion, and uplifting social service; but none of these humanitarian labors, nor all of them, should be permitted to take the place of proclaiming the gospel. (178:1; 1931.1)
To what extent is it wise and appropriate to one’s audience to spend time to incorporate the qualities of “enlightening intellectual communion” into proclaiming?
Jesus taught the appeal to the emotions as the technique of arresting and focusing the intellectual attention. He designated the mind thus aroused and quickened as the gateway to the soul, where there resides that spiritual nature of man which must recognize truth and respond to the spiritual appeal of the gospel in order to afford the permanent results of true character transformations. (152:6; 1705.4)
This advice must be highly beneficial for our own practice. Do we observe this sequence in the Master’s practice? Consider how Jesus engaged Fortune (130:6; 1437). We do not normally think of the Master as giving an emotional warm-up at the beginning of his sermons or discourses. Nevertheless, consider another common feature of the Master’s speaking. He very often shows an awareness of an obstacle to his hearers’ spiritual progress, and he names it directly and briefly toward the beginning of his remarks. Most often, he does not mention it again; the Sermon on the Kingdom (137:8;; 1535) is a rare counterexample, where Jesus repeatedly distinguishes his kingdom from anything that can be inaugurated by military means. More typical is his opening statement to those at the pool of Bethesda.
In speaking to those assembled, Jesus said: “Many of you are here, sick and afflicted, because of your many years of wrong living. Some suffer from the accidents of time, others as a result of the mistakes of their forebears, while some of you struggle under the handicaps of the imperfect conditions of your temporal existence. But my Father works, and I would work, to improve your earthly state but more especially to insure your eternal estate. None of us can do much to change the difficulties of life unless we discover the Father in heaven so wills. After all, we are all beholden to do the will of the Eternal. If you could all be healed of your physical afflictions, you would indeed marvel, but it is even greater that you should be cleansed of all spiritual disease and find yourselves healed of all moral infirmities. You are all God’s children; you are the sons of the heavenly Father. The bonds of time may seem to afflict you, but the God of eternity loves you. And when the time of judgment shall come, fear not, you shall all find, not only justice, but an abundance of mercy. Verily, verily, I say to you: He who hears the gospel of the kingdom and believes in this teaching of sonship with God, has eternal life; already are such believers passing from judgment and death to light and life. And the hour is coming in which even those who are in the tombs shall hear the voice of the resurrection. (147:3; 1649.3)
Look how quickly Jesus moves through his themes. He greets these sufferers with a blunt exposition of the variety of causes of their suffering. I take it that his first sentence—with its personal directness and bold statement of their problem—was his way of awakening emotional attention. We see no mere emotion here, though, just the emotion that customarily attends full and honest personality relating. He moves on promptly to set aside expectations of miracles. He turns to the gospel and the great promise of eternal life.
The Master’s appeal to intellect was the fruit of high intelligence, patient study, careful thinking, and the total integration of his ideas into the purpose of his gospel mission. The stimuli for thinking contained in the beatitudes, for example, (140:3; 1570) are extraordinary (and almost universally overlooked). Or consider the intellectual interest of one of his clearest gospel statements:
The kingdom of heaven consists in these three essentials: first, recognition of the fact of the sovereignty of God; second, belief in the truth of sonship with God; and third, faith in the effectiveness of the supreme human desire to do the will of God–to be like God. And this is the good news of the gospel: that by faith every mortal may have all these essentials of salvation. (140:10; 1585.7-1586.0)
If getting faith by faith is not to be a simple paradox, it forces us to articulate our concept of faith more complexly. To articulate faith thus complexly goes beyond proclaiming but not beyond the thoughtful preparation for proclaiming. Similarly with the implicit distinctions between recognizing a fact, belief in a truth and faith.
One of our most interesting challenges is to take advantage not only of the records of what Jesus did, but also of other suggestions from The Urantia Book to help us achieve proclaiming adequate to contemporary needs.
The great mistake of the Hebrew religion was its failure to associate the goodness of God with the factual truths of science and the appealing beauty of art. As civilization progressed, and since religion continued to pursue the same unwise course of overemphasizing the goodness of God to the relative exclusion of truth and neglect of beauty, there developed an increasing tendency for certain types of men to turn away from the abstract and dissociated concept of isolated goodness. The overstressed and isolated morality of modern religion, which fails to hold the devotion and loyalty of many twentieth-century men, would rehabilitate itself if, in addition to its moral mandates, it would give equal consideration to the truths of science, philosophy, and spiritual experience, and to the beauties of the physical creation, the charm of intellectual art, and the grandeur of genuine character achievement.
The religious challenge of this age is to those farseeing and forward-looking men and women of spiritual insight who will dare to construct a new and appealing philosophy of living out of the enlarged and exquisitely integrated modern concepts of cosmic truth, universe beauty, and divine goodness. Such a new and righteous vision of morality will attract all that is good in the mind of man and challenge that which is best in the human soul. Truth, beauty, and goodness are divine realities, and as man ascends the scale of spiritual living, these supreme qualities of the Eternal become increasingly co-ordinated and unified in God, who is love. (2:7; 43.2-3)
Notice that none of the seven themes mentioned in the first paragraph just quoted from the Divine Counselor is the gospel. The gospel is the living core around which these themes cluster to form an interface between the gospel and our daily lives as persons engaged in thinking, feeling, and doing in a culture that stimulates us intellectually, aesthetically, and ethically. These themes are areas that preachers do well to touch on to reach out in the present age to a full range of hearers.
We do well to be humble about even our best experiences of public speaking. “The oratory of the spirit world is one of the rare treats which await you who have heard only the crude and stumbling orations of Urantia” (44:4; 503.8). The fact that our the best human oratory compares poorly on a universe standard should not deter us, since there is also a big difference between the best human speaking and mediocre presentations.
Part II. Appropriating Human Training in Public Speaking and Preaching
I recall the first meeting of a 1974 seminary class in radio broadcasting, when the instructor played a few minutes each of taped segments of men he introduced as “America’s most prominent radio preachers.” I listened intently to try to see what they had in common. Some sounded somewhat eloquent, some were not eloquent at all, and none had self-conscious rhetorical polish. The main quality I could sense that they had in common was a great sincerity. Their teaching was clear. It was recognizably rooted in central teachings of the Bible. It reached out in a personal way to the listener.
Sincerity in reaching out to the hearer short-circuits fear. Public speaking occasions fear in people more than any event except death. But fear is a worry about how we are perceived by others. If we pray for them, if we are absorbed in the truth we have to offer, there is no room for concern about self. Practice makes an enormous difference. Most people manifest fear during their first few times speaking in front of an audience; but almost everyone by about the fourth or fifth time manifests little or no nervousness (even though the person may still feel a bit nervous).
Whenever we desire to develop our potentials using the knowledge and methods of contemporary culture, there is always the task of transplanting the partial achievements of current civilization into the garden-context of the teachings of The Urantia Book. In other words, we do not merely use the book to water other gardens; we use the achievements of the civilization and re-theorize them and adjust them creatively to make use of the revelation we have been given. Many readers neglect to attempt this re-contexting and miss a great opportunity by doing so. In some cases, in following customary ideas and practices they accept assumptions that conflict with revealed teachings. At present, however, I propose to do little of that labor—at least regarding my first two recommendations (found in very quick searching through google.com), since I already have presented the essentials of public speaking as I presently understand them from The Urantia Book. Obviously, the article on the principles of teaching disclosed in The Urantia Book is relevant here as well.
This University of Pittsburgh site addresses the standard topics covered in an introductory university course in public speaking.
During my years teaching public speaking, I found that the most effective series of assignments to help my students progress quickly were the assignments used by Toastmasters International: http://www.toastmasters.org/
The most useful text I have found, however, for public speaking, goes deeper than the university courses and Toastmasters lessons. It is Speak for Yourself by Jessica Somers Driver, first privately printed in Los Angeles; the first copyright was recorded in 1948. It has been recently offered again through amazon.com for $16.95 plus shipping. Since people are having difficulty getting this text, and since some adjustment to the context of the teachings of The Urantia Book is helpful, I will undertake to represent some of her book. I warn you strictly, however, that Jessica Driver is a marvelous writer and comes across in her book as a wonderfully inspired spiritual person, very down to earth, very integrated in a host of practical activities, delightfully successful—and that my summary will manage to convey none of these essential qualities. These qualities, moreover, are essential to your learning what she has to teach, as are her attractively described examples and well chosen quotations. So persist in your quest for this book, even as you make use of the following adjusted sketch of some of her key teachings. Her book is in three parts: The Science of Expression, Reading Aloud, and Poise. Each part is excellent; Part II in particular is most extraordinarily helpful. But I shall confine my summarizing to the introduction and seven chapters of Part I. In my re-presenting of her teaching, as I attempt to transplant, I may well lose some of her insight. She belongs to the Christian Science denomination of Christianity and was originally motivated to write this book, I have been told, by the dreary performance of readers and speakers in the Sunday services she would attend.
The introduction emphasizes that there are principles to public speaking that everyone can learn. These principles are followed, consciously or unconsciously, by those who are successful at it. Moreover, you don’t have to become unnatural by developing your public speaking.
Chapter 1, “The Starting Point,” teaches that the ideas or truths that we are to express in public speaking are all around us and are not our personal possession. People get nervous about public speaking because they feel that it’s about them. It’s not. It’s about the idea, which is impersonal. Second, she teaches that if we abide deeply in the truth to be communicated, that truth contains within it everything we need to express it.
Chapter 2, “The Three Essentials,” sets forth her method: “listening, valuing, expressing.” Listening for the idea, the truth, involves discernment (and it can be deep, patient, prayerful listening). The idea—the truth you need—comes to you. Valuing it means staying with the idea, following this truth wherever it leads . . . until the expression becomes spontaneous. That free and vivid quality of spontaneous communication emerges naturally from the first two steps. (This is a method that can be used in any creative endeavor.)
Chapter 3, “Listening,” describes the creative and discerning openness that lets ideas come to mind.
Chapter 4, “Value Your Ability to Express Ideas,” describes the activity of following through the with idea, staying with it until it becomes fully clear. Valuing one’s ability is also part of this, but self-consciousness is not, since the idea or truth you are communicating is not personal to you; it is objective, so to speak, part of reality. It is not “your idea.” She concludes, “Have you ever quietly, sincerely, told yourself that you are the light of the world? Try doing it. You will not feel proud but purposeful and poised—gracious toward all who are around you.”
Chapter 5, “Visualizing,” teaches how concretely we must sense the idea we are following. By the way, the single most important principle in Part II of her book, which is on reading aloud, is to bring vividly to mind the meaning of each word as you say it. When you see something so vividly, you will be able to convey its life to your hearers.
Chapter 6, “Spontaneity,” encourages you in “that instant response to the inspiration of ideas . . . [that] keeps your activities fresh and varied, your voice young, your reading conversational and convincing, your speech full of life.”
Chapter 7, “Rhythm,” explains that “rhythm includes style and timing” and is—“inherent in an idea.” This notion of what is inherent in an idea is, if you will, the mystical element of her method, and it is worth reflecting in what way this is meaningful to you. I would put it thus: that any truth, deeply grasped, has beauty and contains the potentials of goodness. I believe that Jessica Driver has expressed this general truth in a delightfully concrete and applied way. Every situation has its own rhythm, and upon entering a room, for example, one does well to be receptive to it, to tune in. With anything we are trying to express, be it a concept or a tree or a technical method, we can leave self-will aside and open ourselves to its “rhythm.”
That is enough for a start. I wish you well. Toastmasters teaches that we should learn from criticism—without replying to it—after we speak while we are learning to do better. With human and divine aid, you can hope for wonderful growth!
Preaching can be done in formal and informal situations. Let’s start with the formal ones. Jesus read scriptures and preached in the synagogue both before and after the start of his public career. He made use of the religious literature, selecting the cream and leaving aside the rest without comment. His sermons were brief by comparison with the 15-20 minute discourse that is standard in many circles today.
Many churches have training programs for lay persons to enable them to serve in more advanced ways. These programs are often full of opportunity. In some cases, your credentials or your friendship with the minister can lead to an invitation to preach, either on a Sunday morning or at some other time.
Sometimes you are expected to conduct the entire service. Other times you can simply preach. If you have to do the entire service, you will need to consider how to handle the eucharist or remembrance supper. I do not use the traditional language “This is my body, broken for you. This is my blood . . . .” I vary what I say, sometimes reminding those present that we can cherish in silence the meaning these symbols have for each of us, sometimes saying “the bread of life,” “the water of life.” In the liberal church in which I have done this nearly a dozen times, no one has raised the slightest problem. Others will feel comfortable using the traditional words.
Usually if I am asked to read scripture, I have a look to see whether I feel comfortable proclaiming that as a reader. In one situation, I accepted a request and was surprised to see what I had agreed to, and simply made a prefatory remark in the service about “the traditional words” to indicate diplomatically that I was taking some distance from the text. I often comment briefly on the sense of what I am about to read. More often, I select my own scriptures and organize the entire service. The selection of hymns is important, too.
One of the most important things we can do is to present an uplifting way of doing a customary worship service. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, and the Thought Adjusters are always active helping worship to be more enlightened and wholehearted. There are so many wonderfully experienced ministers out there, and the more experience we have, the more graciously we will be able to assist the Adjusters in conducting worship.
Informal settings can also offer fine opportunities for preaching. Here good humor and a very positive attitude are essential to overcoming the stereotype of the angry street preacher. When I did this sort of work during my 30s, I would not talk long in settings where people are already sitting. I preferred crowds on the move, where I could give a brief and cheerful message to them as they passed by. I would usually preach to crowds going to a sports event. It would be easy, furthermore, to not have to think of or remember much to say—I could repeat my few lines frequently, and it got very fun. Your smile
Handing out leaflets is also effective, and one must choose which to do (or mainly do). If you approach a situation confident that you are bringing good to others by what you are giving them, you will find a very nice proportion of folks eager to receive, to take your handout, and even to listen with a smile as they pass by. The main thing about street preaching is to leap in beyond one’s fear. You get a sense of what level of boldness is acceptable and what is excessive. Boldness and aggressiveness will be the topic for another piece of this website, to be done later.
August 2002
