Hello everyone, I am in the beginning stages of CM100 (just completed lesson 3) and have been given the assignment of beginning a discussion on something that has made an impression thus far in the material. Being a Philosophy Major during undergraduate work, the information that immediately gained my attention was the section on Aristotle. His three key terms: Ethos, Logos and Pathos were familiar ground for me; however, up until this CM100 class, I never made the logical leap from classical Greek philosophy to modern day approaches to sermon delivery. What is old is new once again!

  1. The course is nicely progressing. Today, I completed lesson #15, the one on Spurgeon. Though the man is still a household name in many religious communities, I never put two-and-two together as to why the man was so popular. That is, until today. We all know Spurgeon was gifted. That's a given. He had a strong intellect, even though he eschewed higher education. Perhaps his greatest skill was being able to communicate that intellect to the masses in a manner that drew them into the story. He brought people to the point of making decisions (new converts). At the same time, he was able to feed his members. That is indeed a gift. But perhaps the cherry on top was his ability to use the social media of his day to publish the message. His sermons appeared in the London Times, the New York Times and Penny Tracts that lined the train stations. Can you imagine the NY Times publishing a sermon today? Ultimately, at a very early age in his ministry, a 5,600 seat auditorium was built to house his members. Widely published and gifted for speaking in an appealing manner to the masses, you might say he was the Joel Osteen of his day. Perhaps the very first to appear in Christian history.

  2. The Importance of Rhetoric in the Art of the Sermon Being a Philosophy major during undergraduate studies, I was immediately drawn to the importance of Greek origins in the basic history of preaching. History declares that there has always been a speaker to emerge as an influencer with a convincing message. Generally, these speakers proclaim messages to move people to change direction or to perform certain tasks. The trend continues today in our everyday lives. No matter whether the speaker stands upon a political stump, or an ethical soapbox, or presents a persuasive late-night television advertisement, each is heralding the listener to decide in favor of the speaker. In a nutshell, that is exactly what preachers attempt to do, except they use the art of persuasion to convince people to give their lives to Christ.  This art of oral discourse is known as rhetoric. One of the first people to codify rhetoric and present it as a discipline was Aristotle. He identified three key terms to apply to the art of persuasion:  (1) Ethos – the trustworthiness and character of the speaker establishes the credibility of the argument;  (2) Logos – the development of logical reasoning that convinces, appeals to and/or persuades a listener’s intellect; and  (3) Pathos – the emotional appeal at the conclusion of the speech to move an audience to make a decision.  Aristotle elaborated upon this approach. In the introduction of a speech, he believed the speaker should demonstrate that he or she is a person of integrity whose conduct mirrors the message (ethos). In the body of the message, the speaker should use logic to appeal to the audience’s intellect. By presenting valid premises, the listener will conclude the only rational result is to follow the call of the speaker. In other words, the speaker has something worth saying and listening to(logos). In the conclusion, if the message was worth saying and, the speaker said it well, then he or she should call for the listener to a moment of decision (pathos).  In the presentation of the message , Aristotle called for an emotional appeal to the speech. There should be a display of passion, enthusiasm and conviction, because it is the emotions of the speaker that stirs the emotions of the listeners. Passion signals to the hearer that what is being said is of utmost importance and deserves attention. The speaker should seek to stir, encourage, and inspire people as they come to grips with the issues in their lives. The speaker should move the listeners to the desired appropriate response.  Obviously, much of Aristotle's approach applies directly to the preacher. When the preacher has something of substance to say and, he or she develops the sermon idea to demonstrate its relevance to the listener, and the preacher presents the idea with conviction, the hearer’s emotional involvement will naturally occur. Preach the Word with boldness and conviction and the hearer will be moved for a decision. In truth, the listener comes to the message already knowing what he or she should do. Through the call of the sermon, the preacher hopes to move the listener from “ought to” to “want to.” By presenting the message with a sense of authority and urgency, the preacher creates inspiration for a decision. By speaking the truth in a way that connects with the listener, the goal is to help the listener feel the call of the Lord. The rest will be up to the listener and the Holy Spirit.    Of course, the sermon needs to be presented by a speaker of character. There should be nothing in the preacher’s life that interferes with the listener’s desire to hear the message. The preacher can do quality exegesis on a text selection and deliver it with the tongue of angels, but if there is a stumbling block in the speaker’s life that blocks the hearer’s willingness to take the message seriously, ethos will not occur. The listener will not apply the lessons learned into the practice when the preacher lacks credibility. Good meat makes its own gravy. Ethical preachers eliminate stumbling blocks that prevent behavioral outcomes on the part of the listener. Their words are a pleasure to the senses. With a balance of ethos, logos and pathos, the preacher can present Jesus Christ without hypocrisy.  The hearer can taste and see that the Lord is good. Therein lies the purpose of rhetoric in modern preaching. Every sermon should focus upon a specific message anchored in Scripture. The spotlight should shine upon Jesus Christ. The message should elevate Christ and entice the listener to do something about their everyday lives. The sermon is only complete when the preacher requests a behavioral outcome from the audience and the listeners respond by applying the message to their lives.     In conclusion, the world always has leaders arise with the gift of persuasion. The Kingdom of God can always use more. We live in a great time in history where the Bible is presented in multiple languages and multiple versions and available on multiple media platforms. The church has expanded and diversified; thereby, reaching different ears and different cultures. By implementing the Internet, it has never been easier to take the whole message to the whole world. Now is the time for the preacher to listen to the Spirit of God, to study the Word and to proclaim the Gospel to the world. Through the 2000-year-old gift of rhetoric, now is the time to once again partake of the ethos, logos and pathos to convince listeners to walk the sawdust trail for a life of Christ.