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Dangers of extempore preaching
Bank Holiday Monday 26 May 2008
In preparation for a talk I have to give tomorrow I have been reading John Stott´s book ´I believe in Preaching´. In this he discusses the arguments for and against both extempore preaching and reading from a script. Should we write the sermon out? Since God has made us all differently and given us distinct personalities and talents, there can be no fixed rule for everybody. He thinks we should avoid the two extremes of complete improvisation on the one hand and slavery to a script
on the other.
Good extempore preaching is very rare. Few people are such clear thinkers and concise talkers that they can express themselves lucidly on their feet without prior written preparation. He quotes George Eliot (in his book Scenes of Clerical Life) who speaks of the Rev Amos Barton, the new and evangelical vicar of Shepperton village. A local farmer called Mr Hackit was extremely uncomplimentary about his attempts: ‘Our parson … can preach as good a sermon as need be heard when he writes it down. But when he tries to preach wi’out book, he rambles about, and doesn’t stick to his text; and every now and then he flounders about like a sheep as has cast itself, and can’t get on its legs again.’
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