It came to me the other day: one of the ways that public speakers, and preachers in particular, have it pretty rough is their choice of words in speaking. It happened after I heard a biographical lecture on William Tyndale in which the speaker gave an example of the kind of linguistic training that Tyndale received in the 15th century. One assignment consisted of rewriting the statement "your letter delighted me very much".....(are you ready for this?).....150 times. It's not hard to see how one's vocabulary and facility with language would improve under such training, and how such an improvement would help usher one into the joys of compelling, powerful, vivid, precise, circumspect, nuanced, poignant, and helpful ways of expressing one's thoughts, not to mention the truths of the gospel.
However, not many today appreciate such skill or talent. If a preacher strives to give detail or be precise in his speech, he may be criticized for not speaking more "simply"; such speech, I imagine, may often be cited as "hard to understand" or to be in need of "fewer words and plainer ones". The mental stamina of the average person today is so deficient that this sentence may itself express more than he or she can apprehend in one reading (not to mention one hearing).
On the other hand, when a preacher, for fear of being perceived as an intellectual or of merely being misunderstood, resorts to the cliches and verbal ruts that are so common in contemporary news reports, sitcoms, movies, and increasingly in popular literature, he opens himself up to the accusation that he is "boring", "impractical", "unengaging", and, what is maybe most damning, "out of touch", since he couldn't put flesh on the bones of daily living.
How, then, shall he preach? Not having a pulpit of my own (though having taught for nearly 8 years), I can say that the harder one seeks to know one's hearers - to know what distracts their concentration most easily, to anticipate their objections, to begin thinking and speaking in their categories and know how to translate back into one's own - the more willing such hearers will be to give one a hearing.
In addition to this, read widely, and when you find yourself begnning to use - consciously at first, and then without knowing it - new words or familiar ones with nuanced meanings, expect a few raised eyebrows and praise God that he's not left you in a linguistically retarded state. One of the most tragic things I see today is an adult who is thought of as some kind of "genius" or "intellectual" merely for checking out books from the library for leisure reading that have nothing at all to do with professionaly development, personal improvement, or some immediate problem in their life (or someone they know). One of the most life-depriving mental states we can inhabit is to stop inquiring. G.K. Chesterton commented that "there are no uninteresting subjects, only uninterested people." It is possible to be blind to what others find infinitely attractive and interesting (just as others find some of our own interests without interest); however, it is impossible for the God who created such realities as blue, gravity, infinity, and infant giggles to have allowed into his creation anything boring. Even spoons, when correctly employed, can entertain us for hours.
Finally, expect to draw upon what you've read in casual conversation. Not that you want to shut down others' opinions who may be easily intimidated just because you now know how the Communists came to power in China or why Americans tend to be more individualistic than do Europeans; that's not the point. The point is that Communism and individualism have causes and factors that led up to them and that explain why events, people, inventions, and movements turn out the way they do. And it behooves human beings to understand these things to the best of their abilities. No, most of us will never get the kind of recognition that so many today seek as they pursue such knowledge, but it may just help you become a more informed voter, a more patient friend, and more disciplined student, and more admirable human being.
BHT
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