The Preacher's Relationship to His Manuscript

Driving home: And it is precisely this concern of how much dependence upon and how much preoccupation with that written material is manifested in the act of preaching.

Martin uses the metaphor of 'choking the channels of mutual empathy' to describe how preoccupation with paper hinders a preacher's connection with the audience.

Or to state it differently, how much mental and physical attachment is there to one's paper. How much mental and physical attachment is there to one's paper. Thereby choking the channels of mutual empathy, and present sympathy with the living audience. And you see how much then that relates to our last lecture.

4:58 - 5:26 Read in full sermon

Driving home: If his eyes and his brain are preoccupied with his paper, his eyes and his brain cannot be preoccupied with his people.

He states, 'If his eyes and his brain are preoccupied with his paper, his eyes and his brain cannot be preoccupied with his people,' illustrating the incompatibility of dual focus.

This whole matter of the preacher's present reaction and interaction with his people as he preaches. This whole matter of the preacher's present reaction and interaction with his people as he preaches. If his eyes and his brain are preoccupied with his paper, his eyes and his brain cannot be preoccupied with his people.

5:26 - 5:44 Read in full sermon

The point: Never read a full manuscript from the pulpit and attempt to call it preaching.

Martin quotes Dabney's 'Lectures on Sacred Rhetoric' to argue that reading a manuscript cannot justly be called preaching, as it impedes oratorical action and connection with the audience.

Even if the matter and the style are rhetorical, the action cannot be. But it is almost impossible that the structure either of thought or language should be such, when the invention, that is, your basic composition, is performed in solitude and at the writing desk. Some men, by a powerful genius, have indeed, by long practice, now notice the qualifications, they have powerful genius and long practice. None of you fit that category.

8:50 - 9:23 Read in full sermon

Driving home: The mental operations of giving out and of taking in the sense are in the highest degree incompatible with each other.

Martin quotes McElvain on the incompatibility of the mental operations of 'taking in' (reading) and 'giving out' (speaking), explaining why reading a manuscript hinders effective expression.

You remember what McElvain calls the sub-processes of thinking, what we're seeing, and having them register on the brain and the rest, these sub-processes of speaking. He says, the sub-processes in reading and in speaking from manuscript are the reverse of expression. Reading and speaking from manuscript are so nearly allied, and the sub-processes in the two cases differ so little, and the light they throw upon each other is so important, they require to be treated together. For in both, the sub-processes are those of taking in the sense of the manuscript or printed page through the eye, what ...

11:29 - 12:46 Read in full sermon

Driving home: The mental operations of giving out and of taking in the sense are in the highest degree incompatible with each other.

He uses the analogy of a sponge that cannot simultaneously absorb and give out water to illustrate how the mind cannot effectively absorb from a manuscript and express to an audience at the same time.

Now, I thought of the illustration of a sponge. It cannot be absorbing as well as giving out water at one and the same time. You squeeze the dry sponge and put it in the pool of water, it absorbs. Now, full of water, you squeeze it out, but you can't, be squeezing out and taking in water at the one and the same time.

12:47 - 13:08 Read in full sermon

Driving home: The mental operations of giving out and of taking in the sense are in the highest degree incompatible with each other.

Martin quotes Eter, who acknowledges rare exceptions like Chalmers and Edwards, whose 'ungovernable flood and luxuriance of feeling' necessitated a manuscript curb, yet still delivered with immense animation.

He always tries to familiarize his mind beforehand with the sentiments in words in order to relieve himself as much as possible from the operations of taking in the sense that he may be enabled to carry on these operations insofar as they are indispensable mostly as sub-processes while his faculties are chiefly employed in their proper work of expression. So, the old masters were agreed, never read a full manuscript from the pulpit for the simple reason that reading a full manuscript makes you so preoccupied in the dominant processes of the mind with absorbing the words, the thoughts, the clau...

14:16 - 15:39 Read in full sermon

Driving home: The mental operations of giving out and of taking in the sense are in the highest degree incompatible with each other.

He recounts an observer's description of Dr. Chalmers' intense, physical delivery while reading sermons, noting his 'convulsed' frame and 'whip cords' for veins, as an example of an exception to the rule against reading.

who were those who spoke extemporaneously, may have had a skeleton but did not read a manuscript, from these historic facts the conclusion is inevitable that the original and time-honored mode of speaking without manuscript is the best for all times and for all men and calculated to produce the most efficient preaching. Chalmers, and Edwards, perhaps were exceptions but these sons of thunder possessed such an ungovernable flood and luxuriance of feeling that they needed the curb of the manuscript in order to keep them within legitimate bounds. And yet Chalmers read his paper in tones of enthus...

15:39 - 16:43 Read in full sermon

The point: Aim at reducing the substance of the sermon to a one-page, well-mastered skeleton.

Martin quotes McElvain again, explaining that when a speaker is preoccupied with transferring words from manuscript to mind, their speaking primarily expresses this mental state, losing proper adaptation for communicating thought and feeling to others.

He says, the reason is that the leading mental operations are the reverse of those which belong to expression. Something we read before. We have seen that the mental operations of taking in the sense through the eye are the reverse of those which belong to giving it out and impressing it on other minds. Consequently, when the previous study of the manuscript is neglected and these reverse operations become predominant in the consciousness of the speaker, that is, when he is wholly, or chiefly, occupied with the labor of transferring the sense of the words from the manuscript to his own mind, t...

20:31 - 21:43 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin advises preachers to reduce the sermon's substance to a one-page, well-mastered skeleton. This allows the preacher to maintain clarity, structure, and awareness of the…

He describes the audience's reaction to a preacher obviously struggling with his notes, feeling pity and wondering if he'll remember the next point, which detracts from the message.

Instead of saying, am I going to be able to get that next point, you're wondering if he's going to know what the next point is. And you sit there feeling for him and with him and pulling for him. You don't want him to be publicly embarrassed. Well, that's a noble feeling.

21:43 - 21:57 Read in full sermon

The point: Look at your paper only as much as is absolutely necessary.

Martin quotes Spurgeon's 'Lectures to My Students,' where Spurgeon describes how easily one can lose the power of extemporary speech by becoming overly reliant on longer, fuller notes.

But I think there's something wrong here, a misprint. If you are happy enough to acquire the power of extemporary speech, pray because what he's saying, you may readily lose it. And then he gives the example of himself. And this is what threw me.

24:47 - 25:02 Read in full sermon

The point: Look at your paper at those times which are least likely to break your living contact with the congregation.

Spurgeon's analogy of walking with a stick, spectacles, or crutches illustrates how quickly dependence on paper can become an 'addiction,' even for gifted speakers.

If a man begins to walk with a stick merely for a whim, he will soon come to require a walking stick. If you indulge your eyes with spectacles, they will speedily demand them as a permanent appendage. And if you were to walk with crutches for a month, at the end of the time, they would be almost necessary to your movements, although naturally your limbs might be as sound and healthy as any man. So you see, Spurgeon understood that if you allow yourself to become excessively dependent upon your paper, that becomes a kind of paper addiction very quickly.

25:35 - 26:16 Read in full sermon

The point: Place your paper in a position as directly in line with your congregation as possible.

Martin compares the preacher's mouth to the bell of a brass instrument, emphasizing the need to keep it directed towards the audience to project the 'gospel trumpet' effectively, rather than preaching to the desk.

first lessons you would learn from anyone who taught you how to play anything from the little E-flat cornet to a trumpet to a, and you can't do it, of course, with anything beyond a trombone. When you get up into a baritone or euphonium, the bell goes out this way. But the standard rule is that you keep the bell of the instrument out in the direction of the audience and the rest of the orchestra. You don't allow the bell to get down into your own lap. Well, your mouth in that sense is the bell of your gospel trumpet. And it's a terrible thing to have it out here and then it's down here, especi...

31:14 - 32:00 Read in full sermon

The point: Place your paper in a position as directly in line with your congregation as possible.

He humorously suggests a 'surgical collar' for preachers who constantly look down at their notes, to force them to maintain eye contact with the congregation.

stop preaching to them. Get it out to the people that you hope to do good to. Keep the mouth up and never allow it to drop below that angle of directly projecting to the congregation. And likewise with your eyes. And even if you don't have bifocals and you just got regular glasses, well, then you may have to back off a bit, you see, and that will automatically, and if you're still able to see it, that automatically closes the angle. The closer you get and the lower the notes are here, the sharper the angle. For some men, I thought maybe the best thing to do would be to get a surgical collar an...

32:00 - 32:47 Read in full sermon

The point: Labor continually to cultivate the skills of extemporaneous speech.

Martin mentions his customization of the church pulpit with an adjustable bar for notes, illustrating a practical solution to ensure optimal note placement for different heights and eye contact.

two things if the angle is too great. And sometimes it's just as simple as getting the notes up. If you've not seen our customized pulpit upstairs, that whole business of the bar with the little places to adjust it, that was part of my customizing of that pulpit. So that...

33:44 - 34:01 Read in full sermon

The point: Frame your prayers audibly and read scriptures aloud to cultivate extemporaneous ability.

Martin quotes Spurgeon on the necessity of practicing extemporaneous speech, citing Charles Fox's resolution to speak every night and suggesting students practice in their rooms or with peers.

you a little sampling of Spurgeon's counsel in this very area, he says, every man, page 149, who wishes to acquire this art, that is, of extemporaneous speech, must practice it. It was by slow degrees, as Burke says, that Charles Fox became the most brilliant and powerful debater that ever lived. He attributed it to the fact that he was a very, very, very, very, very, very, very, success to the resolution which he formed when a very young man of speaking well or ill at least once every night. During five whole sessions, he used to say, I spoke every night but one, and I regret only that I did ...

38:55 - 40:14 Read in full sermon

The point: Frame your prayers audibly and read scriptures aloud to cultivate extemporaneous ability.

Spurgeon's personal testimony of finding it helpful to 'think aloud' and pray with his voice is shared as a method for cultivating extemporaneous ability.

That is the problem, and it may assist a man in its solution if he endeavors, in his private musings, to think aloud. Then Spurgeon says of himself, So has this become habitual to me that I find it very helpful to be able in private devotions to pray with my voice. Reading aloud is more beneficial to me than the silent process, and when I'm mentally working out a sermon, it's a relief for me to speak to myself as the thoughts flow forth. And I can attest in the area of the first two of praying in secret, though I don't pray out loud.

40:14 - 40:48 Read in full sermon

The point: Frame your prayers audibly and read scriptures aloud to cultivate extemporaneous ability.

Martin shares his own practice of framing prayers audibly and reading scriptures aloud, finding it tremendously helpful for both his prayer life and the cultivation of extemporaneous speech.

With a full voice, as though I were leading the congregation, to frame my prayers audibly, I find is a tremendous help not only to my prayer life, but to the ongoing cultivation of the ability to speak extemporaneously. And the reading of the scriptures is well. Rarely do I have my devotional reading in silence. I find the word of God is more powerful to my heart when it comes through my own ear, as well as through my own eye. And it's practice, practice, practice, practice. Think aloud as much as you can when you're alone, and this will soon put you on the high road to success in this matter....

40:48 - 41:46 Read in full sermon

The point: Seek to have quoted material copied before bringing it to the table (pulpit).

Martin humorously appeals for a better desktop copier, sharing his experience of using a 'Mickey Mouse outfit' and the inconvenience of copying materials at church, to illustrate the practical need for pre-copied quotes.

In the age of the copy machine, graciously insist very early in your ministry that the church furnish you with a desktop copier. I'm putting in my appeal right now. The little Mickey Mouse outfit I've had for four years has just about had it, one of those little hundred dollar jobs that you've got to spend five minutes warming it up and then try four or five times to get the thing at the right density. If you've got a page that's got a little bit of density, you've got to get it yellowing on it. So I finally now give up. And usually I do my copying between Sunday school and Sunday morning serv...

44:35 - 45:23 Read in full sermon

The point: Master the content of your quotes by frequent oral reading before using them in the pulpit.

He uses his own stumble while reading a quote as an example of why 'frequent oral reading' of quotes is essential for mastering their content and delivery, preventing awkwardness in the pulpit.

them favorably by carrying a stack of books. So my second practical counsel is seek to have your quoted material copied before bringing it into the pulpit. Thirdly, master the content of your quotes by frequent oral reading before using them in the pulpit. Master the contents of your quotes by frequent, not reading only, but by frequent oral reading. You see, had I read that quote, out loud, in preparing my lecture, I would have caught what hit me the minute I tried to read it with emphasis. My eye apparently made the, because of the sense, my eye made the switch. But when I was reading it, th...

45:37 - 46:44 Read in full sermon

The point: When using quotes, you are not under obligation to give the full name, century, circumstances, address, and telephone number of the person quoted. Draw as little attention to the person quoted as possible unless there is…

Martin reads a pungent version of Cowper's poem reviewing 'messengers of grace' who relapse into self-preoccupation after the sermon, using it to illustrate how not to read poetry in the pulpit, emphasizing thought structure over line breaks.

All right. Is it? This is a four-liner. Okay. Okay, yeah, but here it is. Uh, uh, this is where he's, uh, yeah, he's got a lot of them here. This is a pungent version of Cowper's review of certain messengers of grace who relapsed into themselves when the sermon was ended. Very little selves they must have been. All right, here's the poem. Fourth comes the pocket mirror, period. First we stroke an eyebrow. Next, impose a straggling lock. Then, with an air most graceful, performed fall back into our seat. Extend an arm and lay it at its ease with gentle care, with handkerchief in hand, depending...

48:55 - 49:41 Read in full sermon

The point: Subject yourselves to whatever disciplines you personally need in order to be as useful as possible in the work of preaching the word of God.

Martin humorously describes his desire to appear in 'professional disguises' in the churches of his former students to observe their adherence to his counsel, threatening to reveal his identity if they are 'patently violating' his advice.

Relative to quotes, now if the Lord spares me and gives me one of my desires, and that is to find someone who is favorably disposed toward me as a person, and would count it a privilege to express his friendship by either purchasing from someone he knows or supplying out of his own storehouse three or four professional disguises, the kind that would be found in a CIA's ditty bag. And with those disguises, I plan to appear at the direction and consent of my fellow elders in the churches, where certain men who've received training in a certain place are now ministering and just happen to come in...

55:31 - 56:56 Read in full sermon

The point: Subject yourselves to whatever disciplines you personally need in order to be as useful as possible in the work of preaching the word of God.

Martin reflects on his early sermons from 1952, which were often one-page skeletons, expressing both red-faced humility at their immaturity and gratitude for their order and integrity, affirming the value of starting with this discipline.

I have some skeletons that go back to 1952 when I was preaching in missions and churches up in Stanford, Connecticut. And looking at them, I had occasion to be both red-faced and grateful to God at one and the same time. Red-faced at some of the immaturity and yet grateful to God that there was order, structure, and an attempt to handle the text with integrity. And I'm glad that I started with this counsel because it helped me to get locked into this business of the eyeball and the mouth and being open to the empathetic interaction with the people.

58:18 - 58:57 Read in full sermon

The point: Subject yourselves to whatever disciplines you personally need in order to be as useful as possible in the work of preaching the word of God.

He shares how his note-taking has evolved from three pages to five pages of handwritten notes over the years, illustrating that the level of paper dependence is not static and can change with experience and the need for discipline.

But the years with the store of knowledge and experience have a tendency to make a man excessively localized and he can be tempted to be less precise, to be less efficient in moving from one thing to another. I need the discipline. I've gone from ordinarily three pages 15 years ago to four pages that lasted for about 10 years to where now it's generally five pages of full handwritten notes that I carry into the pulpit. Now, I've often had people ask me, do you ever look at your notes?

58:57 - 59:32 Read in full sermon