When analyzing the excerpts of Dr. Martin Luther King, one automatically
observes the human experience within his excerpts. King is known for
using human experience throughout his sermons. Throughout his entire
excerpt we find human experience as he expresses love for his enemies.
Also, King shares his human experiences, along with his fellow brethren,
of social injustice within his sermons. According to Benjamin K. Forrest,
Kevin L. King, Bill Curtis, and Dwayne Millioni, “King drew from a corpus of
“Negro Spirituals,” songs, narratives, poetry and testimony. Also, the
themes of human dignity for all and the inherent decency of humanity
despite the evil some, were woven into King’s speeches and
sermons.”1.Moreover, King used the Persuasive Element model to appeal
to his audience and make beautiful the African American culture.
Furthermore, King exercised his voice in a unique way using the McDill’s
Oratory Presentation Model. As described by Forrest, King, Curtis and
Millioni, “King argued, ‘A sermon is not an essay to be read but a
discourse to be heard. It should be a convincing appeal to a listening
congregation. Therefore, a sermon is directed toward the listening ear
rather than the reading eye’.”2..One could assume that King almost
perfectly exhibited McDill’s Model throughout his sermons.When analyzing
Adrian Rogers, I observed McDill’s model of Preaching for Faith within his
expert. Rogers had a purpose for the outcome of his preaching. As stated
by Forrest, King,Curtis, and Millioni, “Rogers believed preaching to be
more than the dissemination of truth. It is not primarily information, but
transformation. An effective sermon moves toward effective action. If
there is no call to action, there has been no sermon preached, only a
lesson rendered.”3.Also, Rogers models McDill’s Human Experience as he
believes preaching should meet the needs of his audience. Therefore, he
utilizes illustrations, explanations, and application to drive home the truth
of God’s Word. Moreover, Rogers utilizes the Persuasive Elements model
to keep his audience engaged and make sure they could easily follow
along with the outline of the text..According to Forrest, King, Curtis and
Millioni, “King would craft strong division statements and strong
transitional statement so that his readers could easily follow
along.”4..Furthermore, through his excerpt Rogers Model’s McDill’s Natural
Analogies as he uses real life illustrations to illustrate the biblical text. As
stated by Forrest, King, Curtis, and Millioni, “Rogers utilized illustrations to
help his listeners to “see” how the truth of the text connected with their
own lives.”5..People are often moved and more willing to listen when you
can bring their issues into the biblical text. Overall, Rogers Christocentric
preaching was often imbedded into the hearts and minds of his audience.
.
1 Benjamin Forest, Kevin L. King, Bill Curtis, and Dwayne Milioni, “A
Legacy of Preaching, Volume Two:
Enlightenment to the Present Day: The Life, Theology, and Method of
History’s Great Preachers, (Grand Rapids,
MI: Zondervan, 2018), 472.
2 Ibid., 475.
3 Ibid., 4894 Forest, King, Curtis, and Milioni, “A Legacy of Preaching,
(Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2018), 491.
5 Ibid., 491
.
