The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-10-16

Bishop Potter Does Not Like It-PhiI-
lips Brocks's Methods.


New York Letter in Philadelphia Press.
Bishop Potter's reproaches for priests and
deacons who preach extemporaneous SER
mons mas occasioned much more comment
mere than his doleful view of the future of
the United States in case we accept re-
sponsibtlfty for the government and devel-
opment OF Porto Rico and the Philippines.
In the one case the bishop speaks of
subject with which he is perfectly familiar.
He knows his diocese in every phase. He
mas slept during the dog days in the mission
house IN the heart of the seething tenement
district and he has gone from there to
spend season of relaxation with the rich
Harbor
The bishop had heard many complaints
OF Vapid, platitudnous or turgid sermons
delivered extemporaneously and had been
told OF young priests who wrestled pain
fully in attempts to preach without notes
and without preparation.
gulshed of the clergymen of New York at
tended church while on visit at a neigh
boring town and listened to a sermon by a
curate who seemed to desire to make good
intellectual vacuity by an ornate display of
rhetoric, elocution and violent gesticulation.
rector met few friends at the door of the
church and, pointing with his thumb to the
pulpit said in q tone in which anger was
ought to be suppressed; it is an insult to an
intelligent man to have such absolute vac
uity palmed off upon him as sermon. and
1t Is harmful to religion and to the church."
Complaints like this have reached the
bishops ears and his own experience ,e-
Gently has been such as to persuade him
that the evil was growing and that some
thing must be done to check 1t.
He, therefore, determined to call attention
to 1T in his diocesan address and 1t has
caused more whispered comment. not only
among priests. but among the laity, and
more approving words than anything which
the bishop has said to the diocese for the
past four or five years.
Whether it will persuade any of the cler-
gymea who are attempting to practice ex-
fnnf0Ta a hn " ff
the patience and comfort of their hearers
that they are included in the reproach ut
it is well known that among the ADLER
clergy of New York the impression has
been growing for some time that unless the
and John Hall, and Heber Newton learned,
that eXtemporaneous speaking from the
pulpit involves more intense labor and, per-
haps, more careful thought than the writ
ten sermon the next generation of the
church-goers will be tempted to depart
from the church as soon as the office is
read.
Eight years ago Phillips Brooks came to
New York to deliver a series of sermons
daily Tor ten days at Trinity church. lie
the energies of Wall street were at white
heat. and when commerce is in its most
active employment during the day.
Nevertheless, great Trinity was packed
with men, many of whom were masters in
the field of finance or commerce and to
whom moments at that time of the day
meant many dollars. DR.. Brooks spoke
without notes and the torrent-like rush of
his words weighted down by profound or
sublime thought or appeal. was SO great
that many in that congregation found
themselves unable to follow him..
Every day a great company of students
from the seminary went to hear him. and
the impression has prevailed that many of
these young men were of the opinion that
DR.. Brooks was successful as an extern
poraneous speaker because he relied on the
inspiration of the moment for his utter
ances. They therefore determined to im-
tate him. with results which in part explain
the reproach made by Bishop Potter.
Had these young men seen DR.. BROOKS in
the forenoon in the study of his brothers.
house, the Rev. Dr.. Arthur Brooks, they
would have discovered at least part of the
secret of his marvellous power as preacher
without notes. He prepared his sermon as
were concerned. one does who breaches
from manuscript and having done that he
gave the closest thought to each of the gen
eral heads and then to each of the subdi-
visions; frequently he wrote out paragraph
after paragraph.
His mind was stored with learning and
enriched with an experience that extended
over thirty years. and he had the faculty
of commanding these resources Oh the in
slant. Therefore. when he entered Trinity
mon clearly in mind and much of the
phraseology His sermon though not writ
ten out on paper, was indelbly written out
in his mind.
ulary, and thought with him was so much
swifter than speech that, as he himself said
at that time, he often found that his mind
while he was preaching was far ahead of
the words which he was uttering. That
method was also characteristic of the late
DIR. John Hall and is Of Dr. Heber Newton
when he breaches without notes, as he fire.
quently does.