Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1905-10-28
of one hundred. for which
thankful.
How to Get an Audience.

. 4 ~
,aRev. Rowland Hanson's address on
How to Get an Audience was given
in a scholarly manner. This brilliant
Des Moines divine is blessed with an
unusually clear enunciation, is suffi-
GENTLY an orator to put the proper
emphasis. on points he offers and has
that faculty of at once attracting the
rapt attention of his auditors and
holding it. He said in part as follows:
There are some speakers who
strike terror to me- They are usually
men of hobbies. The long-haired man
who comes to explain the mysteries
of the book of Revelations, and the
short-naired woman who comes to
harangue mothers clubs, see INTO me
members of the same class of theor-
lists. But childless spinsters or fail
ures as mothers are expert leaders
Of mothers meetings in one sense. |
suppose that successful parents us.
ually follow their maternal instincts
rather than the vaporings of the we'll
meaning women who pose as teachers.
So soon as man comes to me with
a set scheme, well-groomed hobby, l
seek to evade him. This applies
equally to suave book agents, promot-
ers of gold brick enterprises ant min
listers with apanaceas for all the all
ments of churches Let me hasten to
say, therefore, that the subject How
to Secure an Audience is not of my
choosing. My speaking upon 1t there
fore is not to be attributed to egotism
but to the mandates of the Baptist
bishop of Iowa. Personally know
OF no royal road tt success in secur-
ing an audience and | here assume
that9it is "a large audience referred to
in the subject, My own experience
is limited and the results of my min
istry are 80 indefinite that / can not
speak as master | have some con-
victions--let us call them theories
which may be offered in answer to the
question given me.
No New Book.
1.-THE plain unvarnished truth as it
lis revealed in the Bible will not at
tract large audiences. The Bible is
no longer a new book nor is it placed
under ban to make it popular. Print
ing presses have literally deluged our
American civilization with the sacred
writings. To announce therefore that
you are to read the parable of the
prodigal son, even though it has been
] sailed the most charming story in lit
erature, will not pack the church. We
must also face the fact that the ma
jority of our members find it impos-
sible to attend all the services of the
church. Sometimes old age has made
the eyesight dim and the limbs inf1rm;
sometimes the stork enters into a
conspiracy with. President Roosevelt
that race suicide may be prevented,
J church or no church; sometimes bust
ness men involved in the strenuous
q life of finance during the week de-
clare that they have the right to few
, hours Of quiet home joys, yet others
, who are expected to attend all meet
: ings, find Sunday the hardest day in
the week. In these various ways the
faithful membership finds that while
! the spirit is willing, the flesh is weak
| But remember that 50 far but
!, little has been said on the subject
5 of how to secure an audience. Let me
l hasten to say that he who can be sat
| isffed only with large audiences will
find turmoil of soul and shall fall into
> divers tempte tons for it is true Of
l large audiences as Of great riches thai
: methods used to secure them will mo-
l stand the test Of minute scrutiny
: Our morning audiences are usual.
!. fair. But the wall is heard over the
? evening meetings which are not at
$ tended by the older portions of thy
1 membership. | assume therefore If
II think somewhat exclusively on the lat
Y ter service I shall meet the require
/ ments of this address, 1t seems wis
S to eliminate some stock phrases ant
S cant expressions which we SO Otter
e hear in this connection. Let me thel
repeat I,w of these high soundin,
It sentences Preach the old gospe
t and you will have no trouble abou
: audiences The Old Book has no
: lost it's attraction yet; the Holy Spir
u it will give any man an audience
b Paul always had crowd and he kney
only Christ and Him crucifed'; 'Wha
we need is the old time preaching @
t hell-fire that gave Jonathan Edward
his awakening; The word of God i
7 it's own attraction These are san
D. pie of the answers given. | began t
h. connect speakers with their career
# and noticed several things. Some
. times the men who shouted 'Preac
=. the old gospel and you will have n
,e trouble about audiences were me
q who had less than an average of 10
- in their churches. Others who sal
! The Old Book has not lost it's a
: fractions yet,' were continually tellin
= funny stories which / had read in tn
. Old Book. / used to wonder why the
u =. did not take their own medicine. Th
IL thought came to me after while the
- these phrases were often repeated i
II conventions in somewhat thoughtles
o manner; and they were inspired man
u times by the knowledge that the
is would call out the vociferous 'amen
'e in response. How hard it is to resis
T. an utterance when you know it wi
If be spark in a powder key of relil
x ious dogmatism. Such expression
r may have content and meaning fc
the brethren who use them or respon
I? to them, but they have not Statistic
IS me as answers to how to secure a
I'd audience
20 Personality Counts.