Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1911-02-10
Theory for Preachers

ing depended upon explaining the doc.
trines. but that is not for this age.
After all. Christ furnished us the
best example of the manner In which
a preacher or teacher should an
proach his hearers and those whom he
wishes to influence. With the single
exception of the Sermon on the
Mount, which contains the fundamen.
tai Christian philosophy-the precepts
upon which the Christian religion
was founded--Christ always took his
examples. his Illustrations. his meta,
phors, from the daily life with which
his hearers were familiar.
He could take the most trivial fact
Of nature and with 1t emphasize His
truths. His aliegories, or parallels, as
/ now remember them, were all based
upon familiar things. The only occa,
that day which He made were TO the
prophets and TO the Jewish scriptures,
and with these all who heard Him
were perfectly familiar All, what an
exquisitely beautiful illustration He
made from the lilies of the field, very
likely pointing TO those He saw bios
soming about Him as He spoke. And
yet l say unto you that even Solomon
IN all his glory was not arrayed like
one Of these
Now" continued Mr.. Brooks, at
seems to me that the most effective
way CT reaching hearers for preach
er OF this time is to bring them into
touch with familiar things. That
means, OF course, that the clergyman
should not hold himself aloof, but
should take an active interest in every
affair of life. He should go abou,
among the people and learn what they
are thinking about and what they are
doing. He should have an eye for ma
ture; he should be affected by the
flowers, the foliage and the birds OF
the air. just as so many of the poor
people are. have tried to follow this
course, and II has not been an effort
Of the will for me to do so, since It
has always been most gratifying ex.
perience with me-"
DR.. Brooks certainly practiced what
he preached In this respect. He went
about among the lowly. but without
superior mannerism, and gained their
confidence He was seen once In a
humble Boston tenement. with an In
FAINT upon his knee, playing with an
other child upon the floor, at his feet,
and chatting merrily with the parents,
who must have looked upon that visit
as a pastoral call of the best kind,
He was as fond as Thoreau was of
visiting the wharves OF Boston: he
was many times seen watching the
coming In and sailing of ships and
listening to the none too discreet con-
versation of the stevedores and long.
shoremen. Within less than quarter
of an hour after he had delivered a
wonderfully powerful Advent sermon
to 1900 business men gathered in
Trinity church. in New York. he went
arm in arm with a friend across the
street to one Of the famous downtown
restaurants, and sat at table for the
better part Of an hour keenly obsery-
ing the coming and going Of the great
throng which rushed into that place
for its noonime lunch He was a
constant student Of life and OF nature.
he applied this study in his sermons;
and it was because Of this, undoubted
II, that he. perhaps more effectively
than any other preacher Of his time.
touched the hearts and inspired the
consciences Of his hearers.
Copyright 1910. b. &. J. Edwards AID
Rights Reservsd.)