Evening star., 1926-11-28
PASTOR CLAIMS UNUSUAL ADS
IS HELP DRAW PEOPLE TO CHURCH
Rev. {. Hez Sven Says Even
His Odd Name Proves
Good Advertising.
Unique Sermon Topics Also
Adopted by Minister to %
interest Public.
How a Clam Caught q Bird"

How a Clam Caught q Bird"
That Is not the topic of scien-
tific treatise or a nature lovers dis
cussion. as might be supposed, but
is a line used by Rev. E. Hez Swem
pastor Centennial Baptist Church. to
announce one of his Sunday night
sermons, typical Of other announce
ments he has made during his past
crate Of nearly Is years at Centen-
nial Church.
Rev. e. Hez Swem believes in ad-
vertising; in fact, he stated that he
believed himself to be the first
preacher to use an unusual form OF
advertising to attract people to his
church. He's even glad that his name
is unusual; he says that the very
out boldly. "E. Hez Swem," in an
ADVERTISEMENT draws attention. not
to himself, he hastened to add. but
to his church.
And therein lies the core Of his
belief in unusual advertising and un-
usual examples to illustrate his SER
mons. They are simply means. he
stated, to draw people to the church,
not to hear him. but to hear the
word of God.
Difficult to Attract.
TITS more difficult today to get
people to preach to than ever be-
FORE" he declared. "and the Bible
Is distributed more widely and read
less than any other book in the world.
The Bible is the most unpopular
book In the world because it hurts
the conscience Of the majority OF
people.
Il think that a preacher ought
to know the Word, live the Word,
as he can to as many as he can"
Choice of such phrases as why a
Man Kissed the Places His Bride
Walked Over" How a Clam Caught
a Bird" Amused and scores of
others does not necessarily indicate
the sermon tone, Mr.. Swem explained,
but indicates q story or anecdote
which will be told during the sermon
to throw light on the main theme.
my stories are simply modern
parables," the pastor said, land l try
to dress old thoughts in modern gar
ments. My desire Is not to get people
to hear me talk but to listen to
Biblical messages. In my morning
sermons 1 try to give messages to
those who have already professed
Christianity; at night 1 reach out for
everybody, awakening their curiosity
by unusual illustrations.
Holds illustrations Real.
r'All of my illustrations are genuine.
for example. the story of How Clam
Caught a Bird, refers to a legend of
Old England, about sea gull, which
swooped down to sieZe clam only to
have it's bill caught fast in the mouth
Of the clam. Carrying out the sug-
gested idea. brought out such paral-
lels as "'do you get style or do you
give yourself entirely to clothes and
let style get you?' DO YOU get money,
or do you let money get yOu?' MY
story of why a Man Kissed the
Places His Bride Walked Over refers
to an incident in the life Of the poet
Browning"
Mr.. Sven has been called a sensa-
tional preacher, but he denies that he
Is sensational, although he admits
freely that his delivery is not that of
other preachers, holding to the con-
cept that preachers ought to adopt
their preaching to their personalities.
IF / were sensational preacher
I would create sensation" he said,
but don't. I'm biblical preacher.
Because l am different is no reason
to suppose that I am not following
the will of the Father. I'm not de-
livering my messages; I'm delivering
His messages. l might call myself an