p. 92 | SUGGESTIONS ABOUT CONDUCTING A COURSE OF LECTURES

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Mar 21, 1878

SUGGESTIONS ABOUT CONDUCTING A COURSE OF LECTURES.

By Dudley Marvin Canright

GET NEAR YOUR AUDIENCE.

The nearer you are to a man, the more readily you can affect him. Hence it is very important that you get near your audience. Suppose you have a house half full, and these sit in the back part of the house, and you stand in the pulpit. You may talk like an angel, and you can hardly affect them. You must be near enough to form a magnetic connection with them. I have resorted to every means, time and again, to get my audience near to me. In a tent, when I have a small interest, and the people are inclined to sit in the back seats, I take those seats all down, and leave only those in front. In a hall, if they sit in the back part, I take a table, go down the aisle, and stand among them. Every observing speaker will know that there is a good deal in this, that is, in being near your audience. Get as close to them as you can.

PERSONAL LABOR.

The real success of a meeting is to be gained largely by personal labor. It is one thing to convince a man—quite another to bring him to action. Go home with a man. Ride with him in his wagon, go with him to his field, sit with him in his shop, take him by the hand, look him in the face, talk directly to him for an hour; then you know where he stands. You know how to hit him in the next sermon, and he knows that you mean him. He knows that you care for him.

Learn the names of your audience just as soon as possible. It has a wonderful effect on a man to take him by the hand, on the street or in your meeting, and call him by name. If he has a familiar, family name, by which everybody calls him, use that. It goes home to him, and touches his heart when a more formal “good morning, sir,” would not reach him at all. I have made it a part of my business to memorize names. I have a little pass book. As soon as I speak with a man, I go away and write his name, and repeat it over and over. I look at him closely till I have fixed his countenance in my mind, and connected his name with it. The next time I meet him I can call him by name. I notice it always pleases people and gives me a great influence with them. It is lawful and right that we should take every advantage of these things, to get into the hearts of men and take the truth of God with us.

Visit from house to house. Oh, how important this is! Whole columns could be written upon this point without exhausting it. The minister who will not do this constantly and thoroughly will always have to put up with small fruits. Look over the entire field, examine the labors of all our ministers, and it will be found that those who are the most successful, who move the people, and raise up churches—it will be found that they are not our closest reasoners or deepest thinkers; but they are, all of them, sociable, pleasant, talkative, sympathetic persons. They go among the people. They get acquainted with everybody right off. If a minister is not naturally of this disposition, it is a terrible misfortune to him; for it is one-half of his power. If it is not natural, then we should study and practice until it will be easy for us to be social. If brethren think these little things do not amount to much, if they will not learn to take advantage of all these things, then they will have to be content with having little success, and being second-rate laborers.

QUOTING THE SCRIPTURES.

Another important thing to be noticed is that you should always read the scripture, and seldom, if ever, simply quote it. I know that some speakers pride themselves on quoting largely from the Bible without turning to read the text; but I think such make a grand mistake. I have tried both ways, and carefully observed the effect, particularly in private conversation. I have noticed that it never has half the effect to quote a text from memory, however familiar it may be, or however accurately you may give it, that it does to open the sacred book, put your finger upon the text, and read it deliberately. Do this, and they will know that it is there, and that you certainly have it just right. I seldom allow myself to quote a text without turning and reading it directly from the Bible. If one is familiar with his Bible it does not take any longer, and it is a great deal better.

THE HELP OF GOD.

All our study, and pains, and wisdom, will be of no avail unless with them we have the help of God; but as this part of the subject has been so often spoken upon through the testimonies and in every way, I do not design to repeat it here.

I hope the above suggestions may be of use to some one, as I believe they will be, if carefully followed. D. M. CANRIGHT.