Preaching by Heart

How a Classical Practice Helps Contemporary Pastors to Preach without Notes

Ryan P. Tinetti

• Publisher: Cascade Books
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781725269521
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Ministry

There's a seemingly innocuous villain that is taking up residence in the pulpits of countless churches, disrupting the connection between the pastor and the people and keeping the proclamation of God's word from having its full effect. That villain is the preacher's notes. Preachers know this all too well. Many wish that they could "preach by heart" without the aid of notes, but are unsure how to do so--and are left feeling frustrated and discouraged by the presence of that disruptive interloper.Author Ryan Tinetti shares an unexpected solution in the form of an ancient and time-tested practice known as the method of loci, or Memory Palace. Surveying portions of classical rhetoric that are especially relevant for contemporary preachers and diving deep into the theory and practice of the Memory Palace, Preaching by Heart plunders these ancient treasures that have been so formative for preachers through the ages but too oft neglected in our own time.When pastors preach by heart, they find greater satisfaction in the homiletic task and their proclamation is even more effective. Preaching by Heart shows how to pitch the notes and reach that goal.

Part 1:

Classical Rhetoric

and the Memory Palace

Chapter 1

An Overview of Classical Rhetoric

What classical rhetoric is and why preachers today should care about it

The Memory Palace is part of the impressive patrimony of classical rhetoric. The phrase “classical rhetoric” may sound a little vague but it in fact has a relatively specific meaning; we can break it down according to its two parts. By rhetoric is meant the art of public speaking, or in the words of the Roman orator Quintilian, it is the bene dicendi scientia: “the knowledge of speaking well.”48 The classical in this phrase refers to this art as it was developed by the ancient Greeks and Romans, going back to the fifth and fourth centuries BC. The main characters are orators such as Plato and Aristotle (from the Greeks), and Cicero and Quintilian (from the Romans). Putting the pieces together, George Kennedy defines classical rhetoric thusly:

The Greeks gave names to rhetorical techniques, many of which are found all over the world. They organized these techniques into a system which could be taught and learned. What we mean by classical rhetorical theory is this structured system which describes the universal phenomenon of rhetoric in Greek terms.49

Before going forward, some might well ask why we would want to attend to the antiquated public speaking techniques of the ancients. In particular, what relevance could this have for contemporary preachers, who are supposedly living in a “visual age” and its surfeit of images?50 Several responses come to mind. First, in the broadest sense we might invoke Justin Martyr’s famous dictum that “whatever things were rightly said among all men, are the property of us Christians.”51 To the extent that classical rhetoric offers helpful insights into the way communication works, and works well, Christians can and should take advantage of it. Second, many of the greatest preachers of the early church not only employed the art of rhetoric in their preaching but were themselves teachers of oratory—Ambrose, Augustine, Chrysostom, and Gregory of Nyssa among them. As David Dunn-Wilson has observed, “For the great preachers [of the early church] who were trained as rhetors, it seemed natural to transfer their skills to the pulpit.”52 And if it is not already a rule of thumb then it should be one, that if it was good enough for Augustine it is good enough for me. Third, granted that we are living in a “post-literate” age, there may be great benefit in attending to the wisdom of our pre-literate forebears.53 For contemporary preachers, an especially fertile source of such ancient wisdom is classical rhetoric. Finally, to the claim that our preaching should be more “image-based,” classical rhetoric generally and the Memory Palace in particular relies heavily on the use of images—just not in the simplistic way sometimes advocated nowadays (such as by using PowerPoint slides). Suffice it to say, then, pastors can and should plunder these ancient spoils, accusations of their being outdated or irrelevant aside.

Now, the ground of classical rhetoric is broad country and other authors are much more capable cartographers.54 Here we want only to map some general territory that is particularly pertinent to preachers before homing in on the ars memoriae, the art of memory. First, we will consider what Aristotle called the “modes of persuasion.” Then, we will look at the five “canons” (or parts) of rhetoric as they were taught by classical rhetoricians. This will bring us back finally to a focus on one of those five canons, Memoria.

How to move people with words: the three modes of persuasion

After a particularly effective sermon, a parishioner might say to the preacher, “Thank you for your message today. I found it so moving.” It’s a remarkable turn of phrase, when you think about it. Newton would tell us that no one and nothing is moving unless some external force acts upon it. My chair will stay in its same place unless an earthquake or a four-year-old rattles it. The hitter will stay in the batter’s box unless and until a pitch comes in too close. Your coffee will stay situated on the desk until you need another sip of caffeine. Try to command the coffee into your mouth, though, and you will stay thirsty—not to mention drowsy. We do not normally think of words as being such an “external force.”

Our grateful parishioner is not speaking nonsense, however. Experience, as well as Scripture, would attest that not only brute force can move someone; so, too, can speech.55 This is what Aristotle is getting at when he defines rhetoric as “in any given case the available means of persuasion.” Otherwise put, rhetoric is how to move people—with word...