04-The Preacher Must Be in Earnest

Earnestness! The sine qua non for the preacher. The preacher
must be in earnest, not should be. Take J.A.James – who
devoted an entire volume to the subject, calling it An Earnest
Ministry the Want of the Times:
We listen to one [preacher] whose excellent composition,
and sonorous, perhaps even musical voice, command our
admiration, but not a passion stirs, all within is cold, quiet
and without emotion. The speaking is good, but it does not
move us. But there is another, with perhaps less talent... but
his tones, his looks, his manner throughout, are full of
earnest feeling.