Advice to Preachers

I often think of some things Elders S. B. Kuykendall and R. A. Biggs told me when I first began to exercise (preach) in a public way. Elder Kuykendall told me often how ugly it looked that every time my name was mentioned when someone was expected to preach, for me to pop up and take up the time. He advised me to be reserved and not to push myself forward. He said a man’s gift would make room for himself without my trying to do so myself by pushing myself forward.

Brother Biggs told me when preaching time came and I was expected to preach, to go into the stand and if I could think of a text then quote it and if I could think of anything to say, then say it and when I got through quit. He also said he liked cabbage, turnip-greens, syrup, honey, cake, pie and the like but he liked to have them on separate dishes and not all mixed and scrambled together in one bowl. He said when speaking stay with my subject or text and not to try to cram every subject there was in the Bible into one discourse, thus scrambling together all the different eatables.

Elder Len Dalton often advised me and corrected me grammatically. He advised that I attend night school and learn grammar, composition and etc. This I did, He also told me to learn to concentrate and to use the rule of elimination freely. He also told me that it was not good for me to try to use too many complex sentences and modifying terms; but rather simple, declarative sentences, and not to preach in a rambling way but be clear and definite.

Now I am not claiming to have done all of this, but do feel it was and is yet good advice. As I look back over my life, I can hardly see how I could have made it this far without these and other faithful brethren who have flourished and helped me along. May they help us all to think and study as we go along.

Elder Mahurin (1887-1950) was ordained to the ministry in 1912. He served several churches in over 38 years of ministry, among them were churches in Culp, Waco, Hillsboro, Crosbyton, Wingate, Lawn, Breckenridge, Brownwood, and San Angelo; all in the State of Texas. It is also noted that E.C. is Pastor Phillip Way’s great uncle.