I think it started with the best of intentions. A preacher I held in great esteem drank deeply from the cup of alliteration. If it was beneficial for him, why not me?
Slowly, I began with simple sermonic points (rich, real, relevant) but the thing began to grip me and I spiraled down into secondary alliterative points (the route he chose, the result he gained, the reason he perished) and then, I’m ashamed to admit it, total depravity in the form of double alliteration (His life of luxury, his lament of languor, his lash of lambaste).
I’m not proud of spending more time searching for synonyms that plumbing the depths of the Scriptures for truth. I’m not bragging about inserting absurd words in a main sermon point just to get the sound right.
Brethren, there was a time when I thought the concept enlarged my mind! The horror!
I began to be enlightened, extricated, encouraged, and emancipated from alliteration a couple of decades ago. Thank God I’ve been sermonically sober for all that time since.
Oh, sure, I take small sips socially. I can handle that. You may not have the cast-iron constitution and strength, sturdiness, and soundness of will that I have, so I recommend total abstinence. Go the route of complete and total sobriety. Don’t take the first move towards the siren song of sermonic alliteration and you’ll not end up dashed on the shoals of silliness.
And, brethren, it’s not too late to turn back.
This post is powerful, pure, and poignant.
Or perhaps it is: rubbish, refuse, and rubble.
Is this harsh?
Or Baptist rebuke in alliterative form?
Neither, merely suggesting a possible point of perception with an alternative angle.
All meant in good fun, I promise. I never understood the obsession with alliteration and mock it every time I accidentally pull it off.
Maybe I should have used one of the beloved emoji to convey my intended humor.
I think we got that
I figured, but have offended and gone too far in my posts here before. I am a bit gun-shy to post in that regard and wanted to make sure you guys knew I wasn’t being harsh or rebuking.
It is sometimes challenging
I’m still an addict. 25 year abuser. I think in alliteration. Too much a fan of Aristotelian rhetoric to let it go now.
“. . . smashed on the shoals of silliness.”
Fixed it for you.
Moderation, brother, moderation
I really do not like alliteration in sermons.
There’s such a thing as “conversational filters” … things which cause one to divert one’s attention from WHAT is being said, to HOW it’s being said. And when I hear alliteration … sometimes many times during a sermon, my mind is diverted from the message to the delivery.
I can see 2 reasons for alliteration in sermons. One is to help people to remember points. That seems to be the world’s way (sorry) creeping into God’s word … to trust one’s delivery rather than the power of the Word.
The other reason is “style” which seems linked to one’s ego.
Do you mean that the Bible does not literary devices to help people remember the truth contained within, and that its inspired authors did not employ particular styles in their various literary genres for artistic merit?
Bob can answer for himself but I’m ambivalent about ordinary alliteration though I cringe with some of the secondary/double stuff. Totally artificial. I don’t think anyone’s alliteration can be justified as a biblical literary device as if it was a revelation in itself. It is a learned, probably by imitation, device. Adrian did it well. Others? Well, there was only Adrian.
My pastor would stick a shard of glass in his eye before he would alliterate a sermon.
thanks for the comments…
The topic is alliteration, not literary devices. And it seems to me that the power of the Word of God is sufficient to enable understanding and remembrance. We don’t need to interject clever (yeah right) devices to cause men to remember what It says.
All missionaries have war stories about volunteers who try to preach their favorite sermons while overseas and use alliteration. Needless to say, it doesn’t translate. When this is shared in advance, almost all refrain from using it. When they don’t, I’ve had to switch to my own sermon. In the very few times I had to do this, the volunteer didn’t know it, the people were blessed, and God got the glory. My conscience is clear because I wasn’t called to sow confusion from the pulpit.
Laughs, silly Willy.
William
Please remember to always avoid awfully awkward alliterations
Thank You Sir
Personally, I like alliteration. I don’t always use it, but it seems to me it helps the people remember the sermon better. Adrian Rogers used it, and it worked out fine for him. Beyond that, the psalmist used it to good effect in Psalm 119.
I am told there is a generational issue here. Supposedly (and not being young I can’t speak to this) many younger folks see this as artifice, as kinda fake.
I plead guilty to being old, though not as old as William Thornton. I certainly agree that sometimes the alliteration is strained and artificial. Still, if I had to choose between Adrian Rogers and the younger crowd who eschew (word for William) alliteration, I would choose Adrian Rogers. The authors of the Old Testament books used alliteration and alphabetical literary devices to help their hearers/readers learn and remember. If it helps folks remember, what’s the problem?
Full disclosure, I’m 37, but feel 80 most days.
No problem with alliteration; but if you never use it in regular life, but always use it in sermons it can come across as hokey.
I have the a worse reaction to “preacher voice”. The guys who talk to you one way and suddenly develop a whole new cadence and vocabulary because they are preaching. I hate it with the heat of 1,000 suns.
At the end of the day; be you and let the Holy Spirit handle the heart.
the Psalmist and Jeremiah used some extreme alliteration!
We all are different and wonderfully made. Alliteration for some comes easy. For others, not so much. Be yourself and encourage those who preach regularly to be themselves.
Yeah, some can alliterate poorly. Some non-alliterating needs help too.
I would recommend to drop the thesaurus and use your own mind and search on how to produce your message.
The truth is most folks don’t remember the sermon outlines, alliterated or not. They remember the illustrations. That fact shows the power of stories.
That may be true. We do encourage our people to take notes. Many do and often (when I make sense), they post the outline on their FB account and use in Bible Studies they lead through the week. I’ve got a number of nannies and maids in my church who use what I share with other nannies and maids in their community weekly. I never imagined ministry would be this sweet.
Which of these three is the most addictive: alliteration, rhyming, or the habitual making up of words? Depending on the week, I seem to struggle with all three. At other times, I find myself picking one and doing it almost to the point of distraction. I am pretty sure it directly correlates to how much fun it was to write the sermon. Fun texts (interesting or intriguing) always invite me to experiment and explore. Difficult texts (hard truths or thorny translation problems) lead me to make up new words to explanify what I am trying to say. May we all seek to speak God’s truth after Him. It is quite a calling we have!
You rhyme sermons? Really?
Rhyme points… Not the whole sermon! : )
I have always gone more for parallel structure in outlines more than alliteration. Sometimes alliteration complements that, but the structural unity is more important to me.
David, I appreciate your comment. I wish I had made it.
Dear preacher brothers,
As long as you are rightly dividing the Word, use all the alliteration you want or none at all.
I think Michael White has it right.
No issues with alliteration or assonance or cadence or other literary devices.
Two of the preachers whose sermons were such a blessing to my life were Adrian Rogers and Stephen Olford. Both were regular users of alliteration but they didn’t come across as clumsy, forced, or unnatural.
Strong outlines (doesn’t have to be alliteration) help listeners follow the flow of a sermon. I appreciate when preachers put extra work into their labors to not only ensure their structure is in equilibrium with the text, but to let us ‘see’ it in words as well. For those so doing your listeners will appreciate it.
Amen,. Preach the way you are inspired and inclined. (Oops, some of us just can’t help it.) I doubt seriously anyone on this site has a corner on effective preaching. Some things such as this should be non issues.
Let’s just all preach like God gives it to us without the condescension on those led to do it in a different manner.
Perhaps my mind is not attuned to alliteration but I can’t honestly remember a sermon sticking with me because it was alliterative.
The whole idea of preaching still baffles me after practicing it for nearly half a century. The fact that God uses any person or any style to convey an eternal message of such great import simply rises far above my pay grade in regard to my ability to understand the whole concept.
Every time I hear the words, “great preacher,” it is like a dagger in my heart. I know that is not a reference to myself.
Good alliteration will not make a poor sermon better, and bad alliteration won’t make a good sermon fail. Either God shows up or He doesn’t. I’ve been encouraged over the years to have someone stop me after the service an say, “your message really struck my heart today,” and then they proceed to explain and I wonder what message they were actually talking about!
So, I’ve concluded its not so much how we alliterate, illustrate, or elucidate but how we radiate a the love we have for sinners as we pontificate.
That first pragraph is epic Jack