My Prosperous World

Sing while you preach. There is an African American art form of preaching that integrates preaching and singing called whooping. How do you do it? Read below, and I will give you steps to help you learn this form of preaching.

The first thing you must do is listen to other preachers who whoop. But not just listen, you need to closely analyze the preacher to seek to understand what and how the preacher is doing what she or he does. Listen for changes in volume. Listen for changes in pitch. Listen for changes in the rate of speech. All of these things will help you get a deep understanding of what happens in the whoop.

Don’t just listen to one preacher closely, listen to a variety of preachers. This variety will help you in that you will learn how to learn different takes on this important art form.

You can’t just listen to other preachers, you also need to do something yourself. I would encourage you to add singing to your list of things to do. You may find out you can sing a solo here and there, but if not, at least you will learn things about your voice that you could not learn in any other way.

You cannot separate whooping from singing. Great whooping makes use of many of the same components as great singing. I would encourage you to listen to the pauses and rests of the great singers. Listen to the emotion. Listen to the improvisation. Now note how all of these things are evident in great preaching. They are both connected.

Next, you want to practice. Don’t go up into the pulpit without having practiced whooping. Personally, I think that all preachers should practice more. When I used to play the trumpet, I would practice 30 min – hour a day just practicing playing. Perhaps preachers should spend 30 minutes to an hour a day just practicing their presentation skills. Be that as it may, if you are to whoop, you probably should practice it. Practice in your car, practice in your shower. Jasper Williams notes that many have learned to whoop while sitting on the toilet. You want to practice. As you practice you must critically listen to yourself. Jasper Williams notes that when it sounds good to you it is ready for use.

Finally, we should look for opportunities to incorporate “whooping” into our preaching. Without forcing, slowly put some musicality in your preaching. Add rhythm to the way you say some things. Explicitly hit a note when preaching. Don’t force it. Do all your forcing in the practice room, but when you get out in front of the congregation, just preach and let it happen.

Finally, don’t fall into the trap of using whooping to cover up sloth in preparation. Put together a great sermon, Preach that sermon very effectively, and then end in the whoop. Whoop about something and then the people will not only get happy, but they will have something real to get happy about.

Learn more about preaching. Stop by Sherman Haywood Cox II’s site where you can download a free ebook that will help you find out all about preaching greatsermons.