SOME HELPFUL WORDS TO THE
SPEAKER TO CHILDREN=
At some time during the service the minister will say, "Now just a
few words to the children." He has a big task before him, and if he
is strong enough to know _how_ to say these "few words," is he
learned enough to know _what_ to say in these "few words"?
Many a great preacher meets his Waterloo here. Will he retire beaten
dragging the white flag of surrender after him, and hang low his head
because of the conscious defeat, or will he with flying banners put
it over in these "few words," and take his place in line with the
world's greatest conquerors?
He must remember all children will not prick up their ears and listen
hard just because he is a great preacher. Children are great critics.
Their criticism takes the form of not listening. They know perfectly
the art of withdrawing attention when they are not interested in the
"few words," but their minds are not vacant during the unheeded "few
words." They are counting the number of people present in the pews
directly in front of them. They are watching the inattention of the
members of the choir. They are thinking of their games of yesterday,
or something they received at Christmastime, or of some book just
given them as a birthday gift. They may be whispering or nudging each
other, or if they have a bit of pencil with them they may be
sketching caricatures of the deacons before them or even of the
minister who is addressing them.
The little girl's motherly thought may be straying home to a sick
doll, or may be smiling at the funny ways of puppy or kitten that she
just happens to remember. The boy may be smiling over some funny
situation he saw yesterday at the "movies." They are all very
resourceful in themselves to save them from being bored by an address
that has lost its way in its pilgrimage from the minister to their
pews in which they are seated. The "just a few words" like birds have
taken to their wings, and gone over the children's heads to the "land
of nowhere." The minister, if he has normal eyes and a common mind,
is conscious of the fact he has "missed fire," and wonders what he
can do to put it over so it will stay "put"! If he thus thinks, there
is large hope for him, because he has not graduated from the
learner's bench. Let him be a child again and think as a child. Let
him learn how to talk to them and not about them, and then his "just
a few words" will become as interesting to their mind as the toys
they left behind them. This is worth the effort; even the adults who
are only "tall kids" will like the talk better than "the preaching
at" in which they have only a feeble interest. Even the "polar bear"
deacon will thaw out and catch himself smiling at the "few words" of
the preacher that just "talks."
Happy is the man who can interest the child in his "few words" and
can also interest the child in its efforts to translate the "few
words" into big acts on the inside building of a child's character.
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