Verse of the Day: “However, as it is written: ‘What no eye has
seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”[a]—the
things God has prepared for those who love him.’”
—1 Corinthians 2:9
« Mais, comme il est écrit, ce
que l’œil n’a pas vu, ce que l’oreille n’a pas entendu, ce qui n’est pas monté au cœur
de l’homme, Dieu l’a préparé pour ceux qui l’aiment. »—1 Corinthiens 2:9
Quote of the Day:
“Love has no age: it is always being born.”—Blaise Pascal
« L’amour n’a
point d’âge : il est toujours naissant. »—Blaise Pascal
 |
| Found this at my new church here! |
MLK
In honor of the recent national holiday in his honor, as
well as the nationally acclaimed film, “Selma”, set to come out this fall, this
post is dedicated to the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The leader of the
civil rights movement, King was born on January 15th, 1929, in
Atlanta Georgia to Michael and Alberta King. His legal birth name was Michael
King, but when he was five his father changed his name and his own to Martin
Luther, in honor of the famed German protestant minister, following a trip to
Germany to attend the Fifth Baptist World Alliance Congress in Berlin.
Despite a failed suicide attempt at the age of 12, and an
original resistance to the tenets of Scripture, King showed great promise, even
from a young age. He skipped the 9th grade, as well as the 12th
after passing the entrance exam for Morehouse College at the age of 15. Upon
graduating from Morehouse at the age of 18, and went on to Crozer Theological
Seminary to continue his studies, where he was eventually elected president of
the student body. Finally, he went on to Boston University, where he obtained
his doctorate in Systematic Theology.
(Biographical Information obtained from Wikipedia.com)
What made him
great?
Martin Luther King Jr. had many qualities which made him
into the renown speaker that he became. In his article “Six Qualities That Made
Martin Luther King, Jr. a Great Speaker” Scott Elbin of the Government
Executive gives six qualities that really contributed to his effectiveness
as a speaker.
1.
Cadence – “When you listen to the entirety of
his speeches, you'll hear that he almost always started out at a slow, measured
conversational pace and, over time, increased his pace and his volume as he
drew the audience in.”
2.
Context – “King was a master of establishing the
historical context for his message. He regularly started with stories from the
Old Testament and modern history to make the point that the people in his
movement were part of the broad sweep of history. That imbued them with a sense
of mission.”
3.
Authenticity – “In his book, Leading Minds,
Howard Gardner writes that all great leaders have two things in common. They
have an overarching story and their life embodies that story. King clearly met
that definition of leadership. When he spoke, he told that story. Everyone in
the audience knew that he was living that story before and after the speech.”
4.
Practice – “It's well known that King delivered
most of the "I Have a Dream" speech without any notes and that he improvised
much of it on the spot. What's not as well known is that he had been working
with much of the content of that speech in other addresses he gave months and
years before the March on Washington. He took the time and opportunity to get
very comfortable with his content and experimented with what worked and didn't
work in venues that weren't as prominent as the National Mall.”
5.
Repetition – “King was also a master of using a
simple, yet key phrase like "I have a dream," again and again in his
speeches. That kind of repetitive structure enabled him to clearly make his
main point and at the same time make it easy for the audience to come along
with him.”
6.
Connection – “In his speaking, King allowed
himself to have an almost symbiotic connection with his audience. They drew
their energy from each other and he was very tuned into the level of energy in
the room. That connection made the event more than a speech. It made it an
experience that moved people to act.”
Elbin, S. (2010, January 19). Six qualities that made Martin
Luther King, Jr. a great speaker. Retrieved February 2, 2015, from
http://www.govexec.com/excellence/executive-coach/2010/01/six-qualities-that-made-martin-luther-king-jr-a-great-speaker/39565/
Most Famous Speech
“I Have A Dream” – August, 28, 1963; Lincoln Memorial,
Washington, D.C., United States
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