Towards Understanding of the Practice of Proclamation: The Core Element of Russian Baptist Worship, Timofey Cheprasov, 2015

emphasis on preachers’ spirituality and faithful Christian living, as much more important elements of successful preaching ministry than education, it might be helpful to refer to the Aristotelian concept of ‘three means of persuasion’, which are logos, ethos and pathos. “Logos” — covering every aspect of persuasion which appeals to reason, including logical argumentation. “Ethos” or ‘ethical appeal is exerted when the speech convinces the audience that the speaker is a person of good sense, high moral character, and benevolence.’ Finally “pathos” is the emotional appeal, which is achieved ‘primarily by 86 Nonetheless, despite all the challenges and restrictions that churches were faced with, the authorities could not fully paralyse their activities in training of the new generations of preachers. A large number of pastors (among them there were many, who were able to receive training and education before the persecutions started in the late 1920-s) who were released from prisons and returned to their churches in the 1950-s, and gave a major boost to the missionary and educational activities of local 123 churches. ~~ A. Popov notices that it was common for Russian evangelicals to see their worship as a place of education, and many worshippers were used to taking notes during sermons.’~’ Listening to sermons was the main way of education, as well as one of the main objectives of learning, since preaching was perceived as the most 125 important skill that any Christian pastor could acquire. “° Moreover, an ability to preach was considered as one of the key skills not only for pastors, but also for all other people involved in any kind of church ministry — choir directors preached during music rehearsals, youth workers used preaching at various youth events (including birthdays, weddings, picnics, etc.). The most common way for young people to learn to preach was self-training based on listening and reflection with little, if any, assistance from “older brothers.” The proverbial saying, ‘God is teaching his people to preach,’ was gradually becoming not only the way young people saw their ministry, but also the methodology promoted by pastors describing something to which the audience will naturally have an emotional reaction.’ (Nancy C. Murphy, Reasoning and Rhetoric in Religion (Trinity Press International, 1994), pp 56-62). The approach of “scientific atheism,” engaged by the authorities, closed the possibility of advanced education for Christians, and created an anti-religious image for any academic work (the “Logos” element of persuasion). Thus, the two other elements were given extra weight in Russian Baptist communities, compensating the weakness of a rational component of sermons by preachers’ authority, established on their faithful Christian living, and extensive use of stories, aimed at stirring emotions of the listeners. ”3 See Walter Sawatsky, Evangelicheskoie Dvizhen