I’m a pastor. I know the trade secrets.
I hope none of the brethren get upset by my letting the rest of the world in on our little quirks here.
When we want the audience to know of our (ahem) advanced degrees and superior education, we tell stories. They sound a lot like this…
….When I was working on my doctor’s degree–I mean the first one, not the second one–I was having a hard time with my dissertation…. (The fact is, he got that degree from a mail-order institution for reading three books and writing two short papers.)
–The other day I met a man at the grocery store. He said to me, “Aren’t you DOCTOR Rogers?” I said, “Yes, I am.” And he said, “Well, Doctor Rogers….” (and the story goes on from there. Throughout the story, that fellow calls him Doctor no fewer than a dozen times. This is to alert the audience to the way he wishes to be addressed.)
When we want the audience to know what celebrated circles we run in, we drop names into the sermons….
–“As I was saying to Billy Graham recently, ‘I hate name-droppers, don’t you?”
–“The last time I attended the presidential prayer breakfast in Washington, this time I was seated beside a lowly congressman. A far cry from the time they seated me beside the Secretary of State. Anyway, he said to me….”