Emphasis Preaching Journal

At Cambridge Seminary in England, it used to be an annual requirement for each seminarian to preach a chapel sermon before the entire faculty and student body. After the service was over, the student's sermon was evaluated. The most difficult aspect of the assignment was that the student would not have an opportunity to prepare his sermon ahead of time. On top of the high pulpit was a black box containing slips of paper with the names of texts. The student was to draw one out and start preaching. You can imagine what a frightening experience that would be.