{"id":122,"date":"2018-09-21T17:23:22","date_gmt":"2018-09-21T17:23:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/hearthegospel\/?p=122"},"modified":"2018-09-21T17:23:22","modified_gmt":"2018-09-21T17:23:22","slug":"pastor-voice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/hearthegospel\/2018\/09\/pastor-voice.html","title":{"rendered":"Pastor Voice"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Voices
A Voice in the Wilderness<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Rich Cohen, posted what I thought was a nice article in the New York Times, Where does Rabbi Voice Come From?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

He identifies a common speech pattern and tone among Rabbis he\u2019s known and calls it \u201cRabbi Voice.\u201d He sets out to research its origin. He describes the \u201cvoice\u201d as he hears it and links to some comic treatments by Wood Allen and Jerry Seinfeld (suggesting that Rabbi Voice is widespread and has been around for a long time.) But, he notes, not much serious consideration or writing has been devoted to the development and persistence of Rabbi Voice.<\/p>\n

The article received blowback from at least one NYT reader, complaining that this was a stereotype and offensive. But Mr. Cohen never claimed that ALL Rabbis use Rabbi Voice. Some do and his description of what he was and is hearing when he attends synagogue on Fridays was recognized, familiar and acknowledged by many he consulted in the field.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also a sweet sentimentality in his consideration of the phenomenon. He\u2019s not judgmental or even calling for the disappearance of Rabbi Voice. He ultimately finds it comforting and reassuring.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Poet Voice<\/strong><\/h2>\n

There may not be much literature out there on Rabbi Voice, but the incidence of a recognizable speech pattern among professionals and clergy in particular is not unique to Rabbis. It\u2019s not dissimilar to Poet Voice, the distinctive voice many poets adopt when reading their work aloud, which has received a lot of attention.<\/p>\n

Mr. Cohen\u2019s article caught my attention because the conclusion he comes to is that the voice<\/strong> is as important as what\u2019s being said. The tone of voice provides resonance and depth \u2013 and generational continuity — that goes beyond face-value meaning of the words.\u00a0 Like a mother\u2019s lullaby, the recognizable sound of the human voice fulfilling a recognized role triggers an emotional response in the listener.<\/p>\n

My father and the fathers of many of friends growing up were members of the clergy. I\u2019ve listened to a wide variety of ministers, pastors, and priests and a few Rabbis in countless religious services over the years.\u00a0 I certainly recognize a recurring speech pattern in much of the sermons, baptisms, weddings, counseling sessions and readings from scripture on which I was at the receiving end.<\/p>\n

\u201cLittle Johnny tried to be a good boy\u2026.\u201d began a typical homily in our local community churches in that familiar Norman Rockwell-ish pastoral cadence that sounds warm and friendly unless you are<\/u> \u201cLittle Johnny\u201d and know you\u2019re not really all that good or even really trying all that hard to be good.<\/p>\n

There are many reasons speech patterns take hold in any profession. Here are links to sites and articles including a recent academic study about Poet Voice.<\/p>\n

Beyond Poet Voice: Sampling the (Non-) Performance Styles of 100 American Poets<\/a>, Marit J. MacArthur, Georgia Zellou, and Lee M. Miller\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Poet Voice and Flock Mentality: Why Poets Need to Think for Themselves<\/a>, <\/strong>Lisa Marie Basile<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>[saUnd] literary magazine<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

I think many of the reasons for the development of the Poet Voice style also apply to the clergy and lay readers in the mainline protestant churches.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Pastor Voice<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In the case of mainline protestants, who have always placed a high value on education and intellectual rigor, there\u2019s what I like to call Authentic Academic<\/strong> style; a kind of all-knowing, literary quote-dropping, bemused detachment seasoned with a soupcon of humanist sentimentality.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s often missing here \u2013 especially in the reading of scripture aloud \u2013 are the imperatives of a compelling performance before a live audience. The presenter wants to be safe, and so wraps themselves securely in tradition. That tradition most often favors the neutral. Emotion is dismissed as belonging to an order that is lower than intellectual rigor (context and commentary in the case of readings from scripture.) The principles of live performance are generally ignored and covered over by the \u201cVoice\u201d.\u00a0 \u201cActorly\u201d and \u201ctheatrical\u201d are pejoratives and are to be avoid as much as mortal sin.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Reading Scripture Aloud<\/strong><\/h2>\n

But the goal is not and never has been to be actorly, theatrical or overly dramatic when reading from scripture. When referred to in this context, theatrical and actorly usually mean BAD acting. There are bad actors and bad theatrical performances just as there are bad sermons and disappointing scripture readings. We don\u2019t want bad. We want to promote the good. Sermonizing can also be a pejorative, but we don\u2019t attempt to banish sermons. So, don\u2019t condemn performance to perdition. Be wary of performing<\/u>, but do not discount the important principles of live performance.<\/p>\n

A first principle of live performance is: don\u2019t be boring. The problem with promoting a recognizable \u201cneutral\u201d speech pattern in readings from scriptures is that it can easily become predictable and boring. When overdone, it\u2019s at best hypnotic: comforting\u2026. soothing\u2026 calming\u2026 but it doesn\u2019t challenge the congregation in the slightest. The familiar neutral voice insulates us from the words.\u00a0 Scripture becomes a soporific.<\/p>\n

As the study on Poet Voice referenced above points out, the Oxford English Dictionary defines “neutral” as “Exciting no emotional response; provoking no strong reaction; innocuous, inoffensive.” It continues, “Displaying . . . no overt emotion; dispassionate, detached.”<\/p>\n

Surely that\u2019s not what we want from readings of scripture. We need voices that faintly echo one crying in the wilderness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rich Cohen, posted what I thought was a nice article in the New York Times, Where does Rabbi Voice Come From? He identifies a common speech pattern and tone among Rabbis he\u2019s known and calls it \u201cRabbi Voice.\u201d He sets out to research its origin. He describes the \u201cvoice\u201d as he hears it and links…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":621,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nPastor Voice - Hear the Gospel<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Pastor Voice can be a familiar and comforting tone and cadence used in scripture reading that fails to challenge a congregation.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/hearthegospel\/2018\/09\/pastor-voice.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pastor Voice - 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