Exploring Rhetorical Strategies in Selected Sermons of Chris Oyakhilome

Abstract

This paper is predicated on the assumption that the massive followership and tremendous influence which modern-day Pentecostal church preachers enjoy could be traced to their language skills. This paper explored the rhetorical strategies that are significant in the language choices of Chris Oyakhilome of Christ Embassy. The task of persuading and convincing a congregation with the power of words to positively influence their beliefs and attitudes is not an easy one. In order to unravel the mystery behind the selected preacher’s success, two sermons were purposively selected from the preacher’s numerous sermons. These electronically recorded sermons were transcribed into written form, vertically represented in numbered lines for ease of reference; The study anchored on Aristotle’s “Theory of Rhetoric” because of the assumptions of what constitutes an effective speech (sermon) presentation; since sermon is a kind of speech event. The paper, therefore, discovered that the preacher is conscious of the impact of careful language choice in an effort to achieve effective preaching as well as influence and affect his congregation.