ABSTRACT
King was not much of a story teller or humorist in the pulpit. He had a few stock stories and one or two jokes which he inserted into many of his sermons, but he was in no sense a narrative preacher, preferring instead to organize his sermons around a few universal themes. In a deeper sense, however, King was a profoundly narrative preacher. The story of the Exodus underlay and informed nearly everything he said on the subject of race, freedom, and justice. Unlike contemporary preachers, King rarely talked about himself or bared his soul in the pulpit. When he did include a reference to himself, it was always as a part of a larger story in which he figured as an observer or minor player. In place of personal opinions, impressions, and self-revelations, King offered arguments on behalf of freedom. These he abstracted from Christian doctrines as well as from non-Christian sources such as the Declaration of Independence.
