The preacher was widely known for his soft, melodious voice. Not long ago he opened a sermon in a church where he was the visiting speaker, with the following story:
"Before I begin my sermon, I must make a confession. It is not really a confession, because you have already begun to realize that I have a soft, quiet voice. To be honest, it puts people to sleep.
"And why not? A fifteen-minute snooze might help a member of the assembly far more than anything else I can do for him or her.
"However, I really object when the first elder of my congregation always falls asleep within two minutes of my starting the sermon.
Once, I challenged him:
"Why do you always fall asleep as soon as I begin to preach?"
"Preacher," he said firmly, "I trust you ..."