Keeping the Golden Rule Alive

Duke University senior Stanley A. Williams III has never given a sermon before, but when he approaches the Duke Chapel pulpit this Sunday (Feb. 18), he is hoping for an overflow crowd. "I think I'll be anxious," said Williams of the expected 1,200-member audience. "But I really want it packed. Not because of me, but because of my sermon's message. I think it's for everyone - and I want everyone there." Williams, the winner of Duke Chapel's 22nd annual Student Preacher Contest, may be short on experience, but he is brimming with confidence about his take on the Golden Rule, forgiveness and reconciliation through Luke's account of the Sermon on the Mount. "I think that our country is very torn right now," said Williams, 20, who is from Fayetteville, N.C., and graduated from 71st Senior High School. "I think that things won't get better until we admit to some things and try to work through them together and not just relegate them to 'history.' I don't think that Band-Aids fit all the time. Sometimes you just have to expose those wounds first and then let them air out." Treating other people as they treat you isn't enough, Williams says in his sermon, referring to the biblical book of Luke. People need to love their enemies, not just their families and friends, and to do good things without expecting anything in return. "We're afraid to move beyond the Golden Rule - to give without reciprocity - because doing so leaves us vulnerable," Williams states. "The idea of the uncertain frightens us. Dependency is often given a stigma, as if it makes us weak. We are too proud to admit that we need each other ... and that's why so many of our fellow humans have fallen." Friedrich Nietzsche was correct when he wrote, "It is inhuman to bless when one is being cursed," Williams concludes. "He's absolutely right. It is inhuman. It's ... divine." Part of Williams' confidence in his "divine vulnerability" message stems from past performances in front of audiences. In addition to being in the Duke Chapel Choir, Williams is a member of Hoof'n'Horn, a student-run musical theater group, and a capella singing group Rhythm & Blue. He is also a published poet who regularly performs his pieces at the East Campus Coffeehouse. Williams has been active in church all his life. Both his parents, Stanley Jr. and Phyllis, are preachers; his father is pastor in a Fayetteville-area church. Several other relatives have heeded the call to ministry. Williams' dynamic preaching style and the personal nature of his message won over the judges, said the Rev. Nancy Ferree-Clark, chair of the student preacher selection committee and pastor of the Congregation at Duke Chapel. "He pours his whole self into an effort to communicate how the gospel speaks to his own life experience and, ultimately, to the experiences of others as well," she said. "Good preaching involves both head and heart. We heard that loud and clear with Stan." Williams' performing background should help this Sunday, too, said Albert Mosley, assistant dean of Duke Chapel and a member of the selection committee. "A lot of preaching is about delivery," he said. "Your message can be important, but if it's not delivered powerfully and not received by the congregation, then it won't be effective. Stan's delivery is very lively and very energetic." Williams, who is double majoring in African and African-American Studies and psychology, had entered the preacher contest in past years, but came up short. This year, the resident of Prism, a campus residence hall devoted to expanding campus multicultural awareness, was determined to win. So, in between his jobs in the African and African-American Studies office and as a waiter at Duke's Oak Room restaurant, Williams fasted and prayed. On and off, for nearly a week, he struggled to clear his mind and "to become more in tune to what I needed to write," he said. "When it came to me, it hit me hard." The call for remembrance, reconciliation and forgiveness is particularly apt for the Duke campus community, Williams said. Despite outward appearances, all is not perfect among students, employees and faculty. "Duke is a microcosm of our country," he said. "A lot of the same issues - racism, sexism and social inequality in all of its forms - are played out right here. A lot of things aren't said, but they're there, causing resentment, anger and prejudice. I think it's just time to face up to them, to confront them and to start to work things out." Williams is noncommittal about whether his upcoming sermon will lead to a future as a preacher. His future plans include enrolling in graduate school, probably in an English program to study critical literary theory, and to continue singing, acting and writing poetry. Afterwards, he wants to go to law school and, someday, teach both law and English at the university level. "My heart is in performing," he said. "God has always looked out for me. Wherever I go, I'll have to be led by God."