Albert N. Martin
These two messages were made from donated cassette tapes with hand-typed labels on them, which read: "Selection of Sermonic Materials, 11 of 20, MI-D-11, #30*A" and "Development of Sermonic Materials, 12 of 20, MI-D-12, #31-A". They are clearly early versions of the Pastoral Theology Lectures, which – because he mentions coming to the church "12 years ago" – dates them in or around 1972. An (almost) exhaustive hardcopy of the Trinity Pulpit catalog from 1989 skips over any tapes labeled "MI-D-xx" (although it has many labeled MI-A-xx, MI-B-xx, MI-C, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, MA, N, O, P, and Q.) Apparently then, this early version of the course was pulled once later renditions were delivered and recorded.
Judging by the numbering system on the labels — and by listening to the lectures themselves — it is clear that these two messages were chronologically sequential. Message 11 is clearly the pre-cursor to number 17 in later versions of the course, but message 12 does not seem to have its precise parallel – so it is hard to know where to place it as an 'alternate'. This uniqueness of the contents is, we suppose, because the structure of the course sometimes changed significantly over the years. The content deals with the 'prep-work' involved in getting the sermon ready for its delivery, once the topic or passage has been selected (this being "earnest prayer for the Holy Spirit's assistance," and "laboring diligently at the exegetical spade-work.")
These messages are posted on the site for reference, because they were providentially available, and, because they have some unique materials contained in them. This is also largely true for the other "Alternates" posted on the Pastoral Theology page: they were providentially available, and frequently are not mere rote repeats of the other renditions (he mentions that he spent half a day or more reviewing and reworking each lecture each time it was delivered). Even in cases where the contents remained largley the same – there are often spontaneous off-the-cuff remarks and emphases that are made because of the unique gathering of students present, and because of the amount of time he has had to muse on the topics since the last time they were covered. Thus (as some of us find) even the "repeats" are — more often than not — freshly edifying, instructive, and well-worth a hearing if one has the time. Plus, repetition is frequently found in Scripture as God's method of teaching - in the Proverbs for example, in Kings/Chronicles, the Psalms, see 2 Peter 1:12, etc.