Preaching Without Notes [Paperback]

Joseph M. Webb (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2001

In this important book, Webb makes two central claims. First, that effective preaching without a manuscript is not a matter of talent as much as it is a matter of preparation. Preachers can learn the practices and disciplines that make it possible to deliver articulate, thoughtfully crafted sermons, not from a written page, but as a natural, spontaneous act of oral communication. Throughout the book, the author offers specific examples including a transcript of a sermon preached without manuscript or notes. Second, that the payoff of learning to preach without a manuscript is nothing less than sermons that more effectively and engagingly give witness to the good news.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Joseph M. Webb is the professor of Communication Studies at Gardner-Webb University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 134 pages
• Publisher: Abingdon Press (January 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0687090881
• ISBN-13: 978-0687090884
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #82,306 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #72 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Evangelism > Preaching

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great approach to sermon preparation and delivery, March 10, 2001

By 

Stephen Frantz (Portland, Oregon USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Preaching Without Notes (Paperback)

This book outlines how to prepare sermons with a very simple technique. There are no short cuts or tricks; it simply approaches sermon preparation from a different angle. The main thesis of the book is that you should never use written notes when delivering your sermon. Dr. Webb explains in full why this is necessary, but basically you communicate better with people when you are looking at them (which is impossible to do completely when you are referring to notes).

Since you wonÕt be using written notes in the pulpit, you need to deliver a different kind of sermon. There shouldnÕt be (cannot be) a complicated outline or a manuscript with finely crafted paragraphs. Instead you will simply talk with your congregation, relating a series of stories, events, ideas. Preparing a sermon that you can remember is a wonderfully liberating experience.

I took a class from Dr. Webb at the Northwest House of Theological Studies in Salem, Oregon while he was a faculty member at Claremont School of Theology. That has forever changed the way I preach, and the people in my church react well to the new kind of sermon. There is still a lot of preparation, but now you can be more effective.

A wonderful little book that is a must for any preacher. Give it a try.

32 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars All right but Sketchy, October 6, 2005

By 

Sherman Cox "SoulPreaching.Com Website Editor" (Nashville, TN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Preaching Without Notes (Paperback)

Webb's basic thesis is that the best preaching is done without notes. He then precedes to give an example of how he puts his sermons together week after week. Webb attempts to prove that preaching without notes is more valuable in general because it allows a greater connection to the audience and it frees the preacher to be passionate. Then after defending the approach, Webb describes the approach in a day by day approach.

Monday-Tuesday - Planning. During this time the preacher should determine what the text says and take extensive notes. He suggests a kind of extensive outlining. This is solely to determine what the text says. This is a pretty traditional component, and I would suggest other resources to fill in this component. For example, Paul Scott Wilson in "The Practice of Preaching" provides a much more detailed approach to determine what the text says. Another approach is Brad Braxton in "Preaching Paul." Braxton handles in outline form the steps to take in exegeting the passage. Both of these appraoches do more than tell you to look at the passage, but tell you what you are looking for in the text.

Webb believes that the difference between preaching without notes and with notes is that this component should be more detailed. I think that Wilson or Braxton can help the preacher ask questions of the text which is an important component of preaching.

Wednesday: Create Outline: Here the preacher creates an initial outline and evaluates the outline. Also, the preacher gives a preliminary title to the message and creates a controlling metaphor. During this step, the preacher determines what the sermon is about and splits it up into what he calls "sequences" and others call "moves. Once again it is a very sketchy approach that might leave the preacher wondering what exactly to do. I would once again suggest adding either David Buttrick's Homiletic which speaks extensively on how to create and evaluate "moves" or John McClure's "Four Codes of Preaching" which also gives an evaluation method of moves or sequences. One can also look at Henry Mitchell's student Frank Thomas in "They Like to Never Quit Praising God.

The controlling metaphor is an interesting sermonic device. As I look back at my own sermons, I have found that many of the more effective ones had a clear metaphor. I will attempt to always find one from now on. This is a metaphoric thread that ties the whole sermon together.

Thursday - Friday: Memorize Outline: Here the preacher memorizes the sequences. And also memorizes any data under each sequence that must be memorized. For example, one may have to memorize texts or stories for a particular sequence. Basically, you are to memorize what you need to know in each sequence. Then you are ready for preaching.

Preaching: During the preaching event, Webb pushes us to remember trust our memories and our preparation. He also suggests that the preacher not worry about forgotten sequences. Webb also reminds the preacher to be opent o new things that the Spirit may give us in the pulpit as well as to interact with the audience.

I have a few problems with the method. One is that it is extremely sketchy, it needs the supported materials that I have explained above. Two it only allows for inductive sermons. I do not belive that inductive move based sermons are the only sermons to preach. Becuase of this, I wonder if this kind of preaching can become predictable over the long haul. While I am not sure that this has to happen, there will probably be a tendeny to use common metaphors or common sayings, or other things may become predictable.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Helpfu and Practical, December 3, 2004

By 

Matthew Gunia (Justice, Illinois) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Preaching Without Notes (Paperback)

Joseph Webb, a Professor of Speech and Homiletics, has written a very practical book for preachers seeking to free themselves from the manuscript. In Seminary, one of my homiletics professors would have us preach in front of the class without any notes and I've preached in front of congregations without a manuscript, so I come to this book with a little--very little--experience in preparing and delivering a note-less sermon.

I found this book very helpful because Webb kept the routine of the parish preacher in mind throughout the book. As and example, his chapters are subdivided into days of the week (Chapter 1 is subtitled "Monday and Tuesday"). I also appreciated the encouraging tone of the book. It always had the underlying message, "you can do it! I know you can!" However, while Webb strives to encourage the reader/preacher throughout the book, he also realistic in pointing out common mistakes, pitfalls, or new skills to be learned. A secondary message is that preaching without notes will be difficult at first, but will be easier as time goes on and new skills are aquired.

The parts of the book I found most helpful are the sections on "outlining" a sermon and actual sermon delivery. The special attention to "chunks" of memorized information and natural transitions between "chunks" is helping me to write more natural sounding sermons. The chapter on delivering sermons witnout notes provide a helpful list of do's and don'ts. Happily, Webb also covers pre-delivery jitters and post-delivery blues, which some preachers may still imagine are unnatural for veterans of the pulpit.

I normally try to list a couple aspects of the book that I dislike about the book, but it was pretty difficult with "Preaching Without Notes." The only part of the book I really disliked was the example sermon itself in the Appendix. Instead of Jesus being at the center of the sermon--as he is at the center of our faith--I was sadly surprised to find Jesus mentioned only in passing. Nevertheless, an Appendix does not a book make or break. In all, I greatly enjoyed the book and am sure it will help me deliver increasingly better sermons.