Customer Reviews

Preaching Without Notes

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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.

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.

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.

I had been searching for all kinds of resources, and each one gave me just enough information; but no real umph. This book, though, is spot on. It really is true that by preaching without notes I connected with the congregation 100 times more than I had before; and by following the suggested week long study habits, the Word penetrated my heart in a way I haven't felt in a long time. It's a blessing of a book.

This book was recommended to me by a seminary professor in homiletics. It provides a feasible and helpful proposal for how to prepare a sermon without notes OR an outline. Preaching without notes is a fear of mine. This book has changed my attitude and has empowered me to begin preparing my sermons without a manuscript. Webb not only informs about how to prepare, but he also provides mind-boggling facts about memory retention that everyone should know. It's worth reading and is a quick read (130 pgs.)

This is a no brainer for all people called to ministry to have whether you speak every week or once in a blue moon. This is also a great book for laypeople in case you are called upon to speak, preach, or teach a Bible study. This book breaks down the mechanics of preaching and communication excellently. I just took a Homiletics course with Joesph Webb and I have brought my speaking and preaching skills to a new level. One of the biggest challengers preachers face is writing a new sermon every week. This book will give you the tools and enable you to make sermon preperation on a weekly basis, much simpler than before reading this book.

I've been preaching for almost 20 years, always with notes before me, even though I haven't stayed tied to the pulpit. I knew that, as I was taught in seminary years ago, the best sermons are preached without notes. This book was great to get me jump started in this endeavor. Of course it is simple, and I know that I'll adapt its methodology to fit my own style. The basic premises of Webb's approach will probably remain important, though. I especially appreciate Webb's explanation of how to design a sermon that is easier to learn--a logical progression that is much better than memorizing a complex, perhaps disjointed, outline. My first sermon without notes--this past weekend--was very well received. It really can be done, and Webb will help you succeed. I do wish the book conveyed a higher view of Scripture and did more to cover prayer and a sense of spiritual inspiration in sermon preparation. Still, a very good book.

UPDATE: I've been preaching without notes now for over two years. It's true that the design of the sermon is key to good memorization. You probably won't be able to preach detailed "how to" steps that are not logically dependent on the previous points, but you will certainly connect better with you congregation. And they will probably connect better with your logically ordered points much better, too.

I found this book to be very helpful, if not a bit liberating. While the ongoing working example he gives of the preparation process is more of an inductive sermon, the principle of structuring the sermon as a series of logical connected "chunks" of communication (rather than as a hierarchical outline with three alliterated main points) is adaptable to exegetical sermons, as well.

When using the "traditional" method of "three (alliterated) points and a poem", I always had two points that were beautifully parallel, but I could never make the third one alliterate or follow the pattern of the first two points. This approach is more concerned about the logical flow than with shallow alliteration, which helps the preacher focus more on what he is saying than on some arbitrary convention like an alliterated outline.

Delivering a sermon using his method is also refreshing. Each point in the sequence of logical "chunks" (I prepared one sermon with 6 or seven main sections) flows logical into the next--no more stumbling over that awkward third main point that makes no sense except for the alliteration. No more squinting at notes in your Bible's margin or at your computer print out...on to REAL communication....

If you use notes or a manuscript to preach, this is a great book to challenge you and help develop more excitement in your sermons. Easy to understand and with specific ideas and advice, this book guides you so you come away with a developed preaching style without sacrificing research and study. Those who approach preaching without notes as a daunting task because of a lack of memorization skills will be pleased by the step by step mechanics of creating a sermon with focus and clarity without a lot of memorization. It helps preachers communicate conversationally.

OK, I confess, I keep an outline handy, but at my age, memorizing things word for word is out of my reach. And having an outline keeps my level of stress lower .... I doubt I will be giving up this crutch anytime soon. Actually, today I keep that outline on my iPad, so I don't ever even print it out.

However, by handling the "manuscript" the way the author suggests, breaking it into blocks of information, I can normally go through my sermons without a lot of looking at my outline.

I was fortunate to have a pastor who did preach without notes during my internship, so this book supplemented my experiences under his guidance. A key point emphasized by the author isn't simply just preaching "off the cuff," he advocates spending even more time in preparation. Sermons preached using his method will be both interesting and well thought out.at the same time, it allows your listeners to spend more time interacting with you visually and emotionally.

This book could easily be titled "speaking without notes." It is well written.