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FROM PRE-PUBLICATION REVIEWS OF PREACHING WITHOUT NOTES Preaching Without Notes "Finally, after fifty years, someone again attends to this important subject. What better time than now, when so many enter preaching classes without training in public speaking. Who better to instruct than Joe Webb, who brings to the task impressive credentials in both speech communication and rhetoric. It is worth the price of this book to be reminded that preaching without notes is not simply a method of delivery but a method of preparation. Without the appropriate preparation, preaching without notes is either undisciplined talking or strained reciting. Horray for Joe Webb!" Fred B. Craddock Bandy Distinguished Professor of Preaching and New Testament, Emeritus Emory University "I have read Joseph Webb's Preaching Without Notes with interest. I wish every student minister and every pastor would read this challenging, encouraging, practical book-it could make the difference between an ordinary ministry and a highly effective ministry! Step-by-step, the author shows how preachers can find new joy and success in the preparation and delivery of sermons. Preaching without notes is not so difficult to learn as some might imagine, and the immediate and long-term rewards are worth the effort. Joseph Webb shows clearly how to do what those who listen to our sermons prefer." James W. Cox Senior Professor of Preaching Southern Baptist Theological Seminary "This book is grounded in good communication theory, conversational in tone, concrete and practical in application. It is a long-awaited, much needed resource to empower more effective preaching today." Joan Delaphane, O.P. Professor of Homiletics Aquinas Institute of Theology, St. Louis, Missouri "Dr. Joseph Webb makes a persuasive case for preachers to break loose from the shackles of manuscript preaching. He provides homiletical practitioners with very concrete, detailed, and practical suggestions to guide us in the task. Dr. Webb is surely correct in his assumption that such preaching is demanded in an age when mass communication has shaped the perception of our hearers." Richard A. Jensen Professor of Homiletics Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago "Significant communications among trusted friends are seldom delivered by means of manuscripts, so why must preaching be delivered that way? Joe Webb shows us here-skillfully and simply-that good preaching need not be hostage to a written text. Skeptical (perhaps intimidated?) preachers will discover how their sermons can be transformed from reports about religion into Spirit-ed conversations." David J. Schlafer Author of Surviving the Sermon; A Guide to Preaching for Those Who Have to Listen "This book answers a real need among clergy as well as the prayer of many in the pew for renewal in the pulpit. Dr. Webb applies modern research regarding memory skills to one of the long-neglected aspects of preaching: delivery. He weaves together theory and practice to create a rare little volume that is fresh, relevant, and persuasive." Donald H. Treese General Board of Higher Education and Ministry, The United Methodist Church "In a day when the world is moving toward multiple forms of orality while the church still clings to literality, Joseph Webb's Preaching Without Notes is timely indeed. Although our views on preaching are considerably different, our commitment to preaching without the overwhelming impediment of notes is the same. Whatever your views of preaching, his advice and strategies will gladden the hearts of your congregation." Eugene L. Lowry St. Paul School of Theology |