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