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Reviewed by Sally O. Langford, co-senior pastor, St. Stephen United Methodist Church, Charlotte, NC Preaching Without Notes by Joseph M. Webb I remember my first sermon as a student intern at a small membership church in rural North Carolina. I was fresh out of college and was on my way that fall to Duke Divinity School. No one had told me how to prepare a sermon, so for that Sunday's sermon I fell back on my college writing skills and wrote a research paper on the Beatitudes. My paper was six typed pages, single spaced. During Sunday worship, I read my manuscript to the congregation. The sermon must have been insufferably long. Fortunately for me, the congregation was gracious and supportive. One church member told me after worship, "I can tell that you really worked on that one!"
The problem I faced as an inexperienced preacher was how to speak clearly and effectively to my congregation. What I quickly learned was that reading verbatim from a manuscript was not the best way to communicate. Through years of practice, I have become a better public speaker. I know about constructing a sermon around one single major idea and delivering that sermon with plenty of energy and eye contact. And yet, Joseph M. Webb's Preaching Without Notes has presented me with the new challenge of preaching a carefully thought out sermon, without preparing a manuscript at all.
Webb convincingly argues that preparing and delivering a sermon without a manuscript or notes is the most effective way to follow Augustine's dictum to "make the truth plain, make it pleasing, make it moving." For Webb, manuscript preaching prevents the preacher from being natural and spontaneous. He contrasts the relaxed and confident manner of one preacher he observed doing a children's sermon to that same preacher's stilted and unenthusiastic demeanor during the "real" manuscript sermon. Without a manuscript, the preacher can connect and bond with the congregation, invite the people's participation in the hearing of God's Word, and speak movingly not only from the mind, but also from the heart.
Webb thoroughly describes his alternative method for preparing Sunday's sermon. Webb takes the reader from Monday to Sunday, beginning with one's careful and prayerful reading of the biblical text on Monday to the delivery of the sermon without notes on Sunday. Webb's method of sermon preparation is no less demanding of the preacher's time and energy than the more traditional method of preparing a sermon manuscript. The primary difference is that one reads and studies Sunday's biblical text, in order to prepare a sermon outline, not a sermon manuscript.
As Webb explains it, the sermon outline is similar to a road map. The outline organizes the ideas and materials for the sermon. The better the outline, the easier it will be for the preacher to remember the sermon's movements or sequences and to deliver the sermon without notes.
Reading Webb's book convinced me to try his method for myself. I had my reservations. I wasn't too concerned about coming up with an outline and memorizing the outline for Sunday morning. But I was worried that my delivery would be rambling and less polished. Without the carefully chosen words of my manuscript, wouldn't I seem less prepared to the congregation? As it has turned out, my worries were unfounded. Preaching from a memorized outline enables me to be more relaxed and natural in my delivery. Instead of trying to get each word just right, I can focus instead on getting the message across to the congregation. Communication, not the delivery of a manuscript, becomes the goal.
Whether or not one decides to give up on writing a sermon manuscript, Webb's book offers much food for thought. How can we preachers communicate most effectively with our congregations? Webb's advice about sermon preparation and his pointers on the verbal and nonverbal dimensions of public speaking are worthy of our consideration.
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