Preparation also entails the time spent in study and organization. This will take you quite a while longer at first, but soon you will find yourself thinking in a different way as you prepare. A minister preached a very short sermon. He explained, "My dog got into my office and chewed up some of my notes." At the close of the service a visitor asked, "If your dog ever has pups, please let my pastor have one of them."

3. Presentation

From your perspective: You have prepared extensively, you have a strong grasp on the passage that you exegeted, and you know it in a way that infuses you with a confidence that comes from above. You have researched and organized your illustrations and now you know them well. You may have even alliterated your points to make them more memorable for yourself as well as those you are ministering to.

Now it is time. You are dressed and ready, you gather all of your paperwork, your Bible, and you head for the car -- leaving your notes behind. After the offering, the music ministry, and all of the announcements, it is time to approach the pulpit. You open your Bible and begin, a little tentative at first. Then you move away from the pulpit, confidence begins to grow. You even walk down the steps. You may have never been this far from the pulpit before. You are almost conversational as the sermon fluidly and effortlessly flows. As you begin to wrap up your message, you feel a bit giddy knowing that you have more than survived; you have excelled.

From the congregation's perspective: As you approach the pulpit, nothing seems out of place. The parents are arranging their children, the choir members are taking their seats, and you begin. One member thinks to himself, "Something seems different, but I can't put my finger on it." They are more responsive and more attentive. They notice your relaxed conversational tones and read your nonverbal communication. You are now communicating with them in new ways that may have been lacking before.

4. Postmortem

There is one final tool that I have employed. I have three trusted and admired men of God whom I have enlisted to evaluate my messages. Dr. Ron Barnes, of Christian Heritage College, once told me, "Experience without evaluation is useless."

During one message, when I was new to the pulpit, I attempted to ipress the church with my vast vocabulary. Afterward one of the congregants approached me, "Pastor, your preaching is like the peace of God. It passes all understanding." Get valued feedback, and be prepared to make adjustments. One thing you will find is that when you begin to exercise the freedom of preaching without notes, your evaluations will demonstrate the appreciation of the worshipers.

I am not going to try to fool you. It is not an easy discipline to begin. It takes determination, dedication, study, and patience. However, once you begin, you will soon wonder how you ever survived without this skill.

Clarence E. Macartney, the author of a multitude of books on sermon crafting, had preached without notes since his seminary days. Since that time he "never preached either with manuscript or with notes whatsoever in the pulpit." In his book, Preaching Without Notes, he states that after forty years of preaching "in season and out of season, year after year, and to the average congregation, there can be no question that the sermon that does the most good is the sermon which is preached without notes."