Worth Reading & Owning!
One of the great books on homiletics, which covers many of the more practical elements of sermon preparation and preaching is Wayne Mc Dill’s book!
Many books on homiletics or preaching spend a lot of time presenting historical and descriptive homiletical information but do not sufficiently provide specific help as it relates to . . . .
methods
execution
mechanical steps
craftmanship
rhetorical techiques
process
procedures
steps
Mc Dill’s book provides far more valuable and practical information than many other texts on homiletics.
Also, if you haven’t come across the writings of Andy Naselli, you should consider making time to read some of his publications and blogs — (http://andynaselli.com/publications).
I recommend Naselli and McDill because what they provide is one of the definite targets and objectives of “Rhetoric & Homiletics” — practical thinking and rhetorical techniques!”
In this article, Naselli cites Mc McDill’s book — “12 Essential Skills for Great Preaching.”
Here is a shortened version of Naselli’s article from 2014, and McDill’s complete list.*
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Be More Specific Than “Points” or “Things”
Speakers and writers often say something like this: “My sermon has three points” or “I’d like to share four things.”
So instead of saying that the apostle Paul “makes three points,” say, “gives three reasons” or “shows three ways” or whatever. The craft of communicating with speech and writing requires words, so if that’s your craft, you’ll want to develop your ability to use words well.”
McDill lists 265 words that communicate more clearly that the ambiguous words “points” and “things” (“Appendix D: Sample Key Words,” pp. 295–96):
* http://andynaselli.com/be-more-specific-than-points-or-things
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