The Ins & Outs of Preaching - How Alice in Wonderland Can Transform Your Sermon Introductions & Conclusions

The narrative nature of the Bible requires the use of imagination, curiosity, and creativity in exegeting the Scriptures. Any piece of literature that helps a preacher look at life from a more unique point of view or dares to imply that life is more complex than the simplistic, two-dimensional characterization we often present in our preaching is worth exploring. It is hard to find another author as enamored with 
creativity and imagination as much as Lewis Carroll, author of Alice in Wonderland.

We have all met and dealt with the strange characters of Wonderland—people whose views of life are shaped by time, strange priorities, anger, or confusion. Carroll explores the absurd nature of nonsense as a way to navigate the more difficult values of his life and times, presenting a different view of society from the one that dominated his world. In a similar vein, preachers offer a different worldview as an alternative to the way in which the world, society, and life are lived out in the present culture.

Great literature will form how you express what you know and learn, including how you express and think great thoughts about the Scriptures. With the help of Alice, the 
Cheshire Cat, the White Rabbit, and other characters, The Ins and Outs of Preaching will help you form your vocabulary and expressive ability, with a specific focus on crafting your sermonic introductions and conclusions

Jeffrey W. Frymire is the director of the James Earl Massey Center for Compelling Preaching at Anderson University. After pastoring for more than three decades in the Church of God (Anderson), he was accepted into the doctoral program at Fuller Theological Seminary. After earning his PhD in Practical Theology with an Emphasis in Preaching, Dr. Frymire spent two years as a post-doctoral teaching fellow at Princeton Theological Seminary. He then was appointed the associate professor of preaching and dean of the chapel at Asbury Theological Seminary in Orlando. This is his third book, following Preaching the Story and Preaching from Inside the Story. He has been 
married to his wife, Joan, for more than fifty years and they have three sons (Doug, Jonathan, and Joel), all of whom are in ministry in the Church of God