This workbook is the outgrowth of many years of experience in training young men to preach. It deals with everything from picking the topic to helping someone who responds to the invitation (including how to baptize someone). The book tells how to develop, practice, remember, and deliver topical, textual, parable, and character sermons. It includes helpful items such as sample sermons, practice drills, recommended books for the preacher's library, and an extensive bibliography.
A unique feature of this book is that it explains preaching by using the analogy of baseball. After learning how to "round the bases" of preparing and presenting the sermon, one will find a "batting practice" section. This fill-in-the-blank section of the book walks one through actual preparation of the sermon. The book is designed with beginners in mind but it can help anyone. It is especially useful for teenagers or college age men in undergraduate preaching classes. It has been used in preacher training camps in Colorado, Tennessee, Florida, Virginia, Georgia, and Arkansas. The workbook has also served as a homiletics textbook at Freed-Hardeman University and at two branches of the Nashville School of preaching. It has been translated into Swahili and an abbreviated version has been translated into Spanish and used at ministry training camps in Latin America.