Creative Preaching and Oral Writing begins with a definition of preaching, then goes into a discussion of the creative importance of attitude toward the preaching task, toward the content, toward self and toward the listeners. Skillfully comparing the structure of the sermon to the structure of the bumble bee, Richard Hoefler says,
A good speech is like a bumble bee. It possesses five basic parts, each one playing a vital formation in the total process of the flight of the bumble bee: a head, a body, a stinger, legs, and wings. They enable both the bumble bee and the speech to get off the ground and into their work. After thorough discussion of the structure of the sermon, the author goes into detailed explanation of the use of the oral style of writing sermons. The illustrations and examples will enable student or the seasoned pastor to dramatically improve his or her preaching effectiveness.
Richard Carl Hoefler, Professor of Preaching and Worship and Dean of Chapel in the Lutheran Seminary, Columbia, South Carolina, is a graduate of Wittenberg University and the Hamma School of Theology, Springfield, Ohio. He received a Master's degree from Princeton University and a Doctor of Divinity degree from Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia. Previously Richard Carl Hoefler was pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church, Springfield, Ohio, as well as instructor in Wittenberg University and Sinclair College, Dayton, Ohio. Dr. Hoefler says that his greaest accomplishment comes when a student says to him "You opened up the meaning of the gospel for me. I had never heard it before."