Imagine announcing a new series of sermons and seeing worship attendance increase by 1,000 people on the first Sunday of the new series. Or consider a pastor developing sermon plans two to three years out. What kind of pastor sits in a bar with a notepad just looking for ideas for sermons? Or has as his aim to preach the best prepared, best researched sermons his congregation has ever heard? All of these and more explain part of the reason the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection has grown from four people to over 10,000 in just thirteen years. In Unleashing the Word, Adam Hamilton helps pastors and church leaders consider the purpose, planning, and execution of excellent preaching. He offers detailed descriptions of the sermon planning, writing and preaching process behind one of the fastest growing churches in the United States. He includes numerous personal anecdotes and enough sermon ideas to keep the average pastor busy for years! If you only buy one book on preaching this year, this is the book you must buy! Praise for Unleashing the Word: "I wish I had read this book early in my thirty-eight year pastoral ministry. If so, I would have done a better job." --J. Ellsworth Kalas, Professor of Preaching, Asbury Theological Seminary. "Unleashing the Word will be around a long time to help preachers preach the Word with power and conviction!" --Tyrone Gordon, Senior Pastor, St. Luke "Community" UMC, Dallas "Hamilton offers a goldmine of practical advice...Pastor-preachers will benefit greatly by adopting and adapting Hamilton's approach." --O. Wesley Allen, Jr. Assistant Professor of Homiletics, Lexington Theological Seminary "Anyone wanting to discover something about the art of preaching and its relationship to the life of a thriving congregation would be hard put to find any better reading resource." --Charles Killian, Professor of Preaching and Storytelling, Asbury Theological Seminary