Preaching from the Inside Out by Charles B. Bugg, Broadman, $14.95

Preaching can become routine. In the pressure to get it done, we can lose sight of why we do it and how it could be done better.

One remedy is to come at preaching from the inside out; that is, ask about the what and why of preaching before tackling the how of it. Chuck Bugg's infectious passion for preaching shines through the what and why. His disarming candor about his own mistakes gives authenticity to his discussion of how. The result is a delightful, inspiring conversation with this professor of preaching at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.

Preaching to Strangers by William H. Willimon and Stanley Hauerwas, Westminster/John Knox, $9.99

William H. Willimon, dean of the chapel at Duke University, speaks there to people who are largely anonymous to each other. Often skeptical of Christianity, they pose a challenge. How should he (and we) preach to such people? In Preaching to Strangers, we get ...