No one has had more impact and influence on the craft of preaching in the last several decades than Fred Craddock. After his retirement from a distinguished teaching career, he became free to share his wisdom with a wider audience without the burdens of academic responsibilities. The lectures and workshops show an ever-expanding scholarship beyond that of his published books. This book has gathered the "best of the best" of these lectures/workshops and offers them to preachers and students of preaching for critical reflection and increased effectiveness.

Packed with personal stories of warmth and family, these sermons show how God takes a frightened group of disciples and sends them out to be the most constructive force for good in the history of the world. They demonstrate that God can move ordinary people to extraordinary heights, and that our success is more dependent upon our availability to God than on our own ability.
"Just try to read only one of these lively, pithy sermons in everyday language You cannot. I tried. They are like potato chips. You want to nibble on another and another. But unlike chips they contain the requisite vitamins and proteins of the Christian life. Gary Carver's words can provide a daily dose of what we all need. I recommend this book highly, even if you don't feel hungry."
Harvey Cox
Thomas Professor of Divinity
Harvard Divinity School
"This collection of sermons steadfastly invokes the responsibility of ordinary Christians to work for justice and spread love throughout a world dying for lack of both. This is a message that is badly needed today, and Gary deserves our high praise for articulating it with such care and conviction."
R. Marie Griffith
Associate Professor
Princeton Theological Seminary
"This excellent book, Out From The Ordinary, is certainly not an ordinary book. It is well written and laden with pithy insights into life and faith. You will be challenged as you read to step out of the ordinary and experience the fullness of God's grace and love."
Millard Fuller
Founder, Habitat for Humanity International
"Jesus, the Master Storyteller, has a sterling student in Gary Carver. Stories of truth, in the words of Carver, are like the gentle caresses of a parent lovingly stroking the soul of a beloved child. Great storytellers, in the tradition of Jesus, are rare. Gary Carver is one, and deserves to be pondered as well as perused. His stories make me want to preach."
Dan Yeary, Pastor
North Phoenix Baptist Church
Gary L. Carver is pastor of First Baptist Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He has also served as pastor of churches in Alabama and Indiana. In addition to his Doctor of Ministry degree, he has done graduate study at Candler School of Theology and Harvard Divinity School. He has been widely published in a variety of church and clergy publications.

About the Contributor(s): Steven Darsey has served Atlanta's Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church as director of music since 1986. Holding the Doctor of Musical Arts from the Yale School of Music and Institute of Sacred Music, he has served several churches of different denominations and Emory's Candler School of Theology. He articulates his commitment to worship through writing, conducting, composing, and serving as founding artistic director of the worship arts organization Meridian Herald.