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Preaching by Heart: How a Classical Practice Helps Contemporary Pastors to Preach without Notes
There’s a seemingly innocuous villain that is taking up residence in the pulpits of countless churches, disrupting the connection between the pastor and the people and keeping the proclamation of God’s word from having its full effect. That villain is the preacher’s notes.
Preachers know this all too well. Many wish that they could “preach by heart” without the aid of notes, but are unsure how to do so—and are left feeling frustrated and discouraged by the presence of that disruptive interloper.
Author Ryan Tinetti shares an unexpected solution in the form of an ancient and time-tested practice known as the method of loci, or Memory Palace. Surveying portions of classical rhetoric that are especially relevant for contemporary preachers and diving deep into the theory and practice of the Memory Palace, Preaching by Heart plunders these ancient treasures that have been so formative for preachers through the ages but too oft neglected in our own time.
When pastors preach by heart, they find greater satisfaction in the homiletic task and their proclamation is even more effective. Preaching by Heart shows how to pitch the notes and reach that goal.
Preachers know this all too well. Many wish that they could “preach by heart” without the aid of notes, but are unsure how to do so—and are left feeling frustrated and discouraged by the presence of that disruptive interloper.
Author Ryan Tinetti shares an unexpected solution in the form of an ancient and time-tested practice known as the method of loci, or Memory Palace. Surveying portions of classical rhetoric that are especially relevant for contemporary preachers and diving deep into the theory and practice of the Memory Palace, Preaching by Heart plunders these ancient treasures that have been so formative for preachers through the ages but too oft neglected in our own time.
When pastors preach by heart, they find greater satisfaction in the homiletic task and their proclamation is even more effective. Preaching by Heart shows how to pitch the notes and reach that goal.
126 pages, Paperback
Published June 22, 2021
29 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 17, 2021
When I first heard Ryan Tinetti preach, no notes were in front of him yet he spoke eloquently. He didn’t have a manuscript memorized but he spoke fluidly and naturally. I had heard plenty of sermons with theologically sound content but rarely such content wed to a rhetorically rich and satisfying delivery.
My uppermost thought was, “How does he do that?”
In his book, Preaching by Heart, Ryan tells us how. The subtitle points us in the direction the book goes: How a Classical Practice Helps Contemporary Pastors to Preach Without Notes. What is the “classical practice” and how does it work?
In classical rhetoric, Ryan explains, speakers used what is called the Memory Palace. The basic idea is this: you imagine a space (“palace”) that you know well, such as your home or church. As you speak, mentally you walk through that palace, seeing in your mind certain images in specific places that are designed to elicit the points you wish to make at that stage in your speech or sermon. The wilder and stranger these images—thus, the more memorable—the better. Each image in each spot in the Memory Palace spurs the recollection of the point(s) to be made in the speech.
Because spaces, especially familiar spaces like our homes, are so easily remembered, we can “walk through them” as we speak with no difficulty. And if the images we craft in our minds are unusual or colorful enough to visually embody the points we wish to make, we can teach, preach, or speak by recalling these 3-5 images with no problem. And the result: we need no notes. We can speak naturally but also intelligently (not “off the cuff”). The Memory Palace and images in it take the place of a written outline or notes.
On a recent speaking trip to Minnesota, in which I gave eight presentations in two different churches, I used Ryan’s method and was extremely pleased with how easy it was to implement. If you are a speaker, teacher, presenter, or preacher, I strongly urge you to read the book. It is full of wisdom, humor, insight, and practical advice. You might just find yourself standing confidently in front of a group of people, free of notes, ready to preach or speak by heart.
My uppermost thought was, “How does he do that?”
In his book, Preaching by Heart, Ryan tells us how. The subtitle points us in the direction the book goes: How a Classical Practice Helps Contemporary Pastors to Preach Without Notes. What is the “classical practice” and how does it work?
In classical rhetoric, Ryan explains, speakers used what is called the Memory Palace. The basic idea is this: you imagine a space (“palace”) that you know well, such as your home or church. As you speak, mentally you walk through that palace, seeing in your mind certain images in specific places that are designed to elicit the points you wish to make at that stage in your speech or sermon. The wilder and stranger these images—thus, the more memorable—the better. Each image in each spot in the Memory Palace spurs the recollection of the point(s) to be made in the speech.
Because spaces, especially familiar spaces like our homes, are so easily remembered, we can “walk through them” as we speak with no difficulty. And if the images we craft in our minds are unusual or colorful enough to visually embody the points we wish to make, we can teach, preach, or speak by recalling these 3-5 images with no problem. And the result: we need no notes. We can speak naturally but also intelligently (not “off the cuff”). The Memory Palace and images in it take the place of a written outline or notes.
On a recent speaking trip to Minnesota, in which I gave eight presentations in two different churches, I used Ryan’s method and was extremely pleased with how easy it was to implement. If you are a speaker, teacher, presenter, or preacher, I strongly urge you to read the book. It is full of wisdom, humor, insight, and practical advice. You might just find yourself standing confidently in front of a group of people, free of notes, ready to preach or speak by heart.
March 15, 2022
One of the things that I vividly remember my homiletics professor telling me in seminary was that I preach so much better without notes. That statement has stuck with me throughout my 12 years of ordained ministry. The unfortunate thing is that I have often found it difficult NOT have my notes in the pulpit with me. Part of the problem has been that when I tried to preach without notes, I have often gone the route of trying to memorize the written text of my sermon and then, when anxiety sets in, as it inevitably does, I find myself needing to revert back to the notes.
What Ryan Tinetti (who is an outstanding preacher by the way; watch him on YouTube) does here is offer a way of preaching that is not grounded in memorizing written sermons, but in using the classical practices of rhetoric used by the ancient Greek orators to preach "from the heart." Specifically, he takes us through a practice known as "the Memory Palace," in which one builds up images corresponding to the content of the sermon, placing them in some well-known place, which one then "walks" through on Sunday morning while delivering the sermon. Instead of memorizing the words of a sermon, you are following the flow of an outlined sermon through the images, while giving yourself room to speak from the heart. At the very end of the book, Tinetti then walks us through an example of how he built a "Memory Palace" for one particular sermon, thus giving us a concrete example of the ideas he laid out throughout the book.
Let me say that I can't praise this book enough! I wish I had had this when I was in seminary. I really hope that more homiletics classes start requiring it. I've learned an immensely value tool for preaching here in the concept of "the Memory Palace" and I look forward to trying it out.
What Ryan Tinetti (who is an outstanding preacher by the way; watch him on YouTube) does here is offer a way of preaching that is not grounded in memorizing written sermons, but in using the classical practices of rhetoric used by the ancient Greek orators to preach "from the heart." Specifically, he takes us through a practice known as "the Memory Palace," in which one builds up images corresponding to the content of the sermon, placing them in some well-known place, which one then "walks" through on Sunday morning while delivering the sermon. Instead of memorizing the words of a sermon, you are following the flow of an outlined sermon through the images, while giving yourself room to speak from the heart. At the very end of the book, Tinetti then walks us through an example of how he built a "Memory Palace" for one particular sermon, thus giving us a concrete example of the ideas he laid out throughout the book.
Let me say that I can't praise this book enough! I wish I had had this when I was in seminary. I really hope that more homiletics classes start requiring it. I've learned an immensely value tool for preaching here in the concept of "the Memory Palace" and I look forward to trying it out.
July 1, 2025
All in for preaching "by heart" and taking away a few practical suggestions to implement soon. Not convinced that "no-notes" is a sure-fire way of connecting with a congregation -- preachers must first use the gifts that the Lord has given them, and some folks may just need to write manuscripts while remaining open to Spirit-inspired suggestions and deviations. Our varied learning differences mean that sermon preparation is a process that fundamentally cannot be cookie-cuttered, to say nothing of the added pastoral variables of a given week, and so I am loathe to crown one method or approach "the way" at the expense of the others.
October 30, 2025
Extremely helpful for any preacher. Tinetti takes the pressure off of one form of preaching and allows us to learn where our strengths and weakness as preachers are for the sake of concretely sharing the good news.
The explanation of the Memory Place is very helpful and imagining a sermon as a familiar thing rather than a foreign assignment was one take away I had.
I’d put this at 5 stars if I didn’t get so distracted by some of the examples. Others may not have be caught off guard by them.
The explanation of the Memory Place is very helpful and imagining a sermon as a familiar thing rather than a foreign assignment was one take away I had.
I’d put this at 5 stars if I didn’t get so distracted by some of the examples. Others may not have be caught off guard by them.
April 23, 2025
This is now the second time that I have read this book.
The book is 109 pages. It's brevity makes it a fantastic resource, because you don't feel like you're climbing a mountain when opening the book.
I have found the memory-palace emphasis useful, though I don't use it in my own preaching at the moment.
This is THE BOOK that moved me off manuscripts. After 10 years of fully written out sermon manuscripts, I have spent the last four years having about 2/3rds of my sermons be manuscript-free.
Another thing I love about this book is how it makes me excited to take up the preaching task. When I weary of the work (which Paul says not to do in Gal. 6:9), this book gives me the shot of adrenaline to love it all again.
There is much to be commended in this small volume. Pastors should buy it and read it.
The book is 109 pages. It's brevity makes it a fantastic resource, because you don't feel like you're climbing a mountain when opening the book.
I have found the memory-palace emphasis useful, though I don't use it in my own preaching at the moment.
This is THE BOOK that moved me off manuscripts. After 10 years of fully written out sermon manuscripts, I have spent the last four years having about 2/3rds of my sermons be manuscript-free.
Another thing I love about this book is how it makes me excited to take up the preaching task. When I weary of the work (which Paul says not to do in Gal. 6:9), this book gives me the shot of adrenaline to love it all again.
There is much to be commended in this small volume. Pastors should buy it and read it.
January 17, 2024
As a rigid manuscript preacher, this book was convicting and convincing. Loved the aim of "preaching by heart" and using the classical "memory palace" to help you memorize your sermon as a movement of places and pictures , not word for word. Tinetti does a great job describing the process and giving examples of how to actually put this in practice (I really liked that part).
Some questions arise about how this could work for those who preach longer expositional sermons. I would want to try this out first on other preaching avenues like nursing home ministry or a Sunday night devotional where you are giving shorter sermons.
Some questions arise about how this could work for those who preach longer expositional sermons. I would want to try this out first on other preaching avenues like nursing home ministry or a Sunday night devotional where you are giving shorter sermons.
August 4, 2023
Most preaching books get stuck in how to prep and spend incredibly little time on what the goal actually is: the delivery.
Ryan identifies how this process helps delivery and can be weaved into the entire preparation process.
Fantastic work to help preachers go from Bible study, to engaging preaching.
Ryan identifies how this process helps delivery and can be weaved into the entire preparation process.
Fantastic work to help preachers go from Bible study, to engaging preaching.
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September 7, 2025Endelig en bok om forkynnelse som tar for seg memoreringsteknikken alle retorikere i antikken behersket; Loci-metoden.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews