Dr. Jeffrey Arthurs, Robinson Chair of Preaching and Communication and director of the Center for Preaching has prioritized aptly preparing all those who teach and preach—pastors, seminarians, and lay people alike.

In “Persuading Like Jesus,” his most recent article for Preaching Today, he provides detailed instruction and clarifying examples for using “greater-to-lesser” and “lesser-to-greater” arguments in sermons. In this rhetorical device “a speaker begins by stating something that the listener already believes—a ‘no-brainer’—and then connects that belief to a second statement that is not so obvious, the point actually in the crosshairs of argumentation.” Jesus himself employed this method of reasoning, which Dr. Arthurs further explains.

For those seeking additional instruction, Dr. Arthurs will lead this year’s Preachers’ College, an intensive, one-day training seminar for preachers or teachers who have not had much training.