There was a sense of anxiety as our seminary classmates gathered that day. To a person they had been surprised when the professor announced that there would be a final exam. Everyone was asking, "How can you have a final exam in preaching?" How could one prepare? What sort of questions might be asked? Throughout the year there had been lectures on sermon preparation and style, but mostly it had been a course of practice and critique.

Finally, the professor, who was himself a splendid and engaging preach…