If you get around a couple of preachers you will hear them eventually begin to discuss preaching. At some point in the discussion they will talk about how they prepare their sermons and what formate that use for their notes. It’s very interesting shop talk actually.
Myself, I have, over the last several years, significantly adjusted the way I prepare and use my notes for preaching. Much like a batter adjusting his swing to gain some advantage, a preacher is always analyzing, evaluating, and tweaking.
I have gone through several variations and now am at the place where I am comfortable (for now). Here are some of them. If you are a preacher, I’m sure you can relate to a few.
Young, no notes guy
As a new preacher, I was so fired up to say anything, that I could fit most of my sermon on a yellow sticky note. Unfortunately for me (and my hearers) my sermons were also about as deep and as loud as the yellow sticky note.
Long-winded, learning some theology guy
When I realized that I wasn’t making hay I started quoting a bunch of commentaries. This gave the feel of a lecture and often had extra material that did not really help the bottom line. Yawns ensued. Too bad for the hearers that they did not have smart phones back then.
No quotes, only say what God gave me guy
I reacted against my newfound affinity for wordiness and swung the other way. This ensured that some of my statements were, well, a little clunky at best and inaccurate at worst.
Copy the Celebrity preacher guy
This was the homiletical equivalent to the Zubaz pants. I tried to be cool and do what other people were doing while looking pretty dumb myself. I look back in shame.
Carefully written, full-manuscript guy
This is where I lived for most of my time thus far. I combed over every syllable with a thesaurus. I was looking for economy of words, trying to get the biggest bank for my verbal buck. I liked this a lot. Benefits included clarity, impact, and weight. Drawbacks included me reading my notes at times.
Bullet-point, heavy eye contact guy
In this tried to put less in my notes and allow myself to make more eye contact. However, going from manuscript to this was like a kid without the training wheels: some awkward moments, some excitement, but overall not very comfortable for anyone involved. Benefits: more freedom from notes. Drawbacks included more eye-contact with less to say.
Now, to where I am now:
Old School, Hand-written notes
Awhile back I heard someone say that there are some physiological effects of writing something down on paper. They said if you put it down on paper you tended to remember it better. Willing to do anything to improve my “swing” I put it to practice. The more I wrote the more I wrote—and remembered. Surprisingly, I was able to see my outline in my mind’s eye while memorizing some key phrases. I was shocked. Over the last several months I’ve noticed that I feel more engaged in the moment. I feel like I am able to better read the people I am preaching to and even make adjustments on the fly.
A couple of other things that I have also done with this is to mark up the text on a piece of paper while also committing to read a ton and make sure I own the text (exegetically). This creates something of a fresh spring for me to draw upon while preaching.
As I’ve been doing this I have realized a far greater dependence upon the Holy Spirit and less upon my notes. I know this might sound like some false-humility or charismatica, but I assure you that it is my experience. I am praying harder for The Spirit’s leading in and using of the preached word than I ever have. What’s more, I have noticed that I routinely find myself looking down at my notes, so as to read it, but there is nothing there. It’s taking some getting used to.
As an aside, last week I had to go back to my iPad for preparation because I was traveling. In the middle of the sermon my Goodreader app crashed. The screen went white and then so did my face. In the midst of this I was wishing I had my handwritten notes.
CONCLUSION
So here it is, something of a preaching diary. I like the present format but am certainly not married to it. I’m sure, in fact, that I’ll tweak it in months or years ahead. It is what makes the challenge of preaching so interesting. We are constantly trying to gain an advantage, so that, as far as it depends on us, Christ will be treasured by all who hear!
If you are a preacher or teacher, I’m curious what your preferred format is and how you put it together.
