When you preach, is it better to preach with or without notes? Andy Stanley discusses this issue in chapter 14 of Communicating For A Change.
Andy challenges preachers to “internalize the message” (the title of the chapter). Thus, he encourages preachers to leave their notes behind when they get up to preach. He finds something disingenuous about the speaker who says, “This is very, very important,” and then reads from his notes (p. 135). Personally, I think ‘disingenuous’ is too strong a term. But I do find something less compelling and less engaging about statements and stories which are read from notes.
Now I’m not ready to argue that every preacher should preach without notes. But I encourage preachers to use as few notes as possible. I’m close to preaching without notes, yet I always write the ‘big idea’ of my sermon at the top of text I’m preaching. I also write a few key words in the margins of my Bible and underline items in the text itself. This keeps me from forgetting an explanation, an illustration, or an application. Once I get into the story or the explanation, the details have a surprising way of remembering themselves! But my challenge is simply to remember to use the snow-blower illustration or to discuss the term “repent.”
Andy concurs when he writes, “If you know the big pieces, the mile markers, you won’t get lost” (p. 138). That reminds me of Haddon Robinson’s adage: “A good sermon remembers itself.” My worst preaching gaffe happened early on in my ministry when I preached from a full manuscript. I lost my place, and the recovery time was about twenty minutes. OK, it just seemed like twenty minutes! But I fumbled around for at least 20 seconds before finding my place again. That’s never happened when I’ve preached without notes. Rather than heightening the risk of memory lapse, preaching without notes actually creates a freedom and a level of engagement which minimizes this risk.
However, this assumes that the preacher has internalized the sermon. What does this require? Andy says: “The secret is to reduce your entire message down to five or six pieces” (p. 137). I would add that there needs to be a clear progression or flow of thought from one piece to another. This is where a manuscript helps. My practice is to write our a full sermon manuscript, or at least a detailed outline with the introduction and conclusion fully written. I don’t try to memorize this. Preparing a manuscript is simply a way of thinking through the sermon. But by reading and praying through the manuscript once it is complete, I find that the sermon becomes part of me. In the words of Andy Stanley, I’ve internalized it.
When you preach this weekend, will you take your notes with you, or will you leave them behind? Why or why not?
Posted by Steve Mathewson at 1:05 PM on January 22, 2008
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I've thought about this recently. With your encouragment I'll try taking fewer into the pulpit with me and maybe using them less.
Lately, I've found I have too many anyway.
Posted by: Ed Pomelear on January 22, 2008
Steve,
One other important matter with respect to a manuscript is that it enables the preacher to choose the very best wording possible. Robert Jacks in his book, Just Say the Word!, emphasizes the need for the preacher to "write for the ear." I find that a manuscript helps me to prepare for listeners, not readers. As you say a manuscript helps us to think through what we are going to say. Thanks for your thoughts...and Andy's too.
Posted by: Harry Shields on January 22, 2008
Hey Steve,
First off, I appreciate your thoughts on this blog. They have been encouraging and helpful as I grow in my competency as a preacher.
To comment, I have found that preaching without a manuscript is at first intimidating - and usually not for very good reasons. I would worry about forgetting something that I thought was important - you know, the one sentence that took you 20 rewrites to get it perfect.
What I've found is that while I may lose that sentence by preaching from memory (or bare-bones outline), I more than gain from the engagement and directness I am able to have by being freed up from a 7-8 page manuscript.
Plus, that one sentence or line that I thought was the crucial stuff of the sermon, was never all that impactfull anyway, so what have I really lost in the end?
Just my experience and thoughts.
Posted by: Chris Gensheer on January 22, 2008
Whilst I'd love to make this move I've fretted over this many many times. I've mentioned before on this site that I have to prepare two sermons a week. For me this is a struggle as it is, then getting time to move from a manuscripte to preaching and not forgetting anything is even more stressful. I just would worry I'd freeze, make some big gaff, go on to long or not know what to say, loose the right phrase or word I needed.
I appreciate and understand those who can preach without notes and that this isn't an indication that they've winged it, I just haven't got confident enough to worry about failure so as to be able to give it a decent try.
RevDave
Posted by: RevDAve on January 23, 2008
We have begun using well done powerpoints with our Scriptures and sermon points noted on same.
This has been a tremendous help to the congregation in following the flow of the sermon and receiving the main points supporting the overall "Big Idea!"
The powerpoint slides provide our "mile-markers" (notes) leaving us free to connect the "dots"!
Not for everyone, but it sure works well for us!
Posted by: pastorted on January 31, 2008
I've been preaching for many years and have read a lot about the pros and cons of using notes while preaching. I typically take the manuscript to the pulpit, but this is after being so familiar with my notes that I'm not reading them verbatim. I can glance down at a paragraph or statement and recognize it without being overly tied to the notes. This keeps me on track and focused. There can be a tendency when not using notes to wander around,digressing,simply stating the obvious and giving broad generalities.
Posted by: Anonymous on January 31, 2008
I'm with RevDave, I would like to preach without notes but don't have the guts. I can tell a personal story or a demonstration like I did Sunday. It was about the crabbers on the Eastern Shore of MD where they stand in a small boat with a net on the end of a 15' pole. They push the boat through the marsh, see a crab through the clear water, net him, swing the pole around to the back of the boat and put him in the basket (most of the time). If they don't there is a little excitment in the boat. The congregation loved the story and the demo. But then I went back to my notes. If anybody can tell me how to start preaching without the notes, I would be appreciative. I've been doing it 8 yrs this way. Sometimes I feel like I'm reading to get a part in a play!
Posted by: Pastor Ed on February 1, 2008
Thanks, everyone for weighing in on this issue. PASTOR ED asked how to start preaching without the notes. First, wean yourself away from them gradually. Force yourself to take less and less notes into the pulpit with you. Second, writing out a manuscript will help you more than you realize. Read it through a few times before you preach. Don't try to memorize, but do try to internalize it. Pray through it. Rehearse with it there. Third, at some point, take the plunge! If you think it's worthwhile to preach without notes, then jump in and do it. The first time I did it (in front of Haddon Robinson, no less!), I was frightened. But it went better than I thought it would. Maybe some other readers can offer some additional pieces of advice.
Posted by: Steve Mathewson on February 1, 2008
I am an old guy called to the ministry with little public speaking and one speech course and one Biblical communication course. I used to write out everything for thought flow and time considerations, but read a book lately one Preaching without notes and having already been moving in that direction I can tell you from a scared old guy's perspective it's been a real blessing. I love vusual illustrations this works best without notes. i do however publish an outline with all the verses for the congregation I'm not sure I have the time or old guy memory to remember all the scripture. I found one key and the book talks of this is the flow of ideas. Know your Big idea well enough and let it flow. Try it scary can be good.
Posted by: mike m on February 2, 2008