Preaching Without Notes

[Trotter]

12 Essential Skill for Great Preaching by McDill - excellent, excellent book...if I could just find where I put mine!!!

'Extemporaneous' preaching has it's merits, but only if the individual is well prepared in the area that is to preached on. Sadly, the vast majority of what is called 'extemporaneous' is nothing more than, "I have not prepared, and therefore I am winging it," or, "I have no idea how to plan a sermon, so I will throw a barrage of thoughts at the congregation and hope for the best."

Preaching without notes is a noble aim, but it is one that I personally am not worrying about attaining. I have found that if I stand to preach without any notes whatsoever, I will sit down knowing I chased many rabbits, but few truths.

I have found that an outline with the Scriptures included, along with brief notes on my points/ideas, help me to stay focused on the matter at hand.

Anyone can hit the side of a barn with a blunderbuss, but I would rather pip the ace with a well placed shot from God's hunting rifle.

In Christ,
Trotter

 

[USN2Pulpit]

Am I sensing here a disdain for preachers that go without notes...or just the ones that wing it?

 

[Trotter]

USN,

Those who wing it.

It kills me to go to church, expecting to find nourishment for my soul, encouragement for my walk, and uplifting of my soul, only to receive a few verses read aloud followed by thirty minutes of pet peeves, half-baked ideas, opinions, and "as such-and-such of old...". If it weren't for the Christian fellowship, the worship of song, the breaking of the bread of life in Sunday School, the vast amjority of American churches would be spiritually bankrupt.

I have no problem with any preacher not using notes. But when he steps behind the pulpit to preach without any idea what he is to say or where he is to end up, I definately have a problem. There is no excuse for the shoddy study that is demonstrated week after week in our pulpits. I know of many preachers who do not even look to their Bibles until the choir goes up to sing, and then they flip back and forth to find something that "grabs" them, which is followed by a twenty-thirty minute shouting fit, complete with pulpit thumping, spitting, spewing, and Bible waving. And we wonder why our congregations are so Bible illiterate.

When people find a man who stands before them prepared, ready to open God's word, to expound on what the Lord has been showing him, they begin to come in droves. Thom Rainer, in his book High Expectations , lists expository preaching as one of the key ingredients of not only church growth, but in retaining those that attend (closing the back door). To preach thus a man must be in the word, digging deep, studying hard.

Yes, there are times when a man must step behind the sacred desk unprepared, but this, too, is aided by the study done to prepare meat-filled messages. To have to preach off-the-cuff is one that I do not relish, but if I have been studying along, I will have adequate stores of what is needed at the time (even without preaching what I had been working on).

Many preacher think that a passage has to reach out and grab them by the throat before they are able to begin study. Hogwash! All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 We are not called to pick and choose truths, but to preach the WHOLE truth of God's word. The book mentioned above (12 Essential Skill for Great Preaching by McDill) makes a good case for the chioce of a text based on the etxt and not just on what "grabs" you. McDill uses this arguement to show the practicality of a preaching calender, but he suggests going by the quarter.

What all this boils down to is this: If you feel that you shouldn't use notes, fine. But that can never be an excuse for not preparing. We must always remember Who we are speaking for, and Who we are representing each and every time we stand to preach, and prepare accordingly. To fail to do so is tantamount to declaring that God is not worth the effort.

In Christ,
Trotter

 

[USN2Pulpit]

Originally posted by Trotter:
But that can never be an excuse for not preparing. We must always remember Who we are speaking for, and Who we are representing each and every time we stand to preach, and prepare accordingly.

Thanks for the exhortation...and I agree with you.

 

[j_barner2000]

USN... thanks for introducing this topic... The thoughts and opinions expressed help to develop my situation. I have been forced to preach off the cuff and it is harrowing. (O.K. it was Children's worship but still had about 10 minutes notice) God delivered, and I was told it was my best sermon. I pulled from the study I had been doing all week. Like Trotter said. If we are in the word all week, He can use that to pull a sermon out of the air, It still is not my most comfortable situation, but I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

 

[Jim1999]

It is fine and well to say that ALL the word is preachable, but I have never preached from the verse that says: "...they shall drink their own piss and eat their own dung..."

Searching for a text from which to preach is indeed an honourable thing, and timely for a given audience. Select carefully. We shall be in tune with God as we give ourselves to Him, and in tune with the people when we preach appropriate messages.

Cheers,

Jim

 

[USN2Pulpit]

Originally posted by Jim1999:
"...they shall drink their own piss and eat their own dung..."

Perhaps this message would be more palatable if presented from "The Message" Bible!

 

[Dr. Bob]

No disdain for preachers who can develop a strong exposition with few or no notes. Just that I simply do not have that type of brain!

I craft sentences carefully. Word pictures. I use 20-30 Greek or Hebrew words with full definition to assist the English reader to know what GOD said, not just some translator (in 1611 or 2004).

I place illustrations carefully, usually using about 8 full illustrations in a 40 minute sermon. And of course I have my humor.

So I preach from a 4-5 page "full sentence" outline. Also translate all the verses myself and have them printed out in the notes.

And now that I can't see the pulpit so clearly with tri-focals, I print it in 13-point font. Easy-to-read!

 

[Bro. James Reed]

Perhaps I just need to trust the Lord a little more - and the gift He's given.

Bingo! I think you hit the nail on the head with that. Though, not just you, but all of God's ministers, as well as the rest of us.

pinoybaptist says that the majority of our preachers don't use notes. I would go a step further and say that a preacher who feels that he needs notes to preach would not be let in the stand at any PB church that I know.

What we need to remember is that the preacher is just the mouthpiece of God. If a sermon is preached, it's because God delivered it through the preacher.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you shouldn't study or anything, but I am saying that man has gotten to where he depends more upon himself to write a pleasant-sounding sermon than what God wants delevered to the congregants. Study should entail reading ones Bible and knowing where different subjects and passages are located.

I can't tell you how many times I've studied an entire week or more to prepare for Sunday, had my subject perfectly prepared to deliver to the congregation, in my brain, not on paper, only to have God lead me in a completely different direction once in the stand.

Let me tell you this, it is far easier to hear what God wants you to preach when you're not busy reading your own notes.

Now then, I don't want any attacks thrown at me. I'm not condemning anyone here in particular. I'm simply stating that Primitive Baptists do not believe in it, therefore I will not condone nor allow it in my church.

I pray that God will bless you in your studies.

Bro. James

 

[amen_corner]

Show me a place in the Bible where one of God's preachers/prophets stood up to share God's message and were led to change it before they spoke. Maybe I missed that passage.

The Bible is the Word of God, therefore, any message from the Word, no matter the text, should be relevant and applicable for God's people. We are called to preach THE Word. So, rather than trying to sound like we have some unique, mystical relationship with God where He waits until the last minute to tell us what to say, why don't we just systematically and expositionally study and preach the Word? God has already spoken His Word. It's right in front of us. If I am surrendered to His Spirit, and faithfully study His Word, then when I stand in the pulpit empowered by His Spirit, prepared in my heart, then I will speak exactly what He desires for His people to receive. It's not my word or thoughts anyway, it's His.

The problem, I think, is that many preachers are lazy in the study, or they don't have a system of study that frees them to preach. Pastors are also more concerned with topics that they can validate with Scripture, rather than letting Scripture supply their preaching topic. One pastor I knew flitted away his time during the week, and waited until the moment he ascended the pulpit to decide what he was going to preach. The walls of Jericho came to his mind, so he read the Scripture and ran around the congregation seven times. He provided his people with an empty plate on which to feed. I don't think God is honored by that,and I don't think God has called preachers to put God to that kind of test.

 

[Bro. James Reed]

Well, I have two questions.

Where in the bible does it say that preachers are to write out their sermons, or worse yet get their sermons in the mail, to be "preached" on Sunday?

What is the purpose of having God-called ministers to "preach" when anyone can get up and read a written out sermon?

There is nothing wrong with being well-prepared, but when we think ourselves so prepared that we refuse to go with the preaching where the Spirit is leading us, because it might interfere with our notes, then we are really more concerned with preaching our own words than Gods.

If you really think that God will not change your subject at the last minute because he wants something else preached, all I can tell you is that I know from experience that He does.

 

[USN2Pulpit]

Originally posted by amen_corner:
One pastor I knew flitted away his time during the week, and waited until the moment he ascended the pulpit to decide what he was going to preach. The walls of Jericho came to his mind, so he read the Scripture and ran around the congregation seven times. He provided his people with an empty plate on which to feed.

Are you serious? Did this really happen? I can't imagine this kind of circus going on in a church.

 

[amen_corner]

Is the Spirit not leading us as we prepare??? I agree, "sermons-by-mail" and some well-written manuscripts do not equal faithfulness to the call to preach. But why would God, in His sovereignty, lead a man of God to study one thing only to re-arrange it on Sunday morning?

Consider these two scenerios. A pastor studies and prepares all week. He doesn't know what it is, but something just doesn't feel right about his sermon. There is a catch in his spirit and he seems to have hit a wall in his study time. As he approaches the pulpit he lacks that confidence, that anointing on his sermon that he desparately wants. So he changes it at the last minute. He feels that God led him to do that, and so he stands with a new word, and even announces to the congregation that what he was going to preach has been changed on the spot by the Lord. The people are amazed at such a spiritual walk that they obviously don't have, because God doesn't deal with them that way.

Another pastor studies and prepares. He is faithful to the expository method, and even though the text is difficult and feels a little out of place, he is convinced that it is God's Word and God will use it to speak through him. So, he ascends the pulpit prepared and preaches the text God allowed him to study all week. And then God does something in someone that the pastor would have never imagined; the subject challenged the heart on an individual in a way that the pastor couldn't have planned. The Spirit convicts in a way that the preacher didn't plan. And all the power is found in the Spirit working through the Word through a faithful servant. And people are transformed by the power of the Word and grow even more hungry for this Word that can meet them right where they are at. And all the attention goes to God, and His wonderful, powerful, life-transforming Word...not to the preacher with the hocus pocus approach to preaching.

Now, which scenerio is what you want for your ministry?

If I'm wrong about my evaluation, tell me. I just get a little frustrated when preachers search for a word from God when THE Word is all He's going to give us. So preach THE Word. It doesn't matter if it's Leviticus or Romans...it is THE Word. So preach it effectively, in cooperation with the Spirit. And if you need notes to keep you on track, fine. And if you preach extemporaniously, fine. And if you borrow some thoughts from another guy, fine. Just expose God's Word faithfully, and rely on the Spirit in the study and the pulpit.

 

[Jim1999]

I have no question about all kinds of theatrics going on in pulpits.

God called us to preach. Part of that calling includes preparation. Just as we would not dream of sitting an examination without prior study, so we should not entertain preaching without preparation. God can, and does, give the message as well on Wednesday as He does on Sunday in the pulpit. If we have pepared our heart beforehand, so we can prepare His message in advance and in the best grammar and command of the English language as is possible. We owe it to God, and we owe it to the people we expect to hear us each Sunday.

There are times when we are called upon to deliver a message, and I believe the Lord does gives us the message He has in mind, but this is the exception to the rule so far as preparation is concerned.

I prepare at great length, but never preach all that I have prepared. I follow my outline, but there is always something that comes at the moment, and I am not afraid to use it.

If a soldier in battle uses all his amunition at once he will have nothing left when facing the enemy.

Cheers,

Jim

 

[PastorSBC1303]

To me it is not a question of whether a pastor should use notes or not use notes, I think it is a matter of being faithul to study the word and feed the word to the church when the time is given. I have heard pastors preach faithfully and really bring the Word with notes and without notes. So I dont think it is an either/or question. I think it is whatever works best for you and how God directs you and how He has gifted you. The most important aspect of this whole discussion is to stay faithful to the Word of God. I get frustrated when I hear pastors wring their hands and say, "Gee I just do not know what to preach this Sunday." Well, good grief, God gave us 66 awesome books, just start somewhere. Preach the Word, with notes, without notes, just preach the Word!

 

[Siegfried]

I will echo the comments about McDill's book on the essential skills. He has another book, The Moment of Truth, that is also excellent. I can't remember if he deals with preaching without notes.

I have taken his class on Expository Preaching at Southeastern, in which he demands preaching without notes (although he does not assert that it is the only acceptable way--just the best way). Actually doing it some has helped me see the strengths and weaknesses. Preaching without notes does help you focus more on connecting with the audience, and it forces you to discipline yourself to fully think through your sermon at the preparation stage.

The weakness is obviously that it's difficult if not dangerous to try to memorize detailed argumentation and exegesis for passages that are more didactic. The method seems to me to lend itself more easily to exhortational passages.

 

[blackbird]

SBC1303!! You hit the nail right on the head!! I ditto your thoughts and post here! As for me--I can and do both--with or without! I prefer with!

Brother David

 

[Dragoon68]

Originally posted by Bro. James Reed:
...I would go a step further and say that a preacher who feels that he needs notes to preach would not be let in the stand at any PB church that I know.

You're wrong! I personally know three Primitive Baptist preachers who use notes! It's ridiculous to state that doing so somehow runs contrary to God's will. What's important is that the message communicated be guided by the Holy Spirit. It doesn't matter whether or not the preacher uses notes. In fact, I think some preachers would do well to use this simple tool so they could deliver the message that the Holy Spirit desires them to. The presumption that anything written down is somehow not guided by the Holy Spirit is a false conclusion. It suggests that we were created only with the capability to speak and that every meaningful thought must be spontaneous. The Holy Spirit desires to use all the features of His creation in His work.

 

[Dragoon68]

Originally posted by Bro. James Reed:
Where in the bible does it say that preachers are to write out their sermons, or worse yet get their sermons in the mail, to be "preached" on Sunday?

It doesn't! Nor does it state that messages should not be written. Using notes does not imply they come in the mail.

What is the purpose of having God-called ministers to "preach" when anyone can get up and read a written out sermon?

Using notes does not qualify any one to preach. Using notes does not disqualify any one to preach. The Holy Spirit qualifies a person to preach using whatever tools He desires whether they be spoken or written.

There is nothing wrong with being well-prepared, but when we think ourselves so prepared that we refuse to go with the preaching where the Spirit is leading us, because it might interfere with our notes, then we are really more concerned with preaching our own words than Gods.

Correct! The emphasis should be on well prepared and on yielding to and following the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Understand that the Holy Spirit works through the man but the man never becomes God in so doing. He remains fully human and must use his human capabilities as given by God.

If you really think that God will not change your subject at the last minute because he wants something else preached, all I can tell you is that I know from experience that He does.

The exact same thing can happen during the time a person prepares for a message and develops the notes he plans to use. At any time, the Holy Spirit can lead a person to a particular point if that person yields to it. But if the notes were prepared with the proper guidance then they should, in fact, help keep the preacher on track to delivering the desired message.

My observation is that many preachers who begin their sermon with the words "I don't know what I'm going to speak about!" usually prove that statement true by not speaking about much of anything and probably really hadn't prepared as they should have.

My suspicion if that such confusing messages are not the work of the Holy Spirit at all but rather of fallible men making untrue claims to hide their own short comings.

 

[Dragoon68]

Originally posted by amen_corner:
...It doesn't matter if it's Leviticus or Romans...it is THE Word. So preach it effectively, in cooperation with the Spirit. And if you need notes to keep you on track, fine. And if you preach extemporaniously, fine. And if you borrow some thoughts from another guy, fine. Just expose God's Word faithfully, and rely on the Spirit in the study and the pulpit.

Well written! Well said!