By sermon notes, I mean distributing an outline of the sermon that may or may not allow the listener to fill in the blank.
The matter of whether or not to use sermon notes raises from very foundational questions.
For most in the pews, the answer to the question seems obvious. Let’s do sermon notes. Some may use them, others won’t. At least make them available.
But, amongst preachers the matter is debated. My homiletical mentor, Haddon Robinson, one of the most respected voices on expository preaching in the world, thinks sermon notes are not a great idea. Warren Wiersbe, as I recall, was not a fan of them at all.
What do you think? Sermon notes: yes or no? Fill in the blank: yes or no?
Before answering, I recommend that you read this post by our neighbor to the north, Dashing Darryl Dash. How you come down on that post, may inform whether or not you think sermon notes should be issued.
I’ll share more of my thinking in a few days. But, I would be curious about your reasons for or against sermon notes. If you answer, maybe share whether or not you preach in a regular way. It would be great to hear from both preachers and people in the pew.
Yes, to sermon notes…If you don’t throw them away! I don’t know how many times I have gone back to them, maybe just to get a verse to share, maybe to refresh my day for what may or may not be happening in my life or someone else’s life.
This is one of those areas on which I have has an on-again, off-again internal battle as to their purpose and usefulness. Darryl’s post has some great food for thought.
Presently, I do put sermon notes in the bulletin. They are an outline, plus some other notes and cross-references. I do not use presentation slides, so no fill in the blank.
No notes. Lead me in worship. I’ll study & take notes in a small group/Sunday school setting. =)
YES on sermon notes cuz my wife says I should!
Personally, I can do without them.. I never take notes.
Does it really matter? If you want to take notes, take them. If you don’t, don’t. Some people attend church to learn, and others (like Todd) just want to jam (“worship”). Preachers nor their sermons convert/convict anyone, but rather the Holy Spirit working through God’s Word accomplishes this task.
As for the post from your “neighbor to the north”, if you can’t tell by his writing style and reasoning that he is emergent, you need only research the folks that he cites (e.g. Lee Eclov, Tim Keller, Michael P. Knowles). If you want to obfuscate Scripture, these are the kinds of guys that you want to turn to.
Hebrews – I guess I was coming at it from a pastor’s point of view. Is it ultimately helpful to provide an outline? Of course, you’re right. Anyone can make a decision about whether or not to use them.
I’ve always been a note taker, whether it is a teaching from the pulpit or in a conference. It is the way I learn…and remember. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think the issue is not whether we should take notes, but whether the pastor should provide a “fill in the blank” outline for us that encourages the taking of notes. Again, because it is the way I learn (and I’m sure I’m not alone), I think it is very helpful, but I will take notes with or without an outline.
As I have mentioned more than once, I believe that in God’s sovereignty, He will place us in the particular church where He knows we will hear the teachings we need. If that is the case, then we need to be listening closely to the word that God gives our particular pastor, the message he has been praying over and preparing for us. An outline with fill-in-the-blanks of that message if very helpful to me for more than one reason. First of all, I know that what is included in the outline is what the pastor most likely considers to be some of the most important points in the message. It doesn’t mean that there might be something else in his message that speaks directly to me, only that I won’t miss what God impressed upon him as he prepared the message. That said, there should be plenty of room on the outline for me to make my own notes. Secondly, if I only need to write one or two words, then I can listen more carefully as the message continues. If I need to write down the entire sentence, I might miss something. I did not go back today and reread Darryl’s post, but if I remember correctly, he pressed the point that what we hear from the pulpit should renew our minds, and to that I would add that my mind is best renewed when I consider a particular exegesis of a passage more than once. When I chew on it and pray over it a while. An outline that I can refer to throughout the week is helpful to me in my private devotions and my conversations with my family and those in our small group. Once again, the outline from the pastor makes it clear to all of us in our small group the particular message he wants us to take home.
It’s not without possible problems, though. First of all, the pastor could feel boxed in by the outline and not sensitive to the need to preach a different message if so led. Secondly, it could be a legalistic issue. Those of us who take notes could think we are more spiritual…which, of course, is hogwash. Lastly, it is just one more thing the pastor and/or his staff has to accomplish. If it is a burden on either one of them, then forget it.
Patricia, those are such helpful thoughts.
One of the things those who preach must think about is not giving away too much of where the sermon is going. If those in the pew can predict the trajectory of a sermon, then it is tempting for them to check out on some level.
Patricia, your last point is where I am on Powerpoint. We just don’t have the resources to consistently pull it off with excellence. So, I make a strategic decision not to use it, if for no other reason than that it will take so much time.
I’m a younger pastor serving in a University town, so maybe that has something to do with my approach… We do Power Point almost every Sunday (great resource on powerpointsermons.com for nice looking slide backgrounds). Some Sundays are more content than others, but typically not overwhelming.
I used to do fill-in-the-blank sermon notes, then switched to just giving the main outline. After classes with homiletic profs Don Sunukjian and David Larson, I’ve gone away from both (and partially because I was tired of that extra step in prep for Sunday). But we do have a blank section of our bulletin marked as “Notes” for people to write on if they want. Since a big part of preaching is shaping the mind, writing things down certainly helps in that regard. And I don’t this necessarily diminishes personal conviction, but likely enhances it.
For the sake of prep time and not giving away the points I’ve stopped doing detailed notes. The Power Point is a different story because it simply animates the outline after I give a point. I think in a very visual culture this is helpful (depending on who is running the PPT!).
That’s my two cents – it was good to read the other posts.