I’ve heard it said that preaching is more of a monologue whereas teaching is more of a dialogue. There is a difference between preaching and teaching. I use it as a style of teaching that fits certain occasions to teach. I’m not limited to teaching from a manuscript. I only use the sermon manuscript for Sunday morning preaching, but not Wednesday afternoon Bible study, or Wednesday night prayer meeting, and especially not one to one teaching. You see, I don’t limit myself to a sermon manuscript, as I used to think it would do to me. This isn’t really a reason for why I preach from a manuscript so much as it is an explanation of why you might become more prone to try it. I preach from a sermon manuscript only for preaching, not teaching That’s fine because following a sermon manuscript is certainly not superior to any other form of teaching, but it’s also not any less. Maybe you can only preach with passion when you are preaching off the top of your head, or maybe you move around too much to be able to follow specific notes. Maybe you are smarter than me and can remember more than I. Then again, you may do much better without a sermon manuscript. If you can get past the idea that sermon manuscripts are a lesser form of preaching, then at least consider the possibility that it might help you preach better. Maybe you are the kind of person who doesn’t use a manuscript. Of course, I can do it, as I did, but I won’t release as much of my potential gift unless I use a manuscript. However, over time and experience, I began to realize that I am just not the kind of pastor/preacher who can most effectively preach from simple notes. I wanted to act like I was a really gifted speaker. I wanted to think that I was smart enough to preach more from memory. In previous years, I believe that I didn’t preach from a sermon manuscript because of pride. Once I could get past myself, I could move onto the sermon manuscript. Preaching from a manuscript helped alleviate all of these problems for me. At other times, I failed to say what I wanted to say because I forgot to say it! ![]() I believed that God had given me more potential than I was using. But I also believed that I was capable of better communication. I felt like my spoken words fell short of God (of course, they always do!). Part of my frustration with following a rough sense of notes was that I sometimes would lose my train of thought, or fail at making good transition statements.Īfter preaching, I would often feel like I could have explained God much better if I had another chance. Thus you conclude that you need help, lots of help! You confess that your spiritual teaching ability comes with it’s natural limitations, which is yourself. When you preach from a manuscript, you basically admit that your ability to teach is mortal, not immortal. Preaching from a manuscript practices humility Let me give you a few reasons for why manuscript style preaching might be the best for you as it has become for me. Therefore, my preaching style began to turn into more of a manuscript style of preaching. Therefore, The Word began to change me into a person who not only wanted to become a better person morally, but also one who desired to think, write, and talk a little more grammatically. I came to realize that the inspired, inerrant Word of God also includes inspired, inerrant grammar. Perhaps this came in part because of my saturated study of God’s Word, which I noticed also involves impeccable grammar. So I wrote out more of my notes like an essay. Eventually, abbreviated sentences and incomplete grammar began to irritate me. ![]() Slowly but surely, I began to expand my outlined sermon notes into more detailed versions. ![]() It certainly did not happen purposefully in my mind. Much to my chagrin, I now preach from a manuscript. Not only did I dislike manuscripts for myself, but I also frowned upon the notion of it for any other preacher. Furthermore, it seems like a lesser form of preaching, too much of a crutch for teaching, and a contributing factor to a lack of stage presence. Just two years ago, if you asked me to preach from a manuscript, I would have told you that it’s not my style, and I can’t preach like that. Over a few years of preaching, my preaching style has changed from following a rough outline of notes to reading my manuscript almost verbatim. I think it’s healthy to engage with both perspectives. I believe there’s power in preaching without notes, but there’s no one-size-fits-all style of preaching. Editor’s Note: This is a guest post with an opposite perspective from mine.
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