So, those who preach from a manuscript, read on to garner the wealth of my experience as one “chained” to the word. But most of all I can be true to my own personality, rather than denouncing who I am and trying to be something I’m not, nor necessarily need to be. I can inspire and stir emotions and proclaim the gospel when I preach from what I have painstakingly put down on paper. And it’s hard to argue for manuscript preaching when all my training has emphasized the desirability of the “sans paper” mode of homiletics.īut one can still get all the above from a “read” sermon, and more. It’s exciting and moving and memorable, most times. This task won’t be easy, because, truth be told, I too enjoy listening to a sermon delivered without notes, by an animated, knowledgeable, and passionate speaker. But never the less, I’m here to convince you “document detractors,” and even more so my fellow memory-challenged colleagues that reading your sermon from a manuscript, when done well, is every bit as effective as preaching from your head while wandering all over the sanctuary. Well, it is not polite to shout, and besides, you’re probably one of those preachers who has memorized the gospel of Mark in its entirety, or, for purely recreational purposes, rattles off the value of pi to thirty seven places. Perhaps you’re shouting emphatically “yes” right about now. And I think to myself–Is preaching from a manuscript really such a sin? “Guilty! Guilty of preaching straight from a manuscript!” The crowd cheers and the guards drag me out to my punishment–non-stop confirmation class! Then I awaken in a cold sweat. The prosecution and defense lawyers have presented their closing statements eloquently and passionately. I have a recurring nightmare in which I am in a courtroom on trial.
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