![]() The great advantage to preaching without a manuscript is that you are forced to connect with the congregation. Good preachers will help people do that, so that eyes of the congregation are not transfixed on the preacher, they are focused on the Word.ģ. This is one blessing of living in a literate society-we can put physically put our finger on the text. In preaching, we should be looking at the text. This means they won’t be making eye contact with the preacher the whole time either. In a church where the Bible is cherished, many people (not all) will have open Bibles that they are looking at too. Again, we are preaching God’s Word to God’s people, not just reading notes. Wherever your develop the skill, preachers can’t be afraid to look at the people they are preaching. Reiterating #1, learning to make eye contact may come from teaching without a manuscript in other settings. But there is a way to learn to preach a manuscript that makes regular eye contact. After delivering that sentence or two, I scan my notes again, and continue to look at the people.Īdmittedly, preaching a manuscript will keep your eyes down more than preaching without notes. ![]() In order: my eyes swipe across my notes, pick up a sentence or two to preach, and then return to the people. Personally, when I stand in the pulpit my eyes move across my congregation. Practically-speaking, this means don’t spend too much time looking at your pages. Vital in learning how to preach a manuscript is learning how to make eye contact with those whom you preach. And when done rightly, it will help you in your preaching, whether you use a manuscript or not. These are the best places to learn how to connect with people over the text of Scripture. Ideally, for those in seminary or who have little experience in preaching, you will have ample chances to teach classes or lead studies. Use those opportunities to learn how to speak to people, to read the text and explain it, and to make connections with those whom you are speaking. Just make sure your other teaching opportunities-Sunday schools, Bible studies, etc.-are not manuscripted. If you haven’t had this experience, however, you can still learn to teach with less notes. This experience shaped the way I preach today, and it makes me uncomfortable just reading a page. ![]() Rather, I would prepare basic notes to jog my memory, Additionally, I was ultra-conscious of keeping my eyes on my congregation. And one of the best way to preach a manuscript is to learn how to speak and teach without a manuscript.įor example, I did not manuscript for the first few years I preached. And thus, even manuscript preachers, must learn to preach to people and not just disseminate information. In my experience, we can’t always trust our perception or an audience blank stares and scrunched noses, but we must try. Preachers need to see when the congregation is tracking and when they are not. Preaching is necessarily interpersonal, hence the reason why video-streamed services fail. You can’t preach, if you only read your notes. Maybe this sounds counter-intuitive for preaching a manuscript, but I think it is vital. Learn to preach without (or at least with minimal) notes. Ten Way to Improve Your Manuscripted Messageġ. To that end, here are ten things I’ve learned in preaching a manuscript that might help others who use a manuscript. Still, I believe the benefits of manuscripting outweigh the costs, so long as preachers learn to do more than read their notes. At the same time, manuscripting does lend itself to a dry delivery. And ultimately, that is why I change to a manuscript somewhere around 2011. In using a manuscript, I value the clarity and forethought I can put into the message. That said, I strive to preach the manuscript and not just read it. But a few years in, I deviated from their counsel and now manuscript all my sermons. This taught me how to preach to people and not just read notes. ![]() For the first few years of pastoring, I followed their advice and brought into the pulpit four to five half-sheets of notes. In seminary, I learned from two gifted preachers who both taught that manuscripts were not helpful for preaching. Among these conversations, we discussed the place for manuscripts over against using or not using notes. As expected, we discussed all sorts of questions pertaining to preaching-sermon length, the use of illustrations, the necessity of expositional preaching, as well as how to preach Christ from the whole Bible. A few years ago I led an online class on the subject of preaching.
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