Proclaimer Blog
Preaching with a manuscript
It sometimes seems that preaching without notes is something of a holy grail for preachers. I dispute this. To think that somehow preaching can only be powerful and Spirit filled if we're not bound by notes is something of a denial of the character of God and his modus operandi. To take this to its logical conclusion, why prepare at all, if this is the case. The Cornhill course is a waste of time and study time preparing a text is worse than useless.
Of course, we believe that the Spirit is at work as we faithfully pray and study and prepare – and he is able to work whatever our notes approach. True, for some, a less bound manuscript may be useful. For others (oh yes!) a more rigid manuscript might save your church! I usually use a full manuscript but preach from highlighted words in each paragraph; however (for no spiritual reason) last Sunday I preached without notes. Both can work in the right setting and environment.
Anyhows, seeing as many seem to want to extol preaching without a manuscript, I thought it would be good to reference a good article about the benefits of preaching with a manuscript. See here. H/T Challies. By the way, you'll notice that halfay through he says that one of the best things he gets is that each sermon of his is evaluated. Again, this does not quench the Spirit, but rather helps us to be the faithful expositors we always long to be. I heartily commend it.