Expository Preaching Blog #41 – “Manuscript vs Outline”

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In this blog I am going to tackle what may be a sensitive subject to some. It is the question of Manuscript Preaching vs. Outline Preaching. I am an outline preacher. I have never written out and preached from a manuscript. The only time I use a manuscript is for a wedding ceremony. I don’t use a manuscript for any other service including a funeral service. Let me say at the outset that I am not totally against manuscript preaching. Some can preach no other way. I have also heard a few good manuscript preachers. But I have also heard a lot of bad ones.

When I start my sermon preparation I follow my own rules of expository preaching. I look for the main point of the passage. I then break down the passage into the writer’s steps toward the main point. Then I expound on the sub points to bring the message of the passage as a whole out to the hearer as the original writer is trying to get across.

As I build the sermon point by point the passage comes alive and burns on my heart. I write out the 2, 3 or 4 points of the message in an outline. I then write out any sub points of the passage. I then add any supporting information into the outline. These may be definitions or understandings of the words. They may be cross references to other passages of Scripture. They be cultural or historical understanding. My outline is usually never more than one half of an 8 ½” X 11” sheet of paper. I build it on my computer so that I can go back and tweak it as I work on it. The last thing I do is add my introduction and conclusion. Those are usually never more than one sentence each in my outline.

Why do I not write out a manuscript? Because it is too confining for me. It ties me to those exact words. Once they are written down it is too hard to go back and change them. Plus when I am doing the actual preaching I don’t like to be restricted to giving those exact words. The sermon is built through the outline but it saturates my heart and soul throughout the week or days as I prepare it. I focus on the whole passage and the main point of the author and what he wants to say. I work very diligently to keep my thoughts and my words out of it. I am preaching God’s Word not my words.

An outline gives me freedom to preach as the Holy Spirit gives me utterance. But an outline also helps me keep my thought process on track and it helps me to time the message to usually a 30 minute time frame. It also helps me keep eye contact with my audience and deliver God’s message to them rather than just delivering a speech. It is more personal and not mechanical.

I have heard several really good manuscript preachers. But frankly they have been few and far between. I know a lot of seminaries only teach manuscript preaching but I see that as a weakness not a strength. This is not a hill I will die on but it is something I firmly believe in. May God use us all to preach His Word.

 

Rev. David Johnson

Former Pastor

First Baptist Church of Austin, MN

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