Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Confessions of a Pastor: I Manuscript Preach

I confess; I'm a manuscript preacher.

I've actually been a manuscript preacher for most of my time I've been preaching.  The story most people don't know about me is from college.  After giving my life to Christ I was attending a JC in San Diego.  One semester I had a class that was just too tough for me; I couldn't seem to do well in it and had trouble finding motivation attending.  Eventually I dropped out of my public speaking class; it was the only class I've ever dropped.

What I've learned about myself is I prefer to think off the cuff when it comes to joking and conversing with people.  When it comes to matters of the Bible and Theological topics I prefer to have a guide to help me clearly communicate.  For most of my life my manuscript preaching was more of a guide than a manuscript but recently I've learned how important it is to have a manuscript when you preach.

I know guys who bullet-point their message and others who use mind mapping.
How do you do it?


6/23/2013 - Neal Benson | Worship changes us from Central Peninsula Church on Vimeo.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I too write my manuscript. I think it helps to clarify my thoughts and say things more succinct, instead of finding myself rambling. When I only write notes, I usually end up on a rabbit trail or being too repetitive. I think the difficulty is transitioning between the written manuscript to the spoken word -- not just getting up and reading it to the audience.

Good job, Neal, on the video--you come off as well prepared, and knowledgeable as well as connecting with the people! Keep it up!

Neal Benson said...

Thanks for the encouragement Ken!