Blankety Blank Sermons

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Here's a great post from Pastor Rod on "Fill in the Blank" Sermons. I agree with what my good brother from the windy city -- although I wouldn't go so far as to call the practice foolish.

I've always had an aversion to that kind of preaching, but have never been able to put my finger on it. Tried it three or four times -- but always felt like I was teaching kindergarten.

One thing that drives me nuts is to get one of those sermon "fill in the blank" sheets where all the missing words are obvious. For goodness sakes, if you're going to resort to blankety blank sermons, at least be creative and stick in a few unusual words nobody would ever expect

Comments

  1. Keetha Broyles8:01 AM

    I hear you loud and clear about this, Pastor Mark. I did have one thought though - - - while you are very bright and creative some other pastors are not. It seems to me that the really "obvious" blanks that I've seen were all the product of pastors who THOUGHT they had been quite creative and helpful in their creation.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous8:10 AM

    I use fill in the blank sermon outlines every Sunday. My people appreciate it, because they have something to take home afterwards. When they actually write it down, it helps them to focus on what is being said from the pulpit, and they are much likely to remember the truth that was spoken.

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  3. Anonymous8:40 AM

    I've long considered keeping a small journal for sermon notes...how much better than scribbling something I really want to remember on a bulletin, and then loosing it. Andi started doing this years ago--I'll bet her notes are full of gems!

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  4. Pastor Rod9:02 AM

    Rev. Ross,

    If you read the article Mark linked to, you might change your mind about how helpful this is. Learning theory demonstrates that these kinds of things actually prevent learning.

    God Bless,

    Rod

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous10:21 AM

    Obviously, many of you pastors("Fill in the Blank" Sermons) have never experienced a person teaching geometry (or other math) who can truly inspire you to learn concepts and help/lead you to use analytical reasoning to solve problems while actually enjoying the process. Perhaps you were taught to only memorize the necessary answers to fill in the blanks to get a passing grade. I fear we perhaps have many people impersonating math instructors that only know how to fill in the blanks themselves.

    A great pastor will do what is necessary to inspire, lead, encourage all his sheep to desire to learn more. Different sheep learn differently.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous10:57 AM

    We had a pastor who used these sermons. The problem is that after a few of these, the flock got the idea that the pastor was too lazy to come up with his own sermon. He was just downloading a quick sermon off of the internet.

    The powerpoint on the wall gave the answers and we left church feeling that it was a test that we were given and told the answers we should have come up with.

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  7. Anonymous11:13 AM

    The biggest mistake any pastor/teacher can make is to try and mimic someone else. A pastor/teacher needs to find his/her own style. This style might have to be modified depending on the church/class or any given day.

    What has to be evident is a love for each and every sheep/student and the willingness to give 110%.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous3:36 PM

    I love reading what all preachers have to say here. I don't have time to go to all there blogs. Many seniors share one computor at our facility. I like the sharing of thoughts and idea on your blog Pastor Mark. Old people like me has learned much over the years.

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  9. Josh Hilty3:48 PM

    As a pastor, I don't have time to come up with the blank outline anyway. My understanding is that God's Word was first heard and then repeated in most cases as many people weren't able to write. Though it is a challenge for most people to listen, I believe we must do whatever it takes to assist them in hearing and obeying the Word. If that means using or not using fill-in-the-blank outlines, do it.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous5:28 PM

    Amen Josh and Jamie

    Whatever it takes

    ReplyDelete

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