(Growing up, I was a sermon note doodler. I wasn’t as good as the winner of our “bulletin bored” contest, but I had some skills. I’d draw on additions to the illustration of the church building, fill in all the “O’s” and occasionally add mustaches if anyone’s photo was in the bulletin. Thick, handsome, Godly mustaches. Now that I’m grown up, I don’t do that. Or I do it a lot less often. But it turns out I’m not the only one with a weird approach to sermon notes. In today’s great guest post, Robert Campbell points out 4 other types of folks you’ll encounter when it comes to sermon notes. Enjoy! )
Corporate Sermon Note Turning
There is a moment in every sermon when you reach the end of the page of sermon notes and everyone turns the page in ‘mostly’ corporate unison. I call it Corporate Sermon Note Turning. This simple act of paper flipping & swishing through the air often has a even greater success rate than clapping together during a worship song. We’re all on the same page, literally. Whether we’re flipping through the bulletin to find the notes or actually going to page two of a multi-page sermon, we’re all in this together!
After months of studying this phenomenon, I’ve discovered 4 approaches you might find in your church:
1. The Alpha Page Turner
When it comes to sermon note turning, the Alpha Page Turner dominates. They have to be the leader in everything they do. The Pastor can barely get the last syllable started before this person has furiously filled in the blank & sent cellulose flying. We’re talkin NASCAR pit crew kind of speed here. They take it so seriously they pre-lick their fingers for better grip when it comes time for a rapid fire page flip.
2. The Conscientious Objector
Somewhere along the way of modern church history, a pastor heard that people retain 50% more information if they write it down and the age of “Fill in the Blank Sermon Notes” was born. But your Conscientious Objector begs to differ. Don’t worry about me, my mind is like a steel trap. To write it down, would be redundant, it’s all in here.
3. The Mad Libber
This person takes Sermon Notes to a whole other dimension by ignoring the contents of the notes entirely and instead, they fill the blanks in with random Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives, Biblical Figures, Quotes from Psalms, etc. Once the last blank is complete, they read the notes from start to finish. The Mad Libber is easy to identify by their snorting & giggling during the sermon. Unfortunately, they don’t really contribute anything to the unified sermon note turning experience since they turn pages entirely out of rhythm with the rest of the congregation.
4. The Unfashionably Late
This one is easy to spot. Just wait for the joyful noise of the Corporate Sermon Note Turning to diminish to a faint echo. The Unfashionably Late will suddenly realize they’ve missed the boat and start scrambling to get blanks filled & paper turned. You might also hear them ask a pew neighbor, “Hey, what was the answer for number 3?”
Have you ever experienced corporate sermon note turning? Does your church use sermon notes? Do you follow along?
