Notes

Last Sunday in church, as the preacher began his sermon, he stopped short and started singling people out in the congregation. Pointing to them, saying things like, "You, I can see you! You, hiding behind the pole...you can't hide!"

The people he was pointing out? People he could tell weren't taking notes. As if shaming people into doing some pseudo-spiritual act wasn't enough, he went on to say, "You'll remember it better if you take notes. Can you imagine taking a class in school and not taking notes? You'd never remember anything."

A fair point, for a seminarian. But for a sermon listener? Yuck. The whole thing made me want to stand up and shout, "THIS is what's wrong with sermons!"

Because school is about a transfer of knowledge. You need to know how to multiply fractions and that Abraham Lincoln was assassinated and that leaves are green because of the chloroform. (And yes, I realize all my examples are things you learn in elementary school. Apparently I didn't take good enough notes in high school and college.) It makes sense that you need to write down things that are about knowledge.

But sermons shouldn't be about a transfer of knowledge. If all I've walked away with on a Sunday morning is a handful of Bible facts to file away in some binder and never review again (because let's be honest, the only reason you looked at your school notes were to study for a test) ...I've wasted my time. But if I walk away loving God a little more, sensing the Spirit's presence in my life a little more, challenged to do something practical to be a little more like Jesus...then I've been transformed. And that's what should happen in church. Gradually, slowly, church facilitates the process of refining that God is working on in our life.

I'm not saying there's no room for learning about the Bible. Too many Christians don't know enough about why they believe. But knowledge for knowledge sake, when it comes to Christianity, is worthless. Knowledge that leads to transformation? Priceless. And if you're really being transformed, you'll remember it without filling in the blanks on a sermon outline.