The Edge Blog

He went on to explain to me that if the note-taking ended with me, then their value for the Kingdom was severely limited. "The reason you take notes and listen intently to a sermon," he said, "Is so that you can re-teach those biblical principles to someone else. It's a discipling tool. Those notes are not primarily for you."

That thought was brand new to me--and as the truth of that statement began to sink in, I nodded my head while at the same time my stomach knotted. I looked down at my Bible, and like most regulars at my church, scattered between its pages, and tucked in the front and back covers, were several--actually dozens--of sermon note pages that I had dutifully filled out, wrote feverishly on, and had used in my own personal study and time with God. I began to think, "Have I ever stopped and shared any of this information with my friends, my family--anyone?"

Well, sure, in the context of living out what I had learned. But honestly I just had not taken those messages and thought of them as a discipling tool--beyond myself, that is. The sermons I heard were great tools in my own personal spiritual growth, but I had not used them with intention to grow those whom I discipled.

What would happen if we encouraged those who were listening to our preaching to not just fill in the blanks and underline Scripture references? Instead, what we we taught them to view the sermon time not as a time of consumption of teaching, but of training to disciple? Those notes, and our listening, would then take on a completely different flavor, as our attention was finely tuned to a word from God that we had to not only internalize, but understand in such a way as to be able to pass it on to someone else.

That's just what I have begun doing with my own listening and note-taking when I receiving preaching. Often, the preaching is not geared to this thinking. And so it my encouragement to fellow teachers to look at their preaching not only as opportunities to share important teaching with their congregations, but to also train their congregations in discipling others.

Only minor adjustments in most cases are necessary. Look for opportunities in your sermon planning to infuse your messages with key statements that encourage re-teaching. "When you share this point with your neighbor or co-worker..." or "This is a great point to pass along to your friends when they ask questions about your faith..." are the kinds of statements that help a congregation understand that their listening has purpose beyond their own lives. Additionally, be diligent in your personal and staff communications to encourage passing along biblical teaching.

Finally, think not only of your message application with respect to those listening to the sermon, but those beyond the room. Is the application re-teachable?  Can the listener involve others or be accountable to others as they live out what God's Word commands? From your message, can they easily re-communicate the key points and application to others?

This kind of sermon planning and preparation can be more challenging, but its reward can be multiplied may fold. Just think about the many listeners to your messages, who, like me, carry those notes home and keep them tucked in the covers of their Bibles. How much more effective would they be if we encouraged them to pull them out and pass them on, regularly and readily, to others?