Confession #3

It's been a while since I've done this, but I have a confession. (For the previous two posts, you can look here and here.)

I don't take sermon notes.

I think about this topic every once in a while when I notice someone sitting near me in church scrawling copious notes as the preacher gives the sermon. And I have to wonder, especially in churches with an inordinate amount of note-takers, if everyone else sees me just sitting there listening and thinks maybe I'm not very holy. There is, after all, an entire section in many bulletins nowadays with space for jotting down memorable bits from the sermon. Some churches even have handy fill-in-the-blank outlines to work through as you hear the sermon.

But I'm at peace with my decision.

I've tried to take notes once or twice. The church bulletin with the notes ends up either stuck into my Bible or laying on the floorboard of the car, never to be looked at again. Eventually it will just end up in a trashcan somewhere. Honestly, I just never look at the sermon notes again.

And then I wonder if anybody who practices sermon note-taking really reviews their notes later in the week. Or ever again.

I like to think I'm being green by not taking notes in my bulletin. Then my bulletin can be reused during the next service - good as new!

But then again, maybe I'm really just spiritually lazy. I often do have something to say about the sermon to my husband in the car on the way home, so I really do listen. Although, I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that sometimes the only thing I can remember is that when the pastor said he's using the new catch phrase 2010. All in. "because it rhymes", I thought, "It really only rhymes if you're from the South."

I probably should have been taking some notes last Sunday.