Contrast between Mark Driscoll’s and Mark Dever’s Preaching notes
Josh Harris has done a series on the preaching notes of some very well known preachers today. He provides a brief bio on each preacher and then an actual sample of the notes each preacher carries into the pulpit. The preachers in the series are Mark Dever, Mike Bullimore, C. J. Mahaney, Ray Ortlund, Jr., Tim Keller, Mark Driscoll, and Joshua Harris.
The preachers, whose notes are the most different, are Mark Dever and Mark Driscoll. Go to JOSHHARRIS.COM to view the PDF of these notes.
Mark Dever’s notes are manuscripts: Word for word typed sermons. He underlines the first word of every sentence in the manuscript so he can look down easily and find his place. The sermon notes for the Harris series by Dever is an eleven page sermon entitled “Crushed for Our Iniquities” on Isaiah 52:13-53:12 which Mark preached in a series on the atonement. Mark Dever is pastor of Capital City Baptist Church in Washington, D. C. where he preaches expository sermons which in his words means “that the point of the text becomes the point of the sermon.
Of course Mark Driscoll’s style is going to be unconventional. Mark Driscoll’s notes are two sticky notes on the page of Scripture he is preaching from. The two sticky notes have a few sentences scribbled on them, half of which he actually used in the sermon. Driscoll’s sermon is from John 17, Christ’s High Priestly Prayer. His jokes, illustrations, and cross references come to him as he is preaching. Harris asks all of his readers to say out loud, “I am not Mark Driscoll.”
You can also hear their sermons preached from Harris’ post. I had a homiletic teacher once tell us in class: My purpose is not to change your style but to improve your style. As you read these sermons notes and hear them preached, we must remember to be our best for our Master who created us, called us, and uniquely equipped us to preach.
