Are you ready? Good …
Honesty
There, I said it. Let’s be honest gentlemen and start things out in the seat of your local church. You know, the one you try to sit in every week. Maybe you are sitting there alone, maybe your arm is around your wife. Either way you are sitting there, listening to the pastor preach the message. This is where honesty comes in.
What are you doing sitting there? Daydreaming? Thinking about the big game later that day? These are very valid questions. The other question is, what is in your hands or what is your wife doing next to you? Writing?
Let me ask another question, “How good is your memory?” Why does this matter? If you really think about it, how much of the message actually makes it into your heart? How much you are paying attention to, is how much you are getting out of it. What do you do next? You grab a pen, a paper and start to write or in other words take notes. Why?
Think
I don’t know about you, but my memory is just not that good. It is a well-known fact that my wife’s memory is head over heels better then mine. I feel like I woke up one morning around the age of six … anyway.
Men, as a whole, we are not good enough to remember everything that is being preached. This is an average of course. Simple reviews through my own eyes, at my own church have proven this point. Judgments? No, it’s simply truth.
What is the main topic in the message on Sunday? Write it down. What are some of the questions the pastor or speaker is asking and answering? Write those down too. What quick one-liners could you pick up for your social media updates in the coming week? You guessed it, write it down.
You might be thinking, “This sounds too hard or too involved.” That’s right men; this is called a challenge, a call, a (insert Braveheart cry here). We must challenge ourselves in our walk with God.
Why? Think about the disciples. On numerous occasions, Jesus would challenge these men and make them think. Did they always get it? Did they always want to do it? The answer is no, but they overcame the doubt and were Jesus’ right hand men. Who are we? We are Jesus’ right hand men NOW. And it’s time we started acting like it!
Knowledge
Let’s be honest. No, better yet, lets think about this for a minute. What will all of this extra work give us? What will writing down notes in the sermon actually do for me? Glad you asked.
Writing down sermon notes at Church will increase your knowledge and understanding like never before. Don’t believe me? Try it. Your mind won’t be able to focus on the big game, your eyes won’t wander to the well dressed woman in front of you. You will be focused. You will be engaged. And you will be putting the information into your heart. You will become a better, no, stronger disciple for Christ.
Do I still have your attention? Good, because here is the ultimate test and challenge:
I asked you at the beginning if you were ready.
This is your week. Yes, I repeat that this is your week! What do I mean? This is your week to write the weekly devotional for the entire congregation. What? Trust me, I am not crazy. (for the most part). Yes, write the summary, the main idea, the main theme. In words better understood, give us the instant replay. Start learning, start building, start writing!
If you took the challenge, be sure to come back and share your experience with the Manturity community.
Why do you think every man should write or journal? Share below.
Manturity is a blog built on establishing spiritual maturity in today’s man. The goal is to assist men in building better marriages and help them in grow in maturity and explore different aspects of manhood. Manturity.com features new weekly blog posts, daily social media updates and a powerful resources page. Stay up to date with the Manturity blog communities on Facebook and Twitter.
For the original article, visit manturity.com.
Joseph Mattera 
BJ Foster 
Shelby Bowen 
