[397 words]
On my desk sits one of the most important pieces of technology in my education: a 1963 Remington Standard typewriter. It is the same one my mentor had through his 60 years of ministry, and its keys produced every sermon he preached. Each sermon was carefully typed onto four-by-six notecards, front and back, then marked with a deliberate color-coded system of highlighting and underlining.
His method combined ingenuity with precision. He first wrote the sermon on an eight-and-a-half-by-fourteen legal pad. A side of the legal sheet contained thirty-five lines, and a side of the notecard could likewise hold thirty-five typed lines. That correspondence allowed him to transfer his material accurately, filling each card without guessing where a thought should end or how much space remained. What a carefully engineered preaching system!
The cards were then stored by topic in a metal cassette-style four-by-six media drawer, each filed by sermon number. A larger index binder served as the catalog. Under Bible Characters, for example, he could find a sermon he preached on Nicodemus in 1968, from John 3:1–16, titled “He Came by Night,” with the designation “BC 216.” He then looked behind the “BC” divider, scanned to card set 216, and retrieved the sermon. Decades before searchable documents and cloud storage, he had built a dependable personal database.
His method taught me that limitations can strengthen communication. The small card forced him to weigh every sentence. Little room remained for wandering, repetition, or clutter. Technology served the sermon by imposing discipline upon him. Preparation was marked by patient thought, careful arrangement, and precise expression. His wisdom appeared not only in what he said from the pulpit, but also in the unseen structure that helped him say it clearly.
He also taught me that faithful ministry remembers. By numbering, indexing, and preserving his work, he could revisit insights without becoming trapped in them. His sermon system represented stewardship: make the message clear, organize what God has taught you, and leave behind tools that can continue teaching another generation. I’m thankful for that visible reminder of his typewriter, but also for the numerous sermons I had made copies of. Even more so, I am grateful for his spiritual leadership in teaching the Bible’s plain, simple truth. As Paul wrote to the Romans, “Therefore in Christ Jesus I have reason for boasting in things pertaining to God” (15:16).
Jake Schotter
Bolivar church of Christ
Bolivar, TN