A Moderate Argument for Paper Bulletins

For many, the idea of paper bulletins in church is archaic. Might as well get a landline and a beeper to complete the whole set. Yet the mediums we choose can shape our worship in subtle ways. Here are six reasons paper bulletins, while far from essential, are useful in corporate worship.

Greater Focus and Clarity

It’s been well-documented that reading something on a page rather than a screen encourages clarity of thought and greater comprehension.[1] When we hold a book (or bulletin) in our hands, it engages more of the senses and helps us remember what we read or sing. Screens also tend to work against attentiveness in worship.[2] Rather than richly drinking in the theology we’re singing, we’re distracted because we’re waiting for the next slide to change.

Sinclair Ferguson in his introduction to Reformation Worship writes about the effects of singing lyrics on a screen: “The young Christian sees only one verse of the hymn or song on the screen; the flow of the whole is lost; he, or she, does not know whether a psalm, a hymn, or a spiritual song is being sung.”[3]

Reading lyrics on a page helps us grasp what kind of song we’re singing and enables us to meditate on lyrics after the slides move on. We can also look back at lyrics we sang previously to see connections the writer is making.

Less Work on Sunday Morning

Printing bulletins costs money and time during the week. Someone must format them (though that can be streamlined by collecting files and templates). Someone must pay to print them. But once printed, bulletins cut down the number of volunteers serving on Sunday morning. It’s nice to need one less person working A/V with the significant demand for volunteers that is common in churches.

Less Opportunity for Distraction

Murphy’s law states that what can go wrong will go wrong. Of course, as Christians we believe in God’s sovereignty, but we also believe in the demonic activity that seeks to thwart every attempt to glorify God and spread the gospel. Computers freeze, slides disappear, projectors overheat, slide operators get distracted, but bulletins will stand forever.

Okay, maybe not forever, but there’s not much that can go wrong with bulletins once they’ve been printed and handed out. In our church, we use PowerPoint slides and bulletins, and multiple times, the slides stopped working, and the bulletins saved the day.

Usefulness Throughout the Week

Bulletins can be taken home and used throughout the week in family worship or simply to revisit a song, creed, or reading from the service. This also helps the congregation become more familiar with new songs being introduced in worship.

Helpful for Visitors

Many visitors walk through the doors of a church and feel out of place, confused, or anxious about committing a cultural misstep. A bulletin with the order of service lets them know what is coming. Bulletins can also include small explanatory notes about certain songs or elements of worship that may be confusing to visitors or non-Christians. Finally, a bulletin is a natural place for logistical information like childcare and restroom locations, pastors’ contact information, and so on.

Harmonies

The best bulletins contain both lyrics and the accompanying music. This latter addition fills out the singing with harmonies that enrich our music and emphasizes the congregation’s voice as the main instrument in corporate worship.

Conclusion

Using PowerPoint slides on Sunday morning is certainly not evidence of a lack of thoughtfulness or piety. The meager goal of this short article is to point to the particular benefits of printed bulletins. They have several advantages that may enhance our worship of God in subtle but important ways.

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[1] Andy Crouch, The Tech-Wise Family: Everyday Steps for Putting Technology in Its Proper Place (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books, 2017). 125.

[2] Nicholas Carr, The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains (New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2010). 104.

[3] Jonathan Gibson and Mark Earngey, Reformation Worship: Liturgies from the Past for the Present, 1 edition (Greensboro, NC: New Growth Press, 2018). Xviii.