Retention is Important
- Larry Kutzler
- Nov 12, 2025
- 3 min read
I have something that has bugged me for a long time, and I want to talk about it. However, before I jump into it, here is a prelude to my theme today.
For years, my daughter has told me that I have ADHD. I will admit that I have one symptom of this diagnosis … I need to put everything on a flat surface, or I will not remember that I have it or need it. Put it away in a drawer, it’s lost forever. However, when everything is exposed in the open, (flat surface) I have perfect memory. Recently, I realized why I like to underline and put notes alongside Verses … it is my flat surface. I see it clearly and I know where to look for it when I need it. I also take notes on sermons, again it’s my flat surface. We’re told we retain 10% of what we read, and lose 95% of what we hear … all because we ignore the flat surface. Flat surfaces are useful. ~Larry Kutzer, Facebook Post
My Beef
If you look at the second to the last sentence you will notice these words, “We’re told we retain 10% of what we read, and lose 95% of what we hear … all because we ignore the flat surface.” If this is true, we spend a lot of time reading and listening and not much is time processing through retention. Flat surfaces of course, was my way to illustrate how I remember where I put things. When you spend an hour or more in Church, and listen to a sermon on a theme, which the pastor took hours to study, and when you are asked a few days later what did you hear in Church … you can’t remember. How does that honor God?
If I can be blunt … for those who don’t remember what the sermon was about, are shortchanging themselves to know truth and how to apply it. Some pastors are lazy, I get that, but most spend a great deal of time researching, studying, and praying, so God can speak through them to a congregation. What would happen if Moses decided to read the Ten Commandments just once and then put them in storage. Who would remember them if they only heard once? Well, 95% will have forgotten what they heard in a week’s time. It is important to process, retain, and study what is said. If we are to take the truth seriously, then we must make the truth we hear on Sunday a priority to remember.
What’s the Bottom Line?
Don’t waste your time just listening, you will not remember it in a week’s time, even if you have a good memory. Take notes, they don’t have to be in detail, but bulletin points work just fine. Capture the ideas, the Scriptures, and the application. Once you have them on paper, process them, study them, and pray that the Holy Spirit will bring it to your remembrance when needed. The conclusion will lead you to become a better-informed person about Scripture, and you are giving the Holy Spirit a foundation to work with in your life.
Challenging the Culture with Truth … Larry Kutzler