From my article this month at Pastors Today:
Pastors need feedback in order to improve their sermons. But helpful feedback on your sermon is hard to come by.
To fill this need for brutally honest, educated, and constructive feedback, I suggest you start a mid-week sermon feedback meeting.
Every Wednesday several of us on the ministry staff at my church meet in our lead pastor’s office for what we call “Scripture and Sermon”. We spend the first 15 minutes reviewing last Sunday’s sermon: what was strong, what was unclear, where it could have been improved, etc. Over the next 30-45 minutes we dig into the upcoming sermon text together. Question like, “What does the text mean?” “How does the structure lend itself to a sermon outline?” “What is especially pertinent to our context?” “What needs to be illustrated?” guide our conversation.
In my experience, nothing has helped my sermons improve more than this weekly meeting. And I don’t even preach every week.
If you’re a lead or senior pastor, you may be thinking, “Why would I want to subject myself to the criticism of people who are less skilled and less experienced preachers than me?” I’m glad you asked. Here are four reasons.
Read the rest here.
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posted by Tony Seel at 9:47 AM
