Reasons for Not Evaluating a Sermon

Preaching is serious business. So is listening to a sermon. For those of us who take preaching seriously as it should be taken, there is sometimes the desire to evaluate the sermon. Sermon evaluation is not necessarily a bad thing. There are indeed good reasons and ways to do so. I do believe that a preacher must always be striving toward improving his preaching. It is a good thing to read books and blogs; and have conversations with fellow preachers on the task of preaching. However, in this post, I would like to give some reasons to not evaluate the sermon itself. At the outset I must note that the type of preaching I am speaking of is doctrinally sound, expository preaching. If someone is not faithfully preaching the Word, they should be evaluated and confronted appropriately. But for those who are faithful…

1. A sermon is not a speech to be critiqued, but a message to be experienced.

Preaching a sermon is quite a different thing than any other sort of public speaking. Therefore, to evaluate a sermon by the same parameters as you would a political speech, for example, is inappropriate. There is a special power in preaching the Word of God that it is not present in other type of public speaking. In the preached Word, the Holy Spirit is present, applying the message to the hearts of believers. In this, the work of the Holy Spirit is not something that can so much be evaluated. It is possible that over-evaluating, over-structuring, and over-regulating could hinder the work of the Spirit. This is not something we want to do. Without the Holy Spirit putting into effect the preached Word, our efforts are futile.

2. A sermon is less about the delivery, and primarily about the content.

This is not to say that it is not at all about the delivery. Nor is this to say that preachers shouldn’t work on the art of delivery. This is more to say that the listener should not spend his time critiquing the delivery of the sermon. It is possible to give too much attention to the delivery, and miss the message and the work of the Spirit. The Spirit can work in the poorest of deliveries, so long as the content preached is the Word of God.

3. A good preacher is defined primarily by his faithfulness to the Word of God.

Someone who is the most skilled of public speakers, yet does not preach the Word, is not a good preacher. Someone else who may stutter, yet is faithful to preach the Word, is a far better preacher. Essentially, it’s not less about being “good” or “bad”, and more about being faithful. There, the Holy Spirit can work.

 

Possible Consequences of Sermon Evaluation

1. If we over-worry ourselves with evaluating our sermons, as preachers, our preaching could easily become an idol.

It is hard enough not to fall into the temptation of wanting to preach our “best sermon ever.” If that becomes our goal, it is a wrong pursuit. Let our goal be faithfulness.

2. We could begin to view the sermon as a product or service.

This goes for the preacher and the hearer. The preached Word is not a product or a service that is to be offered. Our aim should not be to offer the most well-polished product or service in town. Again, this is not to say that preachers shouldn’t strive to preach well. This is a reminder that the sermon is a proclamation directly from the God of heaven.

 

Let us be faithful. And let us at least consider these things before we evaluate another sermon.