I’ve actually assembled more than ten things church members have told pastors immediately after they preached. But these are ten responses where pastors have had the most visceral reactions.
- “I am going to be late for lunch because you preached so long.”
- “You must not have had much time to prepare that sermon.”
- “My former pastor preached a much better sermon from that text.”
- “I wish {fill in the blank} would have heard that sermon.”
- “You act like you weren’t feeling well while you preached.”
- “I’m sorry I fell asleep while you were preaching. Your voice just puts me to sleep.”
- “Your subject/verb agreement was incorrect three times in your sermon.”
- “I wish you wouldn’t preach from the Old Testament.”
- “Let me tell you what you missed in your sermon.”
- “Are we ever going to be done with this sermon series?”
Pastors often take 10 to 20 hours to prepare a sermon. They pray for God to speak through them. They preach with conviction and fervency. And then they hear one of these sentences.
These ten responses are close approximations of what pastors have actually told me. I am sure there are many more. Let us hear what they are.
Posted on March 2, 2015
With nearly 40 years of ministry experience, Thom Rainer has spent a lifetime committed to the growth and health of local churches across North America.
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Alright, my favorite after my father filled in for me. “Your father is a great preacher. Someday, you will be too.”
Well, if someone is paying attention to that, it’s indicative that was probably the only issue that particular individual was paying attention to. Interestingly, people can be quite critical.
I would respond by saying, “Thank you for the correction. I try to be conscious about grammar in the pulpit, but when I’m caught up in the heat of delivery, I sometimes get careless.” W.A. Criswell was a stickler for grammar, but even he had that problem at times.
Well, it doesn’t mean just preach carelessly with respect to paying attention to some grammatical rules to make sure that you sound professional in some way. But, I would have a problem with somebody just paying attention to slight grammatical errors that are made as a result of improper subject verb agreement.
But, I believe that making major mistakes can be a problem at some extent. I remember a preacher who used to say “You is” all throughout a sermon. When you keep on making that kind of errors, you sound quite weird.
As I said, even W.A. Criswell made grammatical errors from time to time (he said so in one of his books), and he was a notorious stickler for grammar. My point was, even the most careful preachers sometimes make boo-boos when they’re caught up in the heat of delivery, so don’t let the criticism get to you.
I work as an interpreter at different churches, different denominations. From what I see, many sermons are far wordier than necessary, and needlessly redundant. A concise homily with the Eucharist is ideal; it’s Christ’s work that is central. Church is to get together with believers and reflect on this. This goes for protestant churches and Catholic churches.
I once asked my preaching professor in seminary about that. I had listened to tapes of my own sermons and noticed that I repeated myself quite a bit. He advised me to write my sermons out, and he was right. I don’t read my sermon from the manuscript, but writing out the sermon forces me to think about what I’m saying and it helps me avoid redundancies.
The things that are said after I preach don’t bother me near as much as the things that are said before I preach. For instance, I am on stage about to go to the pulpit and a lady in the choir leans over and in my ear said, “Pastor, the ferns on the stage need watering”! I got to the pulpit and the only thing I could think of was the fact that someone sitting in the audience may dye and go to hell and we are worried about ferns!
Dr. Rainer wrote another blog on that subject, but you’re right. It’s bad enough to hear such comments after a sermon, but hearing them just before you preach is ten times worse.
All people receive criticism of their work, or comments that they may find strange or not encouraging. It’s part of being a human being.
True Tina, and fair. Pastors sometimes don’t appreciate how difficult life is in most professions.
What makes this particularly painful is that the act of preaching is emotionally and physically draining. A comment a day later or in private might not sting so much, but comments right after delivery hit you at your most vulnerable point.
It can be incredibly disheartening. I hate it when that happens
in other professions too.
Let me address those people in other professions: what would you think if your pastor came to your workplace and stood over you while you did your job? Suppose he nitpicked every little thing he thought you were doing wrong? Worse yet, suppose he knew absolutely nothing about your job, and constantly remarked about how “easy” you have it? Wouldn’t you be just a little annoyed by that?
Many of us pastors here that sort of thing from laypeople constantly, and we find it annoying.
Correction: “Many of us pastors *hear* that sort of thing….”
Had a lady come out one Sunday and say, “Preacher, that was a good sermon. Did you come up with that all by yourself?” Lol, talk about a left-handed compliment.
As someone who appreciates her pastors and would like to encourage them, I wish someone would tell me what I SHOULD be saying. I have a pastor that I LOVE to hear preach, I get something out of his sermons every time he talks. ( And his sermon on Mercy was less than 10 words!) but if telling him that his sermons are enjoyable-and I’ll admit it’s not the exact word I want, but English is often not percise- what CAN I tell him to let him know that he’s done a LOT of good for me.
“I really enjoyed your preaching today”
Hmmm…. or worse… “I enjoy the preaching of Pastor X down the road…!!!”
My response to that thinking contained in this reflection : https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153055208491224&set=o.617309341691327&type=1
i once heard this “you hv a different way of boring people from xyz(xyz is another preacher)..(followed by an analysis of how different..))”
Wow this one actually startled me. You brought to mind a student from the University nearby who had been studying rhetorical technique excitedly running up to me after service and saying, “It was so cool, I was able to see right where you lost your focus.”
Happy to say he’s studying to be a pastor now. The old Adam in me would love to critique one of his sermons.
Did you know that when you move your hands while preaching you hit the lapel microphone that is clipped to your gown?
As a pastor, I often have well-intentioned people coming up to me before and after sermons with new ideas for ministries or things “we” should be doing. My response, before they finish this all too familiar speech, is what I can do to equip you to lead those ministries and when would you like to start? Their response is all to familiar….well pastor, I was meaning you need to do this or that. My followup response, I would rather do five things well and for the Glory of God than to do ten things subpar, so if you think this is a ministry that is needed, I will need your help in starting and leading out. Those responses usually either lead them to take on the specific ministry or back down from the complaint.
Also, I have those that desire to complain about trivial matters that are meant to distract from the main purpose of being there.
As a pastor I do get those that tell me “good job” today and that really spoke to me and my silent response is then where is the evidence of life change. I often think people say “good job” as in “thank you” and mean it as encouragement, when I would rather know when they actually are experiencing real life change rather than the “good job.”
I’ve dealt with that same issue many, many times. At my last church I had numerous people who would say, “Don’t you think we oughta…?” When I would ask them what they wanted to do, the usual response would be, “Well, I can’t do it myself, but somebody needs to!” What they really meant was, “I think you oughta….” Ironically, some of these people left the church because “their needs weren’t being met”. It’s truly a sad testimony to American Christianity. I shudder to think what will happen if Christians were to face some real persecution in this country.
As a Youth Minister, I fill the pulpit at times. I’ve heard several.
“That was a good job for an uneducated minister.” (I have not attended seminary)
Or
“No offense but…”
But my favorite is,
“I bet the youth understood that sermon more than the rest of us.”
Writing these reminds me of how much they hurt when I heard them. Still stings.
Remember that your validation and leadership comes from God alone. As a former youth pastor for ten years before entering the pastorate, remember who you are speaking for and mentally dial down the static noise of those complainers around you. People are comfortable in their sin and do not desire for you nor I to tell them where God desires for them to change. I would guess that you struck a nerve with them because they do not desire to change. The best way to thwart this in the future is to remember who you serve and your calling, regardless of your education level. Remember not all of the biblical writers, prophets, etc. had a degree, but they did have a willing and obedient heart to follow God no matter the cost. I pray that you find encouragement, peace, healing, and shelter in the arms of God. In the end, He is the one who matters and His voice is all that counts….