Giving youth pastors the tools they need to make and shape disciples.

The One Question Young Preachers Need To Stop Asking

9 · 03 · 23

Sermons, like movies, books, etc. are a subjective art form. After I would preach I’d want to know, “How was that? Any good?” What you’re really asking, “how was my presentation of the sermon?” This is an honest question, great for self-reflection but bad for your ego.

The answer to, “Was it any good?” depends who you ask. If you ask a 14 year old, they may tell you it was great but, compared to who? You may be the only person they’ve heard preach.

If you ask your spouse, “How was it?” You may get a biased opinion because they don’t want to hurt your feeling or you may get more critique than you bargain for.

A sermon, like a book or movie, is not for everyone. A movie is made with an audience in mind (18-24 year olds). A book is written with a certain audience in mind (people who read the Wall Street Journal or watch Fox News).

Your sermon has a built in audience, 14-18 year olds. You are designing a message they can understand, can identify with and may find mildly entertaining.

Your sermon, your presentation, is not for everyone. The gospel, yes, is for everyone but your sermon, is not. Sermons, as with any speech or presentation, are burdened with the presenter. You are the mode of transportation for God idea’s for good or for ill and everyone will have an opinion about how well YOU did, so stop asking.

The real questions is not “How did I do?” but “How to do I get better?” and you should really only ask that of those who can help you get better. You should follow that up that question with, “Better for who?” and “Better for why?”. Ultimately, better will come with time and practice.

So, stop asking everyone if your sermon was good and just present it, from your heart, and see who it resonates with and then decide, in your heart, “How can I get better?”

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