Editorial

Was your sermon a success?

How can you know whether your sermons are effective ?

Kenneth R. Wade, ministerial secretary, Southeast Asia Union Mission, Singapore, and former associate editor of Ministry.

I really enjoyed your sermon today, Pastor."

How many times have you heard that?

And how many times have you been tempted to say "But sister, it wasn't intended to be enjoyed! Actually, I had hoped it would make you a bit uncomfortable!"

How can you know whether your sermons are effective?

I used to think that the level of the audience's response during the sermon was a good indicator of how effective my preaching was. But responsiveness is culturally conditioned. Recently I spoke to a group that customarily responds with loud amens and other expressions to en courage the preacher. The night before I preached, this group had been worked to a fever pitch by an evangelist who knew how to push all the right buttons. But I preached a sermon that called for a different type of response. I must admit to being a bit troubled as I preached, because the amens were sparse and less enthusiastic. But in the end the silence and meditative spirit that enveloped the congregation told me that the message had hit home.

As a beginning preacher I tried passing out a sermon reaction form to find out how I was doing. But a local elder warned me that using such an instrument might tempt me to "play to the galleries" and "prophesy smooth things," so I quit using it.

Actually there was another factor that influenced my decision to abandon the plan: people's honesty. It was a bit un nerving to find out what they really thought of my sermons.

Few preachers have the courage to use sermon reaction forms consistently. And for good reason.

To you, the preacher, every sermon you utter is loaded with emotional baggage. After you have labored with the idea, searched for appropriate illustrations, prayed for spiritual blessing, and struggled for just the right words, you have a strong attachment to the finished product.

During and after delivery, the sermon is your baby—your own child. And although you may wish it had come across better, or may wish that it had been a bit more polished, it is still your child. The offspring of the Holy Spirit's seed implanted in your mind.

To the people in the congregation, though, this sermon is just one child among many. They do not judge it on the basis of its lineage or upbringing, but by comparing it to all the other sermons they have ever heard. They respond to its pathos and motivation, not on the basis of how much it moved the preacher, but in the context of their own wants, needs, and inhibitions, and how sleepy they felt.

It took me only a few months of father hood to discover that not everyone thought my child's antics were cute. People without emotional attachment to a child often find its behavior more irritating than amusing. The same can be true of sermons.

But a person responding on a sermon analysis form may not realize that his or her detached, practical analysis strikes the preacher just as hard as criticism of a family member. And respondents who do realize this will likely be less than can did in their critiques.

So using a sermon reaction form can be discouraging. And just accepting people's canned congratulatory cliches at the door is hardly helpful.

How, then, can you know whether your sermon is successful?

Most books on preaching deal almost exclusively with techniques for sermon preparation and presentation, with little concern for finding out whether the sermon really was effective. But recently I read the chapter titled "Listeners in the Church" in Persuasive Preaching Today, by Ralph L. Lewis (Wilmore, Ky: Asbury Theological Seminary, 1979). After pointing out that "it takes two to make a speech—a speaker and a listener," Dr. Lewis lists and describes keys to help a sermon communicate. Under the heading "Rapport or Common Ground," he calls for audience awareness, audience analysis, and audience adaptation. Then he gives specific pointers for disarming the listeners' natural distrust of the speaker and for gaining rapport and acceptance. He also points out the importance of being on common ground with the listeners—of knowing what their needs are and being able to speak in phraseology that is familiar to them.

Perhaps the best way to routinely check up on your success as a preacher is to have a personal checklist, based on an authoritative source such as Lewis's book, against which to analyze each sermon.

To find out whether your analysis is correct, try a slight variation on the sermon reaction form. Try handing out brief reaction forms, using only one or two criteria per week, that ask listeners to respond to your effectiveness. You may need to take some time to explain the meaning of the criteria listed, but once your listeners understand what is expected, they will find it easier to fill out these brief forms than to do the in-depth analysis required by longer forms. So you will probably receive a higher percentage of responses.

And the responses will be easier on you as well. This method may take a little longer to reveal whether or not you are really communicating. But over the course of several weeks you will no doubt pick up a pattern of weaknesses and strengths, and recognizing these will help you to grow into a more effective preacher.


Ministry reserves the right to approve, disapprove, and delete comments at our discretion and will not be able to respond to inquiries about these comments. Please ensure that your words are respectful, courteous, and relevant.

comments powered by Disqus

Kenneth R. Wade, ministerial secretary, Southeast Asia Union Mission, Singapore, and former associate editor of Ministry.

January 1990

Download PDF
Ministry Cover

More Articles In This Issue

An open letter to our world church

Is the promise of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit's power in the latter rain for sometime in the future or is it meant for us today?

The minister as a human being

Recognizing our humanness warns us of temptation, reveals our potential, frees us from the guilt that unrealistic expectations bring, and uncovers the ground that motivates and enables our mission.

Small town, small church

When you accommodate your needs, you can make small-town small-church ministry a satisfying, growth-enhancing experience.

Organize a Spirit-filled ladies' prayer group

A pastor's wife can minister to the needs of the women in the congregation in ways her husband cannot.

Serving the Servant

Why do so many pastors want to be called Doctor?

Slanting the truth

Our reports may be factual but slanted and even misleading.

View All Issue Contents

Digital delivery

If you're a print subscriber, we'll complement your print copy of Ministry with an electronic version.

Sign up
Advertisement - RevivalandReformation 300x250

Recent issues

See All