It May Be Time for a Pastor to Resign If...

...the treasurer is related to the head trustee who is related to the custodian who is related to the board vice-chairperson who is related to the assistant pastor.
...the pianist and organist debate the right key for "Old Time Religion" during the worship service.
...the board members leave the sanctuary when you stand up to preach your sermon.
...weekly offerings triple when you're on vacation.
...your administrative assistant vetoes your bulletin announcements.
...only one member showed up for the "all-church" outreach event but everyone came to the potluck hymn sing.
...even the newborn babies in the church don't seem cute to you anymore.
...several fist fights broke out during the Communion service and the lay care leader sucker punched the pastor at the prayer meeting.
...your house gets egged and TPed (toilet papers) weekly during Pastor Appreciation Month.
...and only if God releases and calls you to another place of ministry.

Preaching What Ifs...

-What if sermon preparation was more like a spiritual discipline than a rhetorical task?

-What if the preaching event began to feel more like an experiential encounter with God than an informative lecture?

-What if the sermon could be, like Christ, "full of grace and truth" (Jn.1:14)?

-What if preachers became more concerned with being captured by the text than mastering the text?

-What if the sermon preparation process was as holy as the sermon content?

-What if preachers spent as much time exegeting the congregational context as we spend exegeting the biblical text?

-What if preachers learned to vary their sermonic forms to align with the sermon goal and listener needs instead of forcing every single sermon into a point by point propositional box?

-What if preachers learned to communicate as one among and not one above the people?

-What if God through the biblical text really had the lead in the homiletic dance with the preacher?

-What if preachers became less concerned with what people think of us and more concerned with what people think of God?

-What if preaching was driven more by compassion and less by ego?

-What if preachers stopped imitating the delivery style of others and invited the Word of God to be incarnated through our unique, God-designed "voice"?

-What if preaching was less about instructing Christians and more about liberating captives?

-What if preaching began to transform people who transform their community?

-What if preaching the word was joined again with feasting at the table of Communion in the context of worship?

-What if preachers were as theologically reflective as we are rhetorically consumed?

-What if preachers developed a deep reliance upon the Holy Spirit like we had when we preached our first sermon?

-What if the words of preachers painted inescapable, unforgettable, and compelling pictures of God's kingdom in the hearts of people?

-What if preaching was so brutally honest about the bad news that people craved the good news?   

-What preaching "what if" would you add??? 

Sermon Feedback Form

Content (Logos- What did the sermon say about God and the Gospel?)

• Theology: What did the sermon say about God- Father, Son, or Holy Spirit?


• Gospel: Describe whether or not the sermon captured the essence of the Gospel by dealing with both the problem of human sin and the grace of the divine Son?


• Expository: Could you see clearly how the sermon flowed from the biblical text? Explain.


• Structure: Explain whether or not the structure of the sermon had focus and flow.


• Clarity: In one complete sentence, write the focus of the sermon:


• On a scale of 1(low) to 10 (high) rate the logos of the sermon: _______


Connection (Pathos- How well did the sermon connect with the context?)

• Images: Did any illustrations, stories, or metaphors from the sermon connect with you at a significant emotional level? If so, which ones and how did they appeal to your emotions?


• Relevance: Did the sermon connect with the situations of your life in a relevant manner? If so, how?


• Application: Did you come away from the sermon with a clear sense of why and how to live into the Gospel reality it proclaimed? Explain.


• Passion: Do you think the preacher spoke with passionate conviction? If so, why?


• On a scale of 1(low) to 10 (high) rate the pathos of the sermon: _______


Character (Ethos- Was the preacher congruent with the Gospel? )

• Competence: Do you think the preacher was spiritually and mentally prepared for the preaching event? Why or why not?


• Authenticity: Did the preacher communicate in a manner that was genuinely congruent with her/his personality? Explain.


• Delivery: Did the preacher’s eyes, body, and voice help or hinder your receptivity to the sermon? Explain.


• Love: How did the preacher, through the sermon, evidence love for God and for people?


• On a scale of 1(low) to 10 (high) rate the ethos of the sermon: _______


Words to the Preacher:




© 2010
Lenny Luchetti
Permission is granted to copy and use