As you know, I’m a strong advocate for getting feedback from members of the congregation before preaching a Sunday sermon. A key way to preach Bible sermons that uniquely relate to the congregation is to seek input as you move from sermon ideas to sermon outline, to the finished Sunday sermon. However, I would never ask for the input of others until I had first come up with the answer to the four questions regarding a sermon’s subject, response, how-to, and how-long. The answers to those critical four questions will help your feedback group get a fast overview regarding the direction of your message without having to listen to an entire sermon being preached ahead of time.
It’s true, some may feel the how-to isn’t adequate or even that the subject is not all that relevant. That’s the beauty of soliciting feedback: you can still make adjustments. In contrast, people won’t feel nearly as open to giving their honest input if they perceive that what you have shared is a final product.
But, what happens if you ask people for their input when you can’t yet say what the subject, response, how-to and how-long are? My personal experience tells me that this is a recipe for disaster. The group will go in all different directions and you will end up wasting everyone’s time, including your own.
I’m not saying you can’t have an evening set aside to brainstorm possible sermon topics. But that’s a different matter. If you announce a brainstorming time for sermon topics, people will come prepared to do just that. They will come ready to share in a very general way those topics that appeal to them. However, when they come anticipating working on a single sermon and a service for say the Sunday a week and a half away, that’s what they will arrive expecting to work on. And, for you not to set a clear direction from the start will only frustrate them.
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For more information on how to create better Bible Sermons and how to turn Sermon Ideas into effective, meaningful Sunday Sermons, please click here to visit David Mains’ website.
