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How to Criticize Your Pastor’s Preaching

5. Be careful.

It’s dangerous to sit under the ministry of God’s Word with a critical ear. If you don’t watch your heart, you will impoverish your soul.

Look for defects in the sermon and you’ll always find them.

But don’t develop a critic’s mindset. Instead, come to worship with eyes peeled and ears perked for the Word of the living God.

For Preachers:

1. Take your critics seriously.

Almost every criticism contains a germ of truth. Your job is to find it.

Maybe you weren’t clear enough.

Perhaps the sermon really was too long, or had too much content, or was over people’s heads.

Spurgeon once reminded his students that the Lord commissioned Peter to feed his sheep, not giraffes.

Whatever the critique, give it some thought. You will learn something.

2. Don’t take yourself too seriously.

Keep up a healthy sense of humor.

If you really mess up and someone tells you, relax. You’ll get another chance next Sunday.

3. Process criticism with others.

None of us is objective when it comes to our own sermons.

By ourselves, we’re likely to mishandle criticism. We’ll dismiss it too lightly, or take it too hard, or become too defensive, or latch onto the wrong thing.

But if your elder board is also your sounding board, you’ll be more likely to hear what you should and respond with humility and wisdom.