My students and I have gradually developed the following system that seems to encourage open dialogue between the preacher and her or his listeners.
After hearing the sermon, gather the listeners into a circle with the preacher and name someone as a group leader (not the preacher) to direct the conversation.
Name another person (not the preacher) to take notes of the conversation.
The preacher must remain quiet and listen during the feedback session. The preacher will be tempted to explain to others what they were trying to do. That is irrelevant. All that matters for this exercise is to pay attention to what was actually heard.
Take about ten minutes of discussion to answer this question: What made this sermon effective? The leader should make sure that the group talks about the main idea, the purpose of the sermon, the use of scripture, language, illustrations, and so on.
Then spend about ten minutes answering the question: What would have made this sermon more effective?
Members of the group should direct their comments to the sermon, not to the preacher. Instead of: "I loved the story you told about Spot and Jane," say: "The opening story about Spot and Jane was effective because…." Instead of: "I was annoyed when you rocked back and forth in your sermon," Say: "The preacher’s movements were distracting because…."
When the leader thinks the conversation has run its course, if there is time, the leader may ask the preacher if she or he would like to summarize what they heard or ask clarifying, non-defensive questions. For example: “Joan, you mentioned that you were distracted by my hand motions. Can you show me what you meant?” or “Fred, I wasn’t sure what you meant when you said you didn’t agree with the way I interpreted that verse.”
This will be new territory for many listeners who are not used to being given permission to speak freely about their sermon listening experiences. It may take a while to warm folks up to the conversation and move beyond "I liked this," or "I didn't like that" statements. Remind the hearers that they are doing this as a learning tool for the preacher and that it doesn't help to remain quite about ways that his or her preaching could improve. Candid feedback will come if the preacher and group leader are free from anxiety and demonstrate an unwavering commitment to listening openly.
An additional way to get feedback on a sermon is to distribute brief surveys to the congregation before the sermon starts. It may be a good idea to instruct people not to complete their survey until after the sermon is completed. But make sure you give them time after the sermon to do so. A simple questionnaire is attached that you can reproduce and use.
© Cliff Guthrie,
Preacher's
Toolbox