I've actually assembled more than 10 things church members have told pastors immediately after they preached. But these are 10 responses where pastors have had the most visceral reactions.
1. "I am going to be late for lunch because you preached so long."
2. "You must not have had much time to prepare that sermon."
3. "My former pastor preached a much better sermon from that text."
4. "I wish {fill in the blank} would have heard that sermon."
5. "You act like you weren't feeling well while you preached."
6. "I'm sorry I fell asleep while you were preaching. Your voice just puts me to sleep."
7. "Your subject/verb agreement was incorrect three times in your sermon."
8. "I wish you wouldn't preach from the Old Testament."
9. "Let me tell you what you missed in your sermon."
10. "Are we ever going to be done with this sermon series?"
Pastors often take 10 to 20 hours to prepare a sermon. They pray for God to speak through them. They preach with conviction and fervency. And then they hear one of these sentences.
These 10 responses are close approximations of what pastors have actually told me. I am sure there are many more. Let us hear what they are.
Thom S. Rainer is the president of LifeWay Christian Resources. For the original article, visit thomrainer.com.
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