The young preacher feedback translation guide

It can be tough as a young preacher just starting out in the world of expounding God's word. There's so much to contend with; how to handle the Scriptures themselves, how best to deliver that message, getting used to speaking in front of people. And yet perhaps more difficult than anything else is how to make sense of the feedback you get - both from the congregation and from those more experienced at preaching.

Helen is one of the dearest old Christian saints you would ever meet and a valued member of the church where I started out preaching. Helen is gentle in a way that I could never be, and yet when the truth of God's revelation is under attack she is bold in a way I think I could never be. The result of all this is that Helen's words are cherished by the congregation. The best feedback I have ever gotten off Helen was "That was really great Izaac - I stayed awake the whole time." Now, a young preacher could take that many ways. My point is simple, knowing who is giving you the feedback will help you interpret their comments. Thankfully being aware of her narcolepsy meant that I rightly took Helen's words in a positive light.

Having now preached at least fifteen sermons in my life, I consider myself a veritable expert. Consequently I feel an obligation to pass on the treasure trove of wisdom that I have accumulated over this time to those just starting out as preachers. I now present to you my 'Young preachers feedback translation guide.'

Feedback: It was good.
Translation: It may or may not have actually been good.
This general platitude is the equivalent of being given a K-Mart gift voucher for your birthday - a nice gesture but one that required little to no thought and has little reference to you personally. It's what you say when you have nothing to say. This is not to mean that the sermon was necessarily bad. Or good for that matter. It just was. Maybe that's what they really meant -"It was a sermon". Yes, it is descriptive without offering any real comment on merit. "It was good" is the Hallmark greeting of sermon feedback.

Feedback: It was the perfect length.
Translation: It was probably too long.
Even if you legally changed your name, you would still not be Mark Driscoll. If anyone comments on the length of your sermon it is usually an indication that it was too long - even if stated in the positive. I wish to qualify this by saying most people that comment on sermon length are revealing more about themselves than the content and quality of the sermon, though it is nevertheless concerning when after proclaiming the word of God, the first thing to enter someone's mind is how many times the second hand on their watch clicked past 12. To be slightly more optimistic there is a chance you did speak an appropriate length for the context but working in your favour is the "strange voice" phenomenom; that if you're not the usual voice to be heard people will concentrate longer. Have you ever noticed how much easier it is to concentrate when you hear a guest speaker? The 'strange voice' effect is magnified for preachers with foreign accents. If you ever become a regular preacher, should you wish to insist that you can speak for as long as you want my advice would be to feign a different accent each week.

Feedback: There was a clear distinction between the two halves of the sermon.
Translation: Both sermons you preached were fine. Either one would have sufficed.
Generally it is only necessary to preach one sermon at a time. I know there was a lot there to cover, and yes I know you didn't set the passage and deep down it's probably God's fault for putting so much in there, but there really is no need to study each syllable in depth. I'm loathe to comment too much here because I received this feedback word for word from my ministry trainer after this sermon, which thanks to the interwebs is now preserved in all its double goodness for future generations.

Feedback: It was extremely thorough.
Translation: Did you really need to put it all in there?
It was clear you've put in an awful lot of work in preparation for the sermon. It was way too clear. On most occasions good preparation would be a positive thing, but by the fifth sub-point and clarification on point 2C, the concentration was starting to wane. It's an amazing thing to discover the depths of God's word as you prepare, and a less than amazing thing to share all 17 related references in the New Testament.

Feedback: You're very gifted.
Translation: You're very gifted for someone preaching their first sermon.
It's all a matter of expectation and comparison. Let's be honest, we weren't expecting very much. And therefore 6 out of 10 is great when we were anticipating something closer to 2. The hope is that you exponentially increase your ability over the first few sermons, and in your favour is the obvious comparison to your "earlier" work. Don't take this feedback too negatively as they obviously want you to return. But though gifted, you are only "God's gift to the church" in a very general sense.

Feedback: We're very proud of you.
Translation: We're very proud of you.
But that's about the end of where you can trust the feedback from anyone who sees you standing up there and feels proud. It's true, they are proud as punch and the moistening of the eyes as they see you explaining God's word now you are all growed up means they will look on most of what comes out of your mouth with the mawkish sentimentalism of a mother flicking through baby photos when their child leaves for university. Most likely this person remembers when you were banned from youth group after smuggling fireworks into camp, and they're just glad you're still alive and not in prison.

Feedback: I learnt...
Translation: Feedback heaven.
Preaching the word of God means seeking to understand the word of God and moving the hearer to be obedient to it. Because preaching involves speaking in public, most people will give you feedback about public speaking. The best feedback you can possibly receive is that you have taught the hearers. Provided they are discerning listeners who agree with your understanding of the passage, this means you have preached successfully. While tempted to think you've "arrived" and it's only a matter of time until you're beamed directly to heaven, thank God that he communicated his truths through a weak sinner and that he was at work through his Spirit to change the hearts of his people. Finally, pray for humility when people praise you - it's easy to look smart when you're communicating the mind of God.

Here endeth the lesson.