Every pastor knows the feeling. They’re not listening. The Spirit isn’t moving. The sermon isn’t flowing and this can’t end fast enough.
And now you’ve got 7 days to sit and stew.
7 days to wonder why the Lord has left you.
7 days to wonder why it is that you went into ministry in the first place.
7 days to wonder whether even your dog respects you after preaching a sermon like that.
7 days.
It seems highly unlikely that you’ll make it.
Before you hand in your resignation and begin to look up classes at the local community college here are 6 things to do first.
Relax
It’s never as bad as you think it was. Preachers are their own worst critics and no one knows the ins and outs of your sermon like you do. You know what you meant to say but didn’t; you know how the line sounded in your office and what it was supposed to sound like in the pulpit; you know how good the ending was going to be until it wasn’t – but you’re the only one who does. Nobody else has the other versions of your sermon to compare it to. To them, it sounded more or less like they thought it was supposed to sound.
So relax.
Even if it wasn’t your best work, it was nowhere near as bad as you think it was and nowhere near as ineffective as the devil is telling you that it was. People get saved by bad sermons all the time. If there was Scripture in it and prayer behind it, then God did something with it.
Guaranteed.
Rest
It’s amazing how much a nap on a Sunday afternoon improves my memory of the sermon. That D- message feels a lot more like a C+ after a nap or a walk or a bath. It has often crept up to a solid B by breakfast on Monday morning. Weariness makes cowards of us all, some famous football guy said, and the same applies to preaching. Don’t make decisions about your calling, your gifts or your current ministry placement in the immediate aftermath of a particularly bad sermon.
Sleep on it.
Let the Lord restore you through the ordinary means of rest and recreation.
Play a board game with your kids.
Laugh with a friend.
Kiss your wife.
Become a human being who may or may not make his living as a pastor.
And then reevaluate. You might be surprised by how much your sermon has improved.
Repent
Don’t do this first, but don’t forget to do it eventually.
Sometimes your sermon stinks because you neglected to do the work you were called to. Sometimes it stinks because you allowed yourself to be distracted by lesser concerns. Sometimes it stinks because you didn’t pray over it. Sometimes it stinks because your love has grown cold. Sometimes it stinks because you had a fight with your wife and you didn’t repent of your sin and stupid before ascending the pulpit.
I’ve preached really bad sermons for every single reason listed above.
If you’ve been in ministry for more than 6 months, then you probably have too.
Repent.
Repent of the incredible arrogance it takes to think that you can preach a life-changing message on the power of charisma alone. Repent of your own sloth and distractedness. Repent of your people pleasing weakness that takes you away from your God-given priorities into man tickling silliness and nonsense. Repent of your own lack of attention to your personal walk with Jesus Christ. Repent of your coldness towards the wife God has given you.
You are a sinner – not just a preacher who knows some sinners. Apply your sermon to yourself.
Get into the closet and come clean with God.
Do that and you will be amazed how blessed your next sermon will be.
Rejoice
Stop obsessing over the slight loss of respect and esteem you have suffered, and instead rejoice in your salvation.
Preachers are always happy and sad about the wrong things.
When the disciples were excited about the mini revival that their preaching tour had spawned, and about the power they had exercised over demons, Jesus sought immediately to redirect their enthusiasm: “do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20 ESV).
Just be happy that you’re saved! Think about that: you are a terrible sinner! You were a dedicated rebel. You were subject to contrary and destructive desires – until God in Christ had pity on you.
Rejoice in that!
Whatever momentary loss of esteem you are experiencing now because of your bad sermon (which is almost certainly far less than you fear) is nothing compared to the standing you have now as a son of God through faith in Jesus Christ.
Be happy about things that matter. “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1 NKJV)
That is true of you NOW. Even after that particularly bad sermon, you are a son of God through faith in Christ NOW.
You have a standing that is not affected by your personal success or failures.
You have a God who chose you in Christ before the foundation of the world.
You have an inheritance in the heavens that will neither tarnish nor fade.
And you have the greatest job in the world.
People pay you to read the Bible and to mine it for truth and wisdom. People pay you to do what you wake up every morning longing to do. Rejoice in that! Rejoice that you are saved, called, equipped and used.
And rejoice in the knowledge that God loves you enough to let you fail spectacularly every once in a while, just to keep you humble enough to use.
Thanks be to God!
Reflect
Once you have accepted that the failure wasn’t as catastrophic as it feels, that it was at least partly your fault and that in the Sovereignty of God it has been used for your good, you are ready to reflect on the process and the product in order to learn whatever lessons can be learned.
Begin by reflecting on your personal preparation. Are you maintaining regular, rich, generous times of spiritual communion with the Lord? Are you confessing sin? Are you praying for yourself, your ministry and your congregants? Are you leading and teaching yourself before you attempt to do the same for others?
What about your sermon writing process? Are you being systematic, or are you allowing personal hobby horses or contemporary events to set your preaching calendar? Are you planning ahead and reading ahead, or are you trying to cram on the day of preparation?
Are you getting regular feedback? Are you listening to the sermons of others? Are you keeping up to date with your education and input?
Leaders are learners and if you aren’t filling the tank and sharpening your sword, then you should expect to fail on a fairly regular basis in the pulpit. Spirituality does not excuse sloth.
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15 ESV)
If you are too proud to learn, then you’re too proud to preach. Do what you need to do to serve your people well and to give a good account of your ministry.
Repeat
Don’t quit because you preached a bad sermon. Get back on the horse. The best cure for a bad sermon is a good sermon. People have marvelously short memories. Much like you can’t remember what you had for breakfast a week ago Thursday, most people can’t remember the specifics of your last good sermon or your last bad sermon; but if there was Scripture in it and prayer over it, then you can trust that it is in there somewhere doing something good.
So get over it and get on with it.
Get back in the Bible on Monday or Tuesday and be faithful to your ministry and calling. Prepare a sermon that is built on the unchanging, unfailing Word of God. Simplify your approach: Read the text. Explain the text. Apply the text.
And pray like crazy.
Ask the Lord to open your eyes to the wonders of his Word.
Ask the Lord to guide you into the heart and meaning of the passage.
Ask the Lord to give you a love for the people you will be preaching to.
Ask the Lord to show you any hidden sin, stubbornness or rebelliousness in you that would rob your people of blessing or obscure God’s glory in your ministry.
Ask the Holy Spirit to move in, around and through your sermon such that people hear a far better sermon than the one you preach.
And then next Sunday, after you’ve done everything you can and you’ve asked God to do what only he can, ascend the stairs towards the sacred desk and unleash the spoken Word of God.
Preach as though preaching the very oracles of God.
Preach as though you will never preach again.
Preach as though the Lord stands at the very gate.
And then go home and sleep like a baby.
Sleep like a kingdom farmer.
He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. 28 The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.” (Mark 4:26–29 ESV)
If you are faithful to sow the seed, God will be faithful to bring the harvest.
You can count on that, because this is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God!
Pastor Paul Carter
N.B. To listen to Pastor Paul’s Into The Word devotional podcast on the TGC Canada website see here; to listen on SoundCloud see here. You can also find it on iTunes.
