Howard Hendricks has a habit of getting at the heart of an issue. I was just reading a book he co-authored on teaching and he nails a key issue for us as preachers. How are we to know that we are being as effective as possible in our ministry?
Experience is not the key! People automatically assume that the longer they are doing something, the better they get at it. So the longer a person teaches, the better the teacher they become. The longer the person preaches, the better the preacher they become. Wrong. Hendricks calls this idea nonsense. He points out that ripping through wood dulls the teeth of a carpenter’s saw, and so also experience tends to wear away any edge in a person’s skill.
Evaluated experience is key! Over time poor methods and poor practice become ingrained poor habits. Complacency easily sets in. It is possible to lose touch with the listeners. And time will generally exaggerate personal idiosyncrasies. In short, over time we easily get sloppy.
So what does Hendricks advise? He advises pastors as well as teachers to follow his example. To evaluate every session you teach. To invite others to critique in various ways. Be like a carpenter who painstakingly files each tooth on his crosscut saw.
Experience alone does not make you better, only evaluated experience does that. In the same way as experience alone does not make you mature, but only experience evaluated and handled with the right attitude. Let us all have the attitude of the master carpenter, painstakingly sharpening each tooth on the saw of our ministry. Perhaps it would be good to carefully evaluate your last sermon, and make specific plans to get feedback on your next.
Biblical Preaching 
Hey Pete,
Great post….what is the name of the book by Hendricks? I heard him when I was a student at Wheaton College almost 10 years ago now and I still remember his big idea! For me, my wife is the best critic. She helps me evaluate each sermon. However, she never took a preaching course so she doesn’t always know if I hit the big idea of the text or dealt adequately with other issues of the text…she evaluates more on clear points, gestures, pitch, restatement, etc. How do you help someone in your congregation or your wife to better evaluate you? My biggest desire is that the big idea hit home for people in a memorable way and they are able to tell others.
Thanks again for this blog!
The book is called Mastering Teaching, by Palmer, Hestenes and Hendricks. As far as getting feedback is concerned, I tend to get the feedback from people that they are able to give. It is worth teaching some people how the Big Idea concept works, or how to study the Bible with a “Big Idea” hermeneutic. However, it is important to bear in mind that good preaching communicates to normal people, not just trained homileticians. So while they may not have the vocab to go with your understanding, they can tell you what they perceived the main point or overall idea was. The answer is partially training people in how to listen and what to look for, and partially learning how to ask in such a way that you get the feedback you need from “untrained” people. What did you get out of it? How would you summarize my message in one sentence? Do you think you understand and can explain that passage now? Etc.