How To Review Your Sermon Part 2 - The Why

Part one in this series of articles can be found here. So if you haven’t read it yet, I encourage you to do that. But if you have, then let’s jump into the why of sermon reviews.

Why

The Sermon Is The Main Thing

I polled over 30 growing churches to learn how they allocate their service time. I polled from growing churches because I want my church to grow. I want to learn their best practices and apply it in my setting. On average these churches allocate their service time with a 10, 40 and 50 percentage model. 10% to hosting. 40% to worship. And 50% of the service is dedicated to the sermon.

I’m not gonna discuss whether or not a sermon is the best way to spend half of our service hours - that’s another topic altogether. Let’s just acknowledge that growing churches spend half of their service time on the sermon. The sermon is the main thing. Since the sermon is such a priority in our churches, it should receive an extensive degree of review. 

It Makes Future Messages Better

The sermon review not only makes an individual message better, it also makes future messages better. You can apply review from your current message to your next message. If the review panel keeps telling me I have too many points each week, then maybe I should have less points next week. I’m sure you’ve heard about the benefits of compound interest for your finances. How it builds upon itself. Well, a review system is compound learning for your sermons. What you hear and learn one week doesn’t just apply to that week. It applies to future weeks as well.

Go The Extra Mile

Most preachers take 10-20 hours each week to prepare their sermon. The review process should only take you 90 minutes. 45 minutes to preach and 45 minutes to review. So let’s go the extra mile and create room for these 90 minutes in our work weeks to do the review. Most preachers only hear general feedback after the sermon. Most preachers don’t get particular input before the message. Feedback after a message makes the preacher FEEL better. Input before the message makes the preacher PREACH better. So go the extra mile. Do a review.

It Becomes A Leadership Pipeline

Think about how much knowledge and experience pastors and preachers have. Think of what it would do if they invited a panel to review them. Think of how much knowledge and experience would naturally be observed by those on the panel. These people would see behind the curtain. They would get a better understanding of how a message is prepared. How to take the spiritual pulse of a congregation and how to respond to it through a sermon. They would see what vulnerability and humility looks like up close. The review process can become a leadership pipeline for new and aspiring communicators as they watch and learn. 

Gives You A Weekend ‍

A review gives you a degree of accountability since your panel is expecting you will have the sermon ready by the end of the work week. Not by the end of the weekend. This planned rhythm is a huge benefit that cannot be overstated. It gives you a weekend. And your weekend gives you professional and personal margins. Professionally, you will be launching instead of limping into Sunday. Personally, you will have the needed time to invest in yourself and those around you.

Having a weekend provides greater opportunities for you to fill your tank, strengthen your marriage and care for your children. It allows you to put your family before your church. My pastor, Tim Lucas, who taught me these principles has a deal with his wife. He can work as late as he needs to on Thursday night to finish polishing his message after the review. But when she wakes up at 6 on Friday morning, he better be in bed beside her. The church gets him during the week. But she gets him on the weekend. Getting a weekend helps you avoid burnout, allows you to nourish your marriage and provides you the time and freedom to teach your own children how to develop a deeper walk with Jesus.

Gives Your Team A Weekend ‍

Your team can’t have a weekend if you don’t have a weekend. And conversely, if you have a weekend, your team can as well. Since your message involves other moving parts, the sooner you get your work done, the sooner others can get their work done. This means your worship leader won’t be picking out a response song on Saturday morning. Your graphic designer won’t be selecting fonts on Saturday afternoon. Your videographer won’t be editing a video on Saturday night.

As pastors and preachers, we need to remember that our message is the first domino to fall. And there are a bunch of subsequent dominos lined up waiting behind it. Giving your team a weekend helps them avoid burnout, stay committed to their work in the church and, most importantly, stay committed to their faith in Christ. We talked about what a review is and why to do it. Now let’s talk about how to do it.

We will cover the how in part three of this series…