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What's a Christian to do if they are just not getting much out of their preacher's sermons? In some cases, it may be helpful to share this loving concern with one's pastor. If you choose to do this, provide a few specific examples to help your shepherd understand more specifically where you are coming from. Do this with humility and bathe everything in prayer (Prov. 3:5-6). Having said that, before setting up such a meeting you should acknowledge that the difficulties your experiencing may reside as much in your own heart/mind, or in your own unrealistic and/or unbiblical expectations, as it does in the human mouthpiece of the Word (note 1 Peter 4:10-11). One must evaluate each situation on a case by case basis. Of course in many real world situations the matter is both/and rather than either/or.
Biblical humility should temper your criticisms with the honest acknowledgement that your pastor has invested 4-8 years of his life via bible college and seminary and to countless hours preparing weekly expositions. I remind myself of this very principle when walking into a medical clinic. Before informing my doctor that "I don't think he's doing his job right and needs to do this or that" I realize that the few hours I spent on Web M.D. does not make me a "subject matter expert" in medicine. That's not to say we should never question a doctor. Some medical professionals are really poor in what they do and we would be foolish to not get a second opinion (or to find another doctor all together).
In this vein, if your preacher has not received received adequate ministry training he may need to "go back to school" before assuming such a huge responsibility as is feeding the flock of Christ (see John 21). Note Clint Archer's helpful article on "should men go to seminary before leading the church of Christ.".
Having said that, those in the pew should be humble enough to listen to their pastor's thoughts knowing that he's likely spent hundreds of hours reading books on expository preaching, has invested thousands of hours listening to classroom lectures on theology, hermeneutics, counseling, Scripture, and homiletics, and probably benefits from many of the same well known preachers that you do. What Christian doesn't love the preaching ministries of Alistair Begg, Steve Lawson, and John MacArthur?
Biblical humility should temper your criticisms with the honest acknowledgement that your pastor has invested 4-8 years of his life via bible college and seminary and to countless hours preparing weekly expositions. I remind myself of this very principle when walking into a medical clinic. Before informing my doctor that "I don't think he's doing his job right and needs to do this or that" I realize that the few hours I spent on Web M.D. does not make me a "subject matter expert" in medicine. That's not to say we should never question a doctor. Some medical professionals are really poor in what they do and we would be foolish to not get a second opinion (or to find another doctor all together).
In this vein, if your preacher has not received received adequate ministry training he may need to "go back to school" before assuming such a huge responsibility as is feeding the flock of Christ (see John 21). Note Clint Archer's helpful article on "should men go to seminary before leading the church of Christ.".
Having said that, those in the pew should be humble enough to listen to their pastor's thoughts knowing that he's likely spent hundreds of hours reading books on expository preaching, has invested thousands of hours listening to classroom lectures on theology, hermeneutics, counseling, Scripture, and homiletics, and probably benefits from many of the same well known preachers that you do. What Christian doesn't love the preaching ministries of Alistair Begg, Steve Lawson, and John MacArthur?
On this note, one of the present dangers of the internet and the proliferation of "celebrity pastors" is that some Christians expect their local church preacher to sound just like you fill in the blank; not realizing that God does not give "five talents" to every servant (Matt. 25:14-30) and has given each individual a unique personality/style. If your preacher does not herald the Word as well as John MacArthur (join the camp), this does not mean that this brother has not been called to the ministry. All believers are expected to be faithful stewards of the talents that have been sovereignly dispensed on them by the Lord of the Church (see 1 Cor. 12-14; 1 Pet. 4:10-11; 1 Tim. 3:1f). In this same vein, if you expect your praise leader(s) to sing like Matt Boswell or Chris Tomlin, or to write arrangements like Fernando Ortega or Bob Kauflin, you are setting yourself up for being a church member who is never content. Be biblically realistic and remind yourself that the power ultimately resides in the Word of God not in the heralds of His Word!
