What has Issues, Etc. taught me? That's simple. One word. Preaching.

What has Issues, Etc. Taught me?
That's simple. One word. Preaching.

As a preacher I fall into the prideful trap of all preachers. I want to leave my listeners crying in their seats. I want my listeners to say, "he's the best preacher we've ever had in this church." I want my listeners to remember me and my preaching. But that's not what preaching is about is it Todd? If I do all these things but leave out the cross I've missed my purpose for standing in the pulpit. I learned much listening to Todd's analysis of preaching on the program. I still may not preach perfectly ;-) but my preaching has certainly become more Christ-Centered / Cross Focused.

The Issues, Etc. Sermon Diagnostic (My paraphrase)

• How many times was Jesus mentioned? (simple count)
• Is Jesus the one doing the actions in the sermon? (is Jesus the subject of the verbs)
• What did the pastor say Jesus did for me? (what are the verbs)

The Issues, Etc. Sermon Diagnostic is so simple, so straight forward, so right. As Todd always said it doesn't cover everything a sermon should be, but it hits the heart of the matter dead on. I use it for my Confirmation Class sermon notes and I wrote a simple bible study for my Sunday morning bible class.

This is not all I learned as a preacher listening to Issues. But this one stands out.
Thanks Todd and Jeff!
Rev. Jonathan C. Watt

I've attached a pdf file containing the "Sermon Evaluation Study and Form"
And a PowerPoint document "What Makes a Good Sermon" I used in the morning bible class.