You’ve agreed to serve as a congregational Sermon Whisperer for your preacher in this year’s cohort of the Iowa Preachers Project. This is how it happens.

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The pattern.

Each month between October and May, your Preaching Fellow will deliver in your congregation. a sermon that will eventually become part of a sermon series in the congregation they serve. They’ll send you a sermon manuscript to read and comment on. You’ll return it with your comments and complete an online form about that sermon with several angles for you to think about.

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The sermon.

Your Preaching Fellow will let you know when each month's sermon will be delivered. Start by praying for your preacher as the prepare the sermon. You can prepare for the sermon by reading the passages of God's Word it will be based on (check with your pastor on which ones you should read). It's a good idea to take notes while listening to the sermon, so you can remember details. 

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This tab provides a number of resources intended to help you think about preaching in general and this sermon in particular. As you consider what you have to tell your preacher, keep in mind, that this is intended to provide your Preaching Fellow with a mirror that helps them see what they don’t have the distance to spot. It’s a process of supporting them in what often feels like lonely, isolating work. Keep it honest and kind.

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Online feedback form.

The last step is completing the online feedback form. Click here to get to the form. Providing your name on the form is optional. (Your responses will also be used as a metric for assessing our own work in the Project.) There’s a sample sermon there in this tab along with a sample feedback form to give you a chance to think about the assessment categories in advance. In addition, click on “What Makes a Good Sermon?” to read about the various categories.

 

Pray.

Please keep your Preaching Fellow in your prayers. Ask God to give them faith, strength, hope, and wisdom as they mine God’s Word and produce something old and reliable to say in a new way. It is fair game to ask your Preaching Fellow if there are specific things they’d like you to pray for.

 

Contacts.

Joshua Retterer serves as the coordinator for our congregational sermon feed back. He will track the feedback loop activity. If you and your Preaching Fellow face any glitches, have your preacher contact Josh with questions or concerns In addition, you can always contact Ken Sundet Jones, the Project director.

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