Plain Preaching - And the Right Response

Saw this question from Derek Thomas at Pure Church: Make It Plain Preacher!

Which of these two statements do preachers most like to hear: a) "I didn't understand much of what you said, but I love to hear you preach," or "You know, when I hear you preach I say to myself, 'I could have seen that in the text"?

I can answer the question - at least for me (as an amateur preacher).

When I get to preach, people often say "Oh, you are such a good teacher." I don't say that to brag. I know I have a gift in that area, but I also know my limitations and weaknesses. However, statements like that are nice for the ego.

But what I would really like to hear after preaching are statements like "You said ____________ and it impacted me tremendously." Or "I never saw that in the Bible before, now it is as plain as day." Or "I'm going to have to really think about what you said about _________." In other words, I would rather hear discussion of what I said than praise for how I said it.

Think about that the next time you greet someone after they have just preached the Word. I bet most preachers think the same way. Talk to them about what they said - agree or disagree- more than you talk about how well they said it.