I read a great article, Keeping Ourselves on Target by Bill Hybels, on the whole area of preaching and evaluation. (It turns out that this is from the book Mastering Contemporary Preaching. I’m not familiar with the book, but if it’s as good as this excerpt it would be well worth getting.) It’s fun to read about his journey as a speaker/teacher. Toward the beginning of his ministry he was standing before a group of 150 or so teens and realized that he had totally lost them. His response,
"I have to apologize," I said, "for the fact that I am missing the mark tonight. What I prepared to say is obviously not on target. And I want to make a commitment to you students. If you'll come back next week, I'm going to talk about something straight out of the Bible that is going to make a difference in your understanding of God, in your appreciation of the Christian faith, and in how you live your daily life. And if you'll give me another opportunity, I'd like to prove that to you."
What a great response and commitment to make. And what humility to stand up and say, “I blew it.” Many speakers would keep plowing on through.
