I can still remember the day like it was yesterday.

I was a young, fresh-eyed student minister in my second year at Moore College. I had just completed an essay on the sacrificial system in Leviticus, and I enthusiastically 'translated' my work into a three-talk sermon series for church. I worked hard on a cracker of an introduction, and I even had some fancy diagrams to make everything as simple as possible.

Just to make things more challenging, I was blessed to have Canon John Chapman amongst those in the congregation I was addressing.

I was a member of Chappo's church at the time, and even when he was 'off-duty' in his role as MasterCritic, he still carried his clipboard, always on the ready to offer a helpful word of insight to the minister of the Word.

At the door of church, as I shook Chappo's hand, he was graciously brief in his words.

He simply asked me the question, "Brother, do you think that the Old Testament Israelites were saved by faith or by works?"

I (very characteristically) smiled, nodded and then raced to find a response. I had nothing. With a brief sentence, Chappo had brought to my attention the fact that I had missed a vital point in my understanding of Leviticus, and that I needed to fix up my thinking before I opened my mouth again to preach from the Old Testament.

I find it hard to critique the sermons and talks of other people. Being the 'glass very half full' kind of optimist, I usually see something positive about anyone when they speak… even if it's just the fact that they were able to stand upright for 20 minutes without falling over.

But, quite frankly, this is pretty useless when it comes to providing helpful reflection to veteran and novice preachers alike. What our preachers need is a lovingly critical word that helps them grow in their thinking and their skills, so that they will be the best servant of the gospel.

Apart from the 15-word theological lesson on the place of grace in the Old Testament, Chappo taught me a gracious and powerful tool of critique.

If someone's missed the point in their theology or technique, then ask them a simple and straightforward question that lovingly challenges their message. If we really love the preacher and those he or she is speaking to, then we will take the time to encourage them with a simple question.

Perhaps this is also something we might adopt in this online community of commenters?