Luther's Advice to Aspiring Preachers

I'm reading Theology of the Reformers by Timothy George. He does biographical and theological sketches of several of the reformers. He writes about Luther first. I like the following paragraph about preachers and the Word.

Luther's writings are full of advice for aspiring preachers, for example, "The three marks of a good preacher are these: He stands up, speaks up, and knows when to shut up!" Let him speak forth vigorously and clearly, not as though he had a leaf in front of his mouth. The church is a mouth house, not a mealymouth house! More important, the preacher should have something worth saying. Let the preacher be a bonus textualis--a good one with the text--well versed in the Scriptures. Luther excoriated those "lazy, no good preachers" who get all their material from others, from homiletical helps and sermon books, without praying, reading and searching the Scriptures for themselves. The sermon should not be couched in theological jargon, but in the clear, crisp language of the people. "I do not preach Drs. Pomeranus, Jonas, and Philipp," said Luther, "but to my little Hans and Elizabeth." Above all, preaching must be true to its proper content, which is Christ. Only in this way can it fulfill its role as the main part of all divine service. (pp. 92-93)

The preachers at Grace do pretty well by these criteria.