I agree with the very first comment. We all have gathered our knowledge for various sources. Sometimes rather most of the times we feel that we are even better than the Khateeb making the khutbah. I did my tajweed last year (I am 33) I am not very proud of the fact that I did it so late but alhamdolilAllah I managed to complete it. My teacher always praised me, although I believe I need a lot of practice. But the point is that when I started my tajweed I also started focusing on errors of Imams and Khateebs. Then I realized that if I were any better I would have been sitting there instead because Allah knows who is worthy to lead and preach.

We need to ask for the refuge all the time from the “makr” of shaitaan. I heard this man saying once that shaitaan has 80,000 traps and out of those 70,000 are traps of virtues. We believe we are doing something good but in fact we are going the other way (Allah alam, this is not a confirmed saying but something that keeps me in check).

salam

Our beloved Prophet said that there are special angels that roam the Earth, looking for gatherings of dhikr. When they find a group they call one another and encompass the gathering in layers until the first heaven. After the gathering glorifies Allah (swt) the angels return to their lord.

Allah (swt) asks His angels, Where have you been? (Even though He already knows; when one loves someone he loves hearing his name mentioned by others). The angels will inform Allah (swt) of the name of the gathering. Allah (swt) will ask His angels “What were my servants doing?” The angels will reply: “They were praising You, magnifying Your Name and glorifying You. Allah (swt) will ask them “Have they seen Me?” The angels will answer: “No, By Allah! They have not seen You.” Allah (swt) will say: “(They are praising Me without seeing Me,) what if they had seen Me” The angels would answer: “O Lord, if they had seen You, they would have glorified You more intensely. Allah (swt) will say: “What were they asking for?” the angels will reply “They were asking for Paradise!” Allah (swt) will say: “Have they seen Paradise?” The angels will say: “By Allah, no, they have not seen it.” Allah (swt) will say “What would they do if they had seen it?” The angels will reply: “If they had seen Paradise, they would become more attached and attracted to it, and would seek it with a greater zeal and enthusiasm!” Allah would ask the angels What were they seeking refuge from? The angels will reply they were seeking refuge from the Hell (fire). Allah would then ask the angels: “Have they seen the Hell (fire)?” The angels will say: “By Allah, no, they have not seen it.” Allah will say “What would they do if they had seen it?” The angels will reply: “If they had seen the Hell (fire), they would fear it even more and ask refuge from it with greater intensity. Then Allah will say to the angels I make you witnesses that I have forgiven them. One of the angels will say: “O my Lord, someone was there who did not belong to that group, but came for some other need.” (That person came for some purpose other than dhikr.) Allah will inform the angels that “The benefits of sitting in a gathering of Dhikr are such that anyone who sits with them, for whatever reason will also have his sins forgiven (Bukhari, Muslim).

I think one thing that would help the khutbah quality situation is if every mosque had a feedback form (online and print).

Here’s a Google Doc template of a form that can be implemented at mosques:
https://docs.google.com/previewtemplate?id=0ArTNk0Z_3ojZdEZNOTRGU1E5YkhEc1cycXNfamxOLVE&mode=public

Alhumdulillah, i know some different mosques that already have their own (MCA, CIMIC, ICOI…)

You should give a khutba on this :P. On a more serious note, very nice reminder.