Your Part in the Antidote of Worship

Tim Keller, eminent preacher, author, thinker and communicator writes this:

“It is fundamental to preach biblically and to preach to cultural narratives but these are not enough. Unless the truth is not only clear but also real to listeners, then people will still fail to obey it. Preaching cannot simply be accurate and sound. It must capture the listeners’ interest and imaginations; it must be compelling and penetrate to their hearts.”

When we read this chapter opener in Tim Keller’s book Preaching, the whole of Christian formatted media rolls through our minds with the spectrum of views about what to put on air now, how to present the Gospel in our troubled times and how to relate Scriptural truth.

Some would suggest emotionally compelling material with little to no Biblical content; these face those who call for clear information that targets the head and systematically reviews the whole of Scripture. What is striking is that Tim Keller clearly thinks that both are required for genuine change in a life. He has a great point.

The challenge goes even further. When Keller or others preach, they have a near-captive audience. Or, they did until the recent need for digital church. Rarely do people get up and wander out of a church service, especially with today’s nurseries and padded seats. Here, the listener made a choice to go to the church service. The preacher’s competition may be distracted looking around at other people, or dozing. But, it’s not walking out. Digital tracking changed all that, of course, for a time.

But it’s always been so for radio and other electronic forms where the competition for attention is much more intense.  The listener may be driving, in a car with heavy traffic, with children, or in a hurry to get somewhere.  It’s very easy to turn off the radio or change channels, switch to a digital stream. With presets, flipping channels is an art-form.  The media distraction literally knows no bounds.

This takes us back to KELLER’S point. Head and heart are both needed. He says, “Change happens not just by giving the mind new arguments but by feeding the imagination new beauties.”

With a heart connection, the mind inclines toward action, raising the batting average in a challenging communication environment. No matter where you (now) are on the content spectrum, no matter what you are working to communicate, that’s worthy of your consideration.

You have important things to get across! Here’s how to be more impactful with a story that connects.

Another week managing changed circumstances. Another program to speak into for listeners or viewers growing weary of limitation. You know story is critical as it creates an emotional bond with those in range of your voice. But, how you ask? How can I be confident of a story I want to use? How do I know it will connect with my team or my viewers? How do I know when they will lean in—not turn away—or worse yet, yawn?

Here’s a process that should be able to guide you to select stories that your team or listener or viewer will want to hear.

Here’s the first important key.

Make sure you are passionate about and interested in your story. If you’re telling a story you’re not interested in, it’ll show. You’ve seen it . . . someone reading a story from a script they’re not interested in. They sound flat. If the storyteller doesn’t sound emotionally engaged, you really can’t expect the listener to be. This is not something easily faked.

Now, the second crucial key to effectiveness.

Make sure your story is one your listener will be interested in and passionate about too. This is often what gets overlooked. We just automatically assume others are interested in what we’re interested in! They may be. They may not be.

Think about the college football movie Rudy. This is an underdog story about an undersized football player with an oversized desire to play college American football for Notre Dame. Rudy fights his way onto the team and ultimately . . . well, watch the movie sometime.

One man was quoted about the movie . . . “’Rudy’ inspired me to go back to university and finish. Graduating in July. Thanks, Rudy.”

If you’re an American, you’re more likely to love Rudy.

If you’re an American football fan, you’re even more likely to love Rudy.

If you’re a Notre Dame football fan, you’re even more likely to love Rudy.

The point here is that it’s crucial you are passionate about and interested in your story. And, it’s crucial your listener is also passionate about and interested in your story.

What to do? Here’s a simple process.

1. Imagine yourself in the head, heart and understanding of the listener. One of the amazing things that God has given all of us is the gift of pausing, praying, thinking. And, trying to put ourselves in the head, heart and soul of another person. If you don’t have peace about a story, pick a different one!
2. And, try to take the time to test your story idea on several people. Here’s a simple way to do that:
   1. Make a list of three to four people available you can speak with.
   2. Ask each to imagine themselves in the situation where you will be telling your story—the mindset of a manager or the mindset of a mom in her 40’s who might be hearing your story.
   3. Give them two or three story ideas and ask them to rate each one on a scale of one to five, low to high interest.
   4. Write down everyone’s responses and tabulate.
   5. Use only those stories that rate at a three or higher.

With a little planning, you can figure out if your listener is likely interested and passionate about the story you’re interested in.  And, especially in our conflicted times, you can communicate with increased clarity!

Help with Effective Communication

By Chuck Finney with Jan Shober

A phrase most of us had never heard before Spring 2020: Social Distancing. It means keeping a six-foot distance from others at all times. Elsewhere it means being in a different building, perhaps at home, to conduct business. Many radio and TV stations, ministries and workplaces are now engaged in this new practice for the safety of everyone. It’s new, it’s unplanned and it’s—an adjustment! Can great communication, effective communication occur?  With teams, with individuals? We think the answer is yes.

When we wrote a book last year called Wisdom for Effective Communication: The Little Book of Big Ideas, we listed ten secrets to effective communication.  Here’s something that may be a surprise.  Not one of the secrets, not one, indicated that you had to be physically together for effective communication!  Yes, it’s true that there can be extra challenges, but they can be managed.

In our now more digital world, one of the ten secrets especially comes to mind.

Here it is:  Make it clear.

In this secret we acknowledge it is our responsibility to clearly communicate. It’s not the other person’s responsibility to try to interpret what we mean, or what a word we use means. It’s up to us to craft our statements in the clearest way possible so the audience—of one or 100—can clearly understand.

We use the words “living a holy life” instead of “sanctification”.  Or, “difficult” instead of “onerous”. Or, if you’re going to use one of those big words, explain it.

Here’s an example. The conversation I’m telling you happened after I’d been a Jesus follower for about 20 years, after over 15 years in Christian radio and after six years as an elder at our Southern Baptist church. My wife Lynda and I were driving. I asked her what God had been teaching her. She said, “To abide in Him”. I thought about it a moment and realized I’d heard folks in church use the word “abide” a lot, but I never really knew what it meant. So I said, “Darlin’, help me here. What does “abide” mean. Lynda patiently explained that she thought it meant “connected to but in a life or death kind of way” like the way grapes are to a vine. Without the vine, the grapes shrivel and die. That’s an example of Lynda helping make it clear. Jesus employed this when He used a story about a shepherd, or a woman looking for a lost coin. These were familiar scenes with well understood descriptions, that everyone in His culture would clearly understand. It’s also true that He sometimes deliberately obscured his message—but that is the principle in reverse.

When we are on video chat, we think we can see the other person’s face and their expressions, which experts believe helps with communication. But, people can still cover up their misunderstanding. And, we don’t know for sure how much tech interference is mangling our words.

This principle is of maximum importance in the digital space.  Make your meaning clear.

The video component of Zoom is a big improvement to the telephone as far as clarity, but every so often someone’s audio is glitchy. And, to be polite, they may not say anything. Encourage people to speak up about audio or video issues. Being well understood is often dependent on often fixable technical issues.This principle was illustrated for Jan some time ago, when on a satellite call to a new friend who was in language school in Central America, she thought she was told she should buy 500 Birds—a must read book.  Odd, she thought, but there really are many birds in Central and South America. Only when she arrived herself in language school did she discover that the recommended book was 500 Verbs. A fast trip to the bookstore came next!

You will find more secrets to effective communication by reading WISDOM FOR EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION: THE LITTLE BOOK OF BIG IDEAS. It’s a fast read, and available digitally on Kindle and in paperback, that will speed you on your way to better communication, even in our distanced circumstances.