Words Are Important

I haven’t had time to post much the last few weeks – work has been crazy busy; it’s all good though.  Because I spend almost all of my time either writing to donors and/or pastors or talking with same, I have become increasingly aware of how important it is to take care in how we communicate with one another.  

There was a time in the 80’s, thankfully short-lived, that taught aggressive, bold and to the point communication was the way to weave your way through the corporate maze, ultimately earning you the prize of moving up a wrung or two on the ladder to heaven knows what.  What was soon realized was that they only person that ever felt good about this type of communication was the overbearing, type A, corporate bull-in-a-China-shop manager. Pretty much everyone on the receiving end, as well as the bystanders listening in, felt that this type of verbal and/or written abuse was rude, counter-productive and demotivating.  

Wonderfully, but slowly, communication moved the path of communicating sensitively.  Sensitive communication sounds great – and it is most assuredly better than the nasty, aggressive variety, but what was learned using this approach is that if you communicate too sensitively in all situations, sometimes urgency can be lost when there is no time for it to be lost, or even post-poned for that matter.

A shift to a more centric, rational and clear communication style that engaged both sensitivity and clarity was the next and most helpful shift in communication style; or so it seems.  

Obviously I am over-simplifying and generalizing all that has happened in the world of communication training and genre, but the point remains true – words and how we use them are important.  

I have been drawn to the study and observation of how people communicate with one another because it is what I do for a living, and because it is given an unmistakeable place of prominence throughout the Scripture. 

This post will be continued because there is just so much to say – I especially believe that we who claim the title of “Jesus Follower,” should be held to a much higher standard than others when it comes to our interpersonal communication style.

Words can heal, they can inspire and they can cause mortal wounds – it would be good for us to choose carefully not only the words that we use, but also the tone, the manner and the inflection.   More later – Thanks for checking in – 

A Christianity Worth Believing

The book is available.  Doug Pagitt’s new book came out several weeks earlier than anticipated so now is your chance to get your hands on your own copy.  The title of the book is “A Christianity Worth Believing” with a wonderful subtitle “hope-filled, open-armed, alive-and-well faith.”   

The book is available just about everywhere but to make life easy you can just go to Amazon and you can have a look and read a bit of a preview.  

On a completely unrelated note, I have been invited to a pastor gathering in Illinois to tell the story of PRN and our goal of introducing the practice of Sabbath, solitude and rest to pastors who are burning the candle at both ends.  

It looks like massive road-trips are in the offing over the summer.  It’s good to be busy doing something that helps bring new life to pastors who are just about ready to call it quits.