Attempts at Honesty

Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture

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Stop, Look and Listen – Three Steps to Better Communication

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communication I’m not naturally good at listening. Listening is a skill that has taken effort for me to develop. I have to force myself to slow down and take in what the other person is saying rather than focus on what I am going to say next.

Recently, in thinking about the skill of listening, the phrase “stop, look and listen” came to me. It seems applicable to developing the skill for listening, not just for trains, but in the midst of conversation. Here is why I think this phrase is helpful:

  • Stop – stop the self focused mental process so that I can hear and understand what the other person is saying. Decide to really hear.
  • Look – Look at the other person. Make eye contact. Observe his body language. Take in all the clues to communication.
  • Listen – By stopping and looking, I am now in a position to listen.

So, the suggestion to stop, look and listen will help you at a railroad crossing and in your next conversation.

What are some other suggestion you have for developing the skill of listening?

The View From the Boat

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BoatStatistics show that when given an opportunity to walk on water, 91.7% are too timid to try. Peter was the only one bold or impetuous enough to jump out. The other eleven stayed in the boat and watched from over the rail.

One of the things that prevents me from jumping out of the boat is that I sometimes take responsibility for the outcome rather than trusting the outcome to God. If I take this responsibility, I then get waylaid by fear of failure.

I am learning to let the results in God’s hands and focus on what has been put on my plate for today. I only need to step out in obedience. Perhaps this is part of the intention behind the statement, “give me this day my daily bread.”

Paul gave some advice to Timothy which seems to support this line of reasoning. In 2 Timothy 1:6-8, we read:

6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, 7for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God,

Like Timothy I am to work at developing the gift that I have been given. I am to step out in boldness and use it. To do so requires that I get out of the boat. It is often uncomfortable to step out. It is sometimes painful to step out, but I must step out of the boat.

Why should I do this? Because I am not given a spirit of fear, but one of power. Timothy was to tap into that power and be used by it to boldly proclaim the message of God. I am to tap into that power to be used by God for whatever he has for me to do.

But what if the message is rejected or if the messenger is persecuted for bringing the message? The results are in God’s hands and Timothy should not be ashamed of what to human eyes appears to be failure. Paul’s chains do not represent failure in God’s eyes, they are part of his plan. Therefore, they are not to be a source of shame.

I am not responsible for the outcome, I am only responsible to be obedient. I am to work hard to develop my skills. I am to be diligent in study and practice. I am to use every opportunity to use my gifts. There is no free ride.

The best news of all is that God is fully in control and if I am doing what he has gifted me to do then the outcome is assured to be a good one. I like that and when I rest in that, I am free to do my best without fear of failure or criticism.

LiveJournal Tags: Fear,failure,criticism,outcome,Timothy,Peter,Paul

Even Lawyers Can’t Mess This Up

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Chained Bible At our church, we are studying through the book of 2 Timothy in the New Testament. A line from Chapter 2 struck me where Paul writes, “but the word of God is not bound.” Paul is saying that even though he himself is bound, Scripture cannot be put in chains.

Our society is becoming increasingly restrictive as to when, where and how Scripture can be displayed or read out loud. Efforts are made to prevent the Bible from speaking into our society in an effort to live free from moral restraint. Lawyers around the country have brought suit to remove the Bible from mainstream thought.

When Charles Spurgeon was asked how to defend the Bible, his response became a classic. He suggested that those who attack the Bible are like men who seek to attack a caged lion with clubs. In that case, one does not have to defend the lion, one merely has to let him out of his cage and he will defend himself.

A couple of applications come to mind.

First, in light of the recent ruckus over the burning of the Koran (which was an inherently stupid thing to do), I suggest that burning of the pages of the Bible would not produce the desired result. We do not venerate the paper and leather on which Scripture is printed and bound, we venerate the words themselves as coming to us from God. However symbolic the Bible burner considers his act, neither God, nor the Church is diminished by it.

Another application of this is that we should take any opportunity to read, teach, preach and distribute the Bible. God promises that Scripture cannot be bound and it will affect change. My reading it will change me. My teaching it will change others. This is an appetite that can and should be passed on, a healthy addiction.

The reason why enemies of faith border on paranoia about the Bible is that the Chief Enemy knows how effective it is in changing individuals and society for good.

We should take this opposition as a sign that our efforts to teach Scripture are not in vain. God will bless the distribution of his Word. With regard to standing against the Enemy of Scripture, I will end with the advice of Winston Churchill:

Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never — in nothing, great or small, large or petty — never give in, except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.

6 Reasons for a Church to Engage via Social Media

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Social MediaI am a relative newbie when it comes to social media (SM). My involvement with SM came as a result of a discussion we had in an elders meeting surrounding the potential benefit of SM for the church. In November of last year, I plunged into Twitter and paid more attention to Facebook.

Since my investigation was aimed at how SM could benefit the church, I would like to offer the following thoughts as churches consider using Social Media.

  1. There will be an increase of what some are calling “digital natives,” those who have never known a time without the internet and electronic communication. As a result, SM are the primary tools for communication for a increasing segment of the population. I was at an organizational meeting for a summer mission group recently where most of the participants agreed that Facebook was the preferred method of communication among the team.
  2. More people prefer to have information pushed to them as opposed to having to go looking for it. Twitter and Facebook can be used to push information to users. This saves people the effort of going to a web site and looking for the information they need.
  3. SM allow for a sense of community because they are interactive. People can post responses and engage in spontaneous conversation. We are called to build relationships with other believers and reach out to those who do not believe. SM is a tool to do this effectively.
  4. SM can provide near real-time response to issues and questions as they arise. In our electronic society, this speed is expected.
  5. Twitter forces brevity with its 140 character limit. Churches can get out a short message with a link to a registration form or web page if additional information in necessary. The benefit is that people don’t need to spend a lot of time wading through information that does not pertain to them.
  6. Facebook and Twitter give the account holders control over how and when they view information. Users can set up notifications and use filters to bring specific information to their attention.

I assume that there are other benefits that I have not included here. Please comment to add other considerations (both positive and negative).

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