My First Book Review!!!
WOW…I am SO pumped! I was asked by my friend, Andy Stanley, to do a review for his upcoming book entitled, Communicating For A Change. So…here are my thoughts.
First of all I was so excited when I discovered that Stanley had written a book about communication. In my opinion—he is one of the top five speakers in America, hands down. And so that fact alone gave the book a certain “authority” if you will. I would rather read the thoughts of an excellent communicator than sit in a seminary class and listen to someone talk about preaching, but couldn’t preach there way out of a wet paper bag. (Just being honest & speaking from experience!)
In this book Stanley is incredibly transparent about several things—one being the struggle that pastors face when they walk off of the platform and the immediate thought of, “What did people think” flooding their mind! Face it—it matters to us what people think—we want people to be captivated by the message; however, for as much as we want people to be captivated, Stanley points out that EFFORT must be put forth in making that happen.
(I personally blame boring messages on the one who is presenting the message—the Bible is exciting and those who make it boring are sinning in my opinion! God is not boring…His messengers should not be either!)
Some would argue that merely “preaching the word” is enough—Stanley disagrees! Here is a quote from page 153…
“Simply put, you have to manufacture interest. On the average Sunday morning, or whenever you communicate, your first responsibility is to pose a question your audience wants answered, create a tension they need resolved, or point to a mystery they have been unable to solve. And if you launch into your message before you do one of those things, chances are, you will leave them standing at the station.”
Now, for you “purists” out there—don’t take this the wrong way or blow it out of proportion, Stanley consistently affirms the reliability of Scripture and the need for life changing messages—but his point is well made in that unless people know why they should be listening, they probably won’t listen…and like it or not, creating an interest is OUR responsibility as a communicator!
I also love the fact that Stanley affirms the fact that preachers need to be honest, in fact, he says at one point in his book, “If you preach from your weakness, you will never run out of material!” WOW—if that is true (and I believe it is) then I will always have something to talk about…my stupidity and selfishness sometimes knows no bounds!
Face it—if you are a public speaker of any kind—the pressure is on! Everyone in your audience has some sort of expectation—some want line by line, verse by verse, others want to feel good, and others want help with their life because it is falling apart. AND—there is NO WAY that any pastor can meet EVERYONE’S expectations…that is why Stanley believes that preaching for life change is the best solution!
He sums this up really well when he says…
“Preaching is a performance. Preachers are performers. But unlike the comedian, we are expected to more than entertain. We are expected to be educational, inspirational, theological, and engaging all at the same time. So there we stand. All alone. All eyes on us. Waiting. Expecting. Hoping. And did I mention that we have to talk to the same audience week after week? Did I mention that all week long they have been driving around in their cars listening to my dad, Chuck Swindoll, Ed Young, and Sean Hannity. Whose idea was this?”
WOW—great point…and unless you have ever spoken publicly you just can’t identify!
I will say this—I honestly believe that ANYONE can take this book and, by applying the principles that Stanley outlines, improve as a communicator! He makes it simple—if you take God’s Word, create an interest—and explain to people WHY it is important and that IF they apply it then their lives will change for the better…then life change happens…and that should be the goal of a communicator. To see lives changed for His glory!
What I LOVE is that Stanley does not write in a boastful way & claim, “I have found a way to communicate…and this is the ONLY way to communicate…and if you do not do it my way you are a loser and the judgment of God will fall upon you…” He merely presents the way he plans, prays, and organizes his messages and seems to say, “Hey, this has worked for me and I think it will work for you as well.”
Let me close by saying that this book is an incredibly easy read. If you read his book, “Seven Practices of Effective Ministry,” then you will discover that it is part II. The parable in that book continues in this one. I have A-D-H-D and so I give a book three chapters to get my attention…and if it doesn’t it goes on a shelf. I can honestly say that Stanley’s book CAPTIVATED my attention from the beginning and held it all the way through.
Every speaker should want to improve! This book has challenged me to review some of the ways I prepare and present…and I can’t wait to see the outcome. It should be in the stores by the third week in June…but you can pre-order it here if you would like.
Thanks Andy for a well needed book on this subject! You hit a home run!!!