We all need to be persuasive. Maybe you are trying to get a customer to buy something, or you want someone to trust what you are saying, or perhaps you just want a friend or family member to do what you say- you are trying to be persuasive because you believe in your position. We…
Listen. Pretty please, listen
Listen. Do you mind if I share a pet peeve? Because I had a day off, I had the chance to listen to the sermons of six different preachers today. Each of them holds preaching ministry positions and their sermons are broadcast on radio waves across the country; some around the world. Several of them…
Communicating Sound Doctrine
From the days that I sat at the Seminary listening to seasoned, biblical scholars, sound doctrine stirs me. The professors were people who knew the Scriptures and taught them with confident authority. How do we teach the content of sound doctrine to others in the church? There are so many different opinions about Scripture, how…
Communicate Strength: Speaking Trust and Confidence
Incredible things happen when people communicate well. No other skill will position you to positively change and influence the lives of others like effective communication skills. But most of us are more than uneasy when called upon to speak. Fear of rejection, of making mistakes, and of being misunderstood permeate our souls when we are…
Our Words
When I was seven or eight years old, my family would drive up to northern Indiana to visit my great-grandfather who was in his nineties. Grandpa Russell had been very hard of hearing since an accident when he was a young teen. He had an old house, with a old pot-bellied stove in the living…
My Heart is Hooked on Words
At any given time, I am working on several books, studies or articles. As I prepare my mind and heart, I usually get a handful of books from my shelves to skim. I pull the books by authors who have touched my heart with their lives and words. Reading molds my thinking to a devotional…
Conversation, skills & story-telling
How we communicate – our conversation, our listening, our understanding, and our interaction – determines the influence we have with others. The better our conversation and communication, the better our relationships and development. Winston Churchill was one of the masters of communication. Recognized as one of the best known speakers of the past century, Churchill…