At the Indiana-Kentucky Synod Assembly over the first weekend in June,
one of the keynote speakers spoke about one-to-one listening. Pastor
Ron Luckey shared with the entire assembly what he saw as the power of
listening. As I sat and ‘listened’ to this presentation, I was struck
by what he was lifting up as a powerful tool within the congregation
that I (and I think many others) simply take for granted. After all, most of us think that we have good listening skills. But
the reality is that there is listening and then there is ‘listening.’
How many times do we sort of listen to people? I call it
multitasking. After all I have a conversation with Michelle while I
am reading the paper or watching TV. How many of us attempt to do
other things while we are talking to people on the telephone? Either
typing on our computer or cooking or watching TV while someone on the
other end of the phone is thinking that they have our full attention. Pastor Luckey told us that amazing things can happen when we actually
stop and listen to other people. The other part of what Pastor Luckey
was recommending to all people was not just listening but asking
serious questions of others. Many times we tend to only talk about
trivial things—which may be why we tend not to be as attentive to
others as we could be. He urged us to ask people to talk about our
joys, our concerns, our dreams and the things that excite us the most. When we begin to engage others in conversations about our joys,
concerns and dreams—new ideas and energy can emerge and be a catalyst
for new ministries and renewed energy and ideas for improving existing
ministries within the congregation. Big changes can come about from
these small conversations. The other significant impact that it can
have on a congregation is that it begins to foster a strong relational
culture within the congregation. This helps people to feel more a
part of the congregation and helps people know that they are valued
and an important part of the congregation and the ministries that the
congregation sponsors. I challenge everyone over the next couple of months to be intentional
about initiating conversions with other people that you may not
necessarily talk with every Sunday and listen to them about what is
going on within their lives. Some of the questions that you can use
in these conversations are:
What is the greatest joy that you experienced in the last month?
What has been a concern of your recently?
What have you been very excited about in the last month?
How have you sensed God’s presence in your life?
How is God working within your life these days? You are not limited to these questions, but are listed to give you a
starting point. I pray that God may bless your conversations in the
upcoming weeks and that we, as the body of Christ, would grow as a
result of listening to each other allowing the Holy Spirit to work
within our lives—transforming us and the congregation in the process. Pastor Steve
one of the keynote speakers spoke about one-to-one listening. Pastor
Ron Luckey shared with the entire assembly what he saw as the power of
listening. As I sat and ‘listened’ to this presentation, I was struck
by what he was lifting up as a powerful tool within the congregation
that I (and I think many others) simply take for granted. After all, most of us think that we have good listening skills. But
the reality is that there is listening and then there is ‘listening.’
How many times do we sort of listen to people? I call it
multitasking. After all I have a conversation with Michelle while I
am reading the paper or watching TV. How many of us attempt to do
other things while we are talking to people on the telephone? Either
typing on our computer or cooking or watching TV while someone on the
other end of the phone is thinking that they have our full attention. Pastor Luckey told us that amazing things can happen when we actually
stop and listen to other people. The other part of what Pastor Luckey
was recommending to all people was not just listening but asking
serious questions of others. Many times we tend to only talk about
trivial things—which may be why we tend not to be as attentive to
others as we could be. He urged us to ask people to talk about our
joys, our concerns, our dreams and the things that excite us the most. When we begin to engage others in conversations about our joys,
concerns and dreams—new ideas and energy can emerge and be a catalyst
for new ministries and renewed energy and ideas for improving existing
ministries within the congregation. Big changes can come about from
these small conversations. The other significant impact that it can
have on a congregation is that it begins to foster a strong relational
culture within the congregation. This helps people to feel more a
part of the congregation and helps people know that they are valued
and an important part of the congregation and the ministries that the
congregation sponsors. I challenge everyone over the next couple of months to be intentional
about initiating conversions with other people that you may not
necessarily talk with every Sunday and listen to them about what is
going on within their lives. Some of the questions that you can use
in these conversations are:
What is the greatest joy that you experienced in the last month?
What has been a concern of your recently?
What have you been very excited about in the last month?
How have you sensed God’s presence in your life?
How is God working within your life these days? You are not limited to these questions, but are listed to give you a
starting point. I pray that God may bless your conversations in the
upcoming weeks and that we, as the body of Christ, would grow as a
result of listening to each other allowing the Holy Spirit to work
within our lives—transforming us and the congregation in the process. Pastor Steve