Many of you know that I love to read. And recently, I read a book by John Maxwell called "Everyone Communicates: Few Connect". In some ways, this was a challenging book for me. Being a person who loves to read, and who delights in thinking about things and figuring out things and new approaches, I sometimes lose the people element.
That's why this was a challenging book for me. In my chosen career, connecting with people is vitally important. While it is important to know things such as what the Bible says and how my particular church body understands what the Bible says, connecting people to God and to Jesus is what is most important. It's not a lot of good to know a whole lot of stuff if you never connect with others, so that they see the importance of those things.
In particular, Maxwell pointed out one area in which I have a lot of room to grow. He makes the assertion that, in order to really connect, you have to understand what the people with whom you are trying to connect really need. You have to understand people and what their needs are before you can effectively connect with them.
This is where connecting and communicating are two different things. Everyone communicates. If my wife tells me something and my response is a frown, I have communicated. The problem is, I haven't connected. Or, if I'm watching TV and try to have a conversation with my wife in the other room, we may be communicating, but we probably aren't connecting very well. And that is the point that Maxwell makes.
Connecting involves getting to know people, finding out what their needs are, and then working to ensure that communication takes place in such a way that it fits what they need. He uses a lot of examples from his life as a speaker to point these out, and even indicates that it was something that he had to grow into. And that is where I realize that this book is good news for me. These kind of things do not come naturally. I have to work at them. And as I work at them, it seems a good possibility that I will improve at them.
The master of communicating and connecting is Jesus. His message of hope and grace, or of warning and consequence, happened to be exactly what those listening to Him needed to hear. Even from a physical standpoint, when Jesus would heal, He would heal exactly what was needed and exactly when it was needed. That message of good news is one that all people of this would need to hear. And that is why Maxwell's book has stuck with me. I would actually suggest reading it, especially if you find that you don't seem to have good connections with people in your life.
That's why this was a challenging book for me. In my chosen career, connecting with people is vitally important. While it is important to know things such as what the Bible says and how my particular church body understands what the Bible says, connecting people to God and to Jesus is what is most important. It's not a lot of good to know a whole lot of stuff if you never connect with others, so that they see the importance of those things.
In particular, Maxwell pointed out one area in which I have a lot of room to grow. He makes the assertion that, in order to really connect, you have to understand what the people with whom you are trying to connect really need. You have to understand people and what their needs are before you can effectively connect with them.
This is where connecting and communicating are two different things. Everyone communicates. If my wife tells me something and my response is a frown, I have communicated. The problem is, I haven't connected. Or, if I'm watching TV and try to have a conversation with my wife in the other room, we may be communicating, but we probably aren't connecting very well. And that is the point that Maxwell makes.
Connecting involves getting to know people, finding out what their needs are, and then working to ensure that communication takes place in such a way that it fits what they need. He uses a lot of examples from his life as a speaker to point these out, and even indicates that it was something that he had to grow into. And that is where I realize that this book is good news for me. These kind of things do not come naturally. I have to work at them. And as I work at them, it seems a good possibility that I will improve at them.
The master of communicating and connecting is Jesus. His message of hope and grace, or of warning and consequence, happened to be exactly what those listening to Him needed to hear. Even from a physical standpoint, when Jesus would heal, He would heal exactly what was needed and exactly when it was needed. That message of good news is one that all people of this would need to hear. And that is why Maxwell's book has stuck with me. I would actually suggest reading it, especially if you find that you don't seem to have good connections with people in your life.
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