Delivery

I had the honor of speaking last Sunday at a church in Pine City; it allowed me to share my heart on some stuff but also give the lead pastor and friend a week off from preparation and delivery. I am happy with the way it went, but the feedback I received gave me some additional insight. People seemed to resonate with the message, but the bulk of the feedback I received was around delivery ("I was able to understand it", "It made sense", "I got it", "It was easy to understand", etc). Now, I don't know if this was the emphasis of the reaction because the content sucked or that the content was good, but what made it better was being able to say things in a way that met people where they were at.

This, like always, got me thinking about other areas of life. What we believe will never matter to anyone else if we can't express it in a way that makes sense to them; this is actually a tenant of marketing - who cares if the product is great if you can't communicate its greatness and why people should care in a way that hooks them and makes sense. Think about Jesus and his message (on how to live a better life and that He came to take the hit for us): he didn't teach in great theological forums with high-brow language - he spoke in parables & stories; he spoke in the culture of His day: analogies of farming (sowing seed, lost sheep, crops) and fishing. No matter what we feel or believe, the ability to communicate is critical.

Perhaps this is why great leaders are so, well, great -- they can get us to see their vision and align our lives to their passion because they have a way of putting words to their beliefs and mission that makes sense. Martin Luther King, Jr, desired integration and racial reconciliation - so did a lot of people before him. But he was able to deliver this message with such powerful imagery and passion and conviction that people were moved to action. What made King's messages so great (including the "I have a dream speech") is that he constantly delivered his vision and mission. That day on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, King started his speech using an anlogy around the blacks redeeming their check of freedom that was issued by the U.S. constitution - actually, great stuff, but no one remembers it. When King felt the speech wasn't grabbing the attention he had hoped, he moved away from his written comments and pulled on the vision and speech he'd given numerous times before: "... judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character...", "... from the Stone Mountain of George, let freedom ring...", and "... free at last, free at last, thank God almighty I'm free at last...". What made MLK, Jr, great was not his desire for integration, but in his ability to delivery it and unite people toward a common vision with purpose and passion.

May we as leaders have even a fraction of that ability so that people see what we believe and are compelled toward transformation.