danmastrapa.com » axiom http://www.danmastrapa.com Fri, 11 Jun 2010 18:01:09 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Choose Your Words Carefully! http://www.danmastrapa.com/2009/08/17/choose-your-words-carefully/ http://www.danmastrapa.com/2009/08/17/choose-your-words-carefully/#comments Mon, 17 Aug 2009 15:22:56 +0000 Dan http://www.danmastrapa.com/?p=428 wordsI just started to read Bill Hybel’s book Axiom — Powerful Leadership Proverbs. It’s a compendium of leadership nuggets from one of the most well known pastors in America and lead pastor of Willow Creek. It will take me a while to go through this book as I am finding each proverb extremely applicable to my current experience. I’ll be going through it like a devotional and share my thoughts periodically.

In the proverb, Language Matters, Hybels shares how the best leaders wrestle with words in order to communicate their big ideas in a way that captures the imagination, catalyzes action and lifts spirits. This is something I have been wrestling with myself in articulating the vision of SentChurch. I know deep in my heart what I desire to see but I am finding it challenging to draw out the words that convey what can call people to action. Much prayer is being focused in this direction.

It’s not just about creating catchy slogans or meaningless jargon to be hip, trendy and cool. Too many churches do that in an endless stream of cheap copycats and cheesy campaigns that don’t rally anyone around the cause. A quick viewing of Christian television, if you can stomach it, reflects how little effort is put in to choosing the right words. They all sound as if they hired the same dated, campy marketing agency. Consequently, they sound the same and fewer people are listening to them.

Choosing the right words is about crafting a story that excites the heart, appeals to the mind and causes the spirit to soar to new heights of possibility. Carefully and prayerfully chosen words that are inspired by the Spirit, elevate a group of common people to do uncommon things, make the ordinary extraordinary and move people from the mundane to the realm of the miraculous. That’s how powerful words are.

What words excite you and catalyze you to take action? I would love to hear some of those. Have you given careful thought to how you communicate your dream and vision?

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