Next level communicators are courageous.

Next level communicators are courageous. 

Sometimes you get to the point where enough is enough. Vernon Johns, pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church (And the predecessor to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.), and one of the most effective communicators of his time, reached that point when he read of a black man who was nearly beaten to death by a police officer who pulled him over for speeding. Filled with righteous indignation, Pastor Johns posted the title to that Sunday’s sermon on the marquee of the church, “It’s Safe to Murder Negroes in Montgomery”. His message title was so clear, so courageous, it got him summoned into court. When Reverend Johns was asked by the judge why he would preach on such an inflammatory topic, he responded, “Because everywhere I go in the South the Negro is forced to choose between his hide and his soul…Mostly, he chooses his hide. I’m going to tell him that this hide is not worth it” (From, Don’t Let Nobody Turn You Around, Justin Giboney). 

I would have paid to plop down on one of Dexter Avenue’s wooden pews that Sunday. 

Courage is doing what you have to do even when you don’t feel like doing it. Courage is the necessary currency every effective communicator must spend from time to time because we are in the persuasion industry. And to persuade someone is to not only offer a better path, but it also involves challenging their current choices which takes, you got it, courage. One of the things I try to always do when I give a message is to begin by showing the topic or passage I have chosen connects with the felt need of the audience. If you are a preacher, what makes “all Scripture…profitable” (2 Timothy 3:16), is each passage taps into a universal felt need we have, like freedom, significance, meaning, hope and so on. At the end of my message I want to transition from the felt need to the real need which is the gospel. But to get there I have to exercise courage by showing the people how they are going about trying to address the felt need is wrong (normally through idolatry), and how the gospel offers a better way. If you are not a preacher but you are trying to persuade your audience towards something, you will have to show them their current way is not the best, and this takes courage. Next level communicators are courageous. 

Over the years, as I have sought to become more courageous, I have found the following to be helpful:

1. Go to war with people pleasing. This is not a box to be checked, but a tension to be managed. My desire to be liked as a communicator is greater than I’m comfortable admitting. As a pastor, what I say can have a direct impact on attendance and giving, so courage can be costly. What helps me with courage is to have an audience greater than the people in the seats, and for me that is God. When I work for and rest in His approval, this frees me from the approval of others. Another way to go to war with people pleasing is to be convinced in what you are offering to the people. When we as communicators truly believe what we are persuading people to is the better path, then this will heighten courage.

1. Thou Shall Not Be A Jerk. Ever had someone challenge or correct you, and it was said so well you felt loved? Or better yet, you didn’t even realize you were being corrected until long after the meeting, because of the grace in which they approached you? What the person did was still courageous, they just chose to sprinkle some sugar on their words. What you experienced was the Greek word for gentleness which means strength wrapped in velvet. You don’t have to come off like a jerk to make your point. In fact, if you do, you will probably unnecessarily fail in your mission to persuade people. 

1. Don’t just call out, call up. Okay, really important here. Courage is not just giving people bad news, it must also show a better way. When we point out the wrong, but never give hope, we might as well have given our audience a terminal cancer diagnosis. Never leave the people hopeless. John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist church, and one of the great communicators in world history, said his aim every time he spoke was to overwhelm people with law, and rescue them with grace. Wesley didn’t just want to call people out, he also wanted to call people up. 

What I’m Reading:

Don’t Let Not Nobody Turn You Around: How the Black Church’s Public Witness Leads us out of the Culture War, by Justin Giboney. 

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