The 1 thing next level communicators have in common with the teaching of Jesus.
The 1 thing next level communicators have in common with the teaching of Jesus.
When I think about the communicators (and leaders for that matter) who really move and inspire me, they all have one thing in common- conviction…a deep seated belief in what they are talking about, that moves you deeply.
I’ve been reading this week Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Pulitzer prize winning book, Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream. No matter where you may fall politically, what cannot be denied is the enormous impact President Johnson made on America. Between 1965-1968, he introduced 500 programs. His influence can still be felt today through such legislative gains as The Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act, Medicare and Medicaid. As I’ve been reading Goodwin’s book, I’ve often asked myself the question, How did a man from the deep south convince so many other southern lawmakers (among others) to back bills which ran counter to what they and their constituents believed? The answer of course is one word- conviction. Listen to what President Johnson says: “What convinces is conviction. You have to believe in the argument you are advancing; if you don’t, you’re as good as dead. The other person will sense that something isn’t there, and no chain of reasoning, no matter how logical or elegant or brilliant, will win your case for you” (Lyndon Johson and the American Dream, pages 157-158).
And conviction is what made Jesus stand out. His Sermon on the Mount is widely regarded to be one of the most, if not the most, returned to sermons for people from all walks of life. But for all of Jesus’ pleadings to turn the other cheek, love our enemies and do to others what we would want them to do to us, what is hardly mentioned is the response of his audience to the message: “And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowd was astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching as one who had authority and not as their scribes”- Matthew 7:28-29.
The original language of Matthew’s gospel is Greek, and the Greek word for authority is a word which means conviction. In the New Testament there are several Greek words which convey the idea of authority. One is the word dunamis, from which we get words like dynamite. As you can imagine, dunamis has to do with explosive power. This isn’t the word that was used to describe Jesus’ teaching (which is the Greek word exousia). So what is the difference between dunamis and exousia? Dr. Tony Evans says in the game of football, the players have dunamis- an explosive kind of power which can tackle and even injure a person- while referee’s have authority. The football players use their dunamis to knock other players down. The referees use their exousia to at times put players out.
Now let’s think about referees and exousia, or authority. Ever seen a referee kind of sort of blow their whistle, not really sure if they should or shouldn’t have? Nope. I sure haven’t. When the referee or the umpire blows the whistle, throws the flag, gives the technical or calls the strike, they do so with conviction, conveying a sense of assuredness. Or to say it another way, referees and umpires believe what they are communicating. What’s more is when they do make their calls, they always elicit some sort of response, often from both teams. Players complain, baseball managers run out to scream in umpires faces, and fans boo or cheer.
That’s what conviction does…it moves people, making them feel something.
Next level communicators authentically use conviction to not only connect with their audience but to also persuade them in a certain direction.
Now here’s what I don’t mean by conviction. Conviction is not yelling. Conviction is not animation. Conviction is not sliding into character and being someone you’re not.
Instead, conviction is this eerie sense that I’m all in on everything I’m talking about.
5 Thoughts on Conviction:
Manufacturing conviction is hypocrisy, so don’t even try.
Don’t speak for money or notoriety; speak what you believe and feel.
Get the message in your heart before it comes out of your mouth. One of the exercises I do many weeks when I’m preparing to preach is I will take the text I’m going to communicate, along with my prayer journal and pen, and just write devotionally what I’m seeing in the Scripture. I have found this to be a helpful exercise to get it in my heart before it comes out of my mouth.
Conviction does not mean perfection. You can be all in on the message you are speaking, and have failed to practice it as well. All of us have been there. In fact, I have found it helpful to admit this to the audience as I’m speaking. Remember, conviction is often developed through failure.
Conviction should be dripped not poured. Now of course, we should believe the whole message, but what I am getting at here are those moments in the message where we step away from the notes and bare our souls. It’s here we have to be careful though. Nothing ruins a ball game more than the referees blowing the whistle the whole time. And nothing will fatigue your audience more (And you!) than one long heart felt conviction moment. I know communicators like this. I’ve sat under these kinds of messages. I always leave saying to myself, “I stink”. That’s not what you want. Spend your conviction moments wisely.
August 19th is fast approaching. What is the big deal about August 19th? It’s when my new book, Grace to Overcome, releases. You will find it helpful as you look for stories to communicate better. Be sure to preorder.
