Shared Experience

Recently, I received a landmark in my career as an author when the local chapter of a national book club named my latest book (Be Known for Your D.E.E.D.S.) as their selection of the month!  A HUGE honor!  To make the honor even more impactful I was invited to speak at their next meeting.  The great feeling just kept getting better!

Upon arriving at the venue (a restaurant) it rapidly became apparent the ambient noise level was going to be very high outside the reserved private room, and presenting a 30-minute program would be quite a challenge.  At this point in the story it would be easy to go on about the noise and the resulting difficulties, but let's change lanes and look at this from the perspective of the audience.

Too often, we, as speakers, tell of the drama we encounter when a venue, the material, or the audience are not set up perfectly for our style or message.  And those tales can be instructive, but rarely do we read (or hear) about the equally difficult challenge faced by the audience.  In this case, they were welcoming a speaker into a noisy space which necessitated they adjust their own ease and comfort to get the most out of the program.

My wife, Denise, had traveled with me and she commiserated with the club's members.  In so doing, she became a bridge to their view, and helped me to have a more balanced takeaway of what had just transpired.  Having this knowledge has me re-thinking experiential encounters.  Too often we only consider one perspective...our own.  Far fewer times do we even acknowledge that a speaking engagement, a graduation ceremony, a school play, a book signing, or other analogous gatherings have two sets of participants; those on stage and those in the audience.

In a very real sense both are dealing with the same experience.  For my moment in the sun as an author relishing the moment of recognition it was a noisy venue with wait-staff interruptions.  For the local members of the book club, guess what?  It was a noisy venue with wait-staff interruptions!  We both were immersed in an environment not in the least conducive to the planned program.

How often is it the case with so much else in life? The atmosphere of the restaurant is all wrong, there's no shade at the tennis match, the flight was delayed for mechanical reasons, etc.  We must try to get outside our own selves and attempt the viewpoint of others.  When we do we will draw closer to that place of understanding; that place of walking in the shoes of our brother or sister.  What could have been a disaster became a common bonding experience because each party realized we were united in the experience.  As a result, it was an unqualified success and both parties gained a fresh perspective about each other, and on the shared experience.

Fearlessly,
JD

Speakers! Never Discount the Miraculous

In no way do I ever discount the miraculous! As a Speaker, Evangelist, and Author, I am blessed to have many opportunities to meet a vast array of my fellow humans. They are tall and short, heavy and light, funny and serious, believe like I do and not, but they are all beautiful, and enrich this life’s experience.

In 2003, I was a delegate to the All Nations Conference of Ministers in Cape Town, South Africa. It was the first time I had crossed the Atlantic; the first time I had been on a plane for 20+ hours; and it would be the first time I would preach a sermon. I found out the day before departure that I would, in fact, be closing a revival service! What?!! All I could say to the news was, “Oh my. Wow. Are you sure? Okay. Well, praise God, He must have something in mind.” And He did.

At the time, I had been writing an internet column for almost three years. I printed eleven columns from the more than 150 I had written, packed them in my carry-on, and looked forward to writing a sermon during the 20 hour transit. I was given no information about the theme of the revival, the order of the service, or the congregation. If you have ever been asked to speak, and the person booking you says something like, “Oh we trust you! Whatever you want to share will be fine,” be gratified for their trust, then, whether or not you are a person of faith…start praying!

Sitting in the church the night of my arrival in Cape Town, I was enjoying the amazing experience of being in a different culture for worship! South African pop singer, Ricardo, was the Pastor’s guest, and doing some of his own songs when, quite suddenly, he decided to sing an old hymn. When he sang the first lyrics of ’How Great Thou Art’ tears streamed down my face.  I looked down at the sheet on my lap, a column I had brought with me entitled, How Great Thou Art!

Eleven columns had been printed from more than 150. Of those eleven, I had selected ‘How Great Thou Art’ for the text of my remarks. And the theme of the revival, which I discovered upon entering the church, was Miracles in Motion!  Two men (me and Ricardo), on two separate continents, six time zones and eight thousand miles apart, having never met (at least not until after the service), had one message on our lips, How Great Thou Art!  Yes, God had a plan.

Speakers, you never know when your remarks are going to touch the lives of someone in your audience. Do your very best at all times to be prepared, and if it applies to you, be prayed up as well. We bear a wonderful and awesome responsibility to our audiences to bring them our very best, and in doing so, we will find that not only are they blessed, but we will be as well.

Fearlessly,

JD