I’ve listened to dozens of speakers this week. And I have a few reflections and self-reflections on communication. Here is my predominant thought: tell me something I don’t know.

The church ought to be the place where original thought is most prevalent. We have the Holy Spirit to illuminate us and lead us into all truth. But all too often I hear what I’ve heard a thousand times. So I tend to tune out. Challenge my assumptions. Violate my expectations. Shift my paradigms. The best speakers have a way of saying old things in new ways.

You can tell the difference between something that is manufactured and something that is anointed. It is the difference between predictable and prophetic. It is the difference between theoretical and practical.

One last thought. I love a speaker who makes me think and makes me feel. They have great thoughts, but they speak from the heart.

Make me think.
Make me laugh.
Make me dream.
Make me cry.
Make me repent.
Make me change.
Make me remember.
Make me imagine.