Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy
Welcome to Day 1014 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.
This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom
Effective Communications – Meditation Monday


Wisdom - the final frontier to true knowledge.  Welcome to Wisdom-Trek! Where our mission is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. Hello, my friend, I am Guthrie Chamberlain, your captain on our journey to increase Wisdom and Create a Living Legacy.  Thank you for joining us today as we explore wisdom on our 2nd millennium of podcasts. This is Day 1014 of our Trek, and it is time for Meditation Monday.  Taking time to relax, refocus, and reprioritize our lives is crucial in order to create a living legacy.  For you, it may just be time alone for quiet reflection.  You may utilize structured meditation practices. In my life meditation includes reading and reflecting on God’s Word, and in prayer.  It is a time, to renew my mind, refocus on what is most important, and making sure that I am nurturing my soul, mind, and body.  As you come along with me on our trek each Meditation Monday, it is my hope an prayer that you too will experience a time for reflection and renewing of your mind. 

When we communicate with others, we need to make sure we are clear and unambiguous.  Our Meditation Monday today I want us to reflect on:
Effective Communication
A seminary student turned in his copy of a sermon he had written to his preaching professor for grading. At a later conference, the professor told the student how impressed he was with his sermon, how well it was written but that he was giving him a D. Confused the student asked, "Why a D if it's as good as you say it is?"

"It's because of your title," the professor remarked. "Nobody will want to hear a sermon entitled: 'The Pericopes of Jesus in Relationship to the Eschatology of the Apostle Paul.' I tell you what I'll do. You see if you can come up with a better sermon title and I'll reconsider the grade. What you want is a title that will reach out and grab people by the heart. Imagine that title on the sign in front of a church making such an impact that if a bus stopped in front of the church and the people on the bus saw the sign, it would be so powerful it would motivate them to immediately get off the bus and run into the church."

The student said that he would give it his best shot and returned with the title, "Your bus has a bomb on it!"

Wow … from one extreme to another. When seeking to be a witness for Jesus, the words we say (or don't say) are very important; but of far greater importance and impact is the message that comes from our heart, which is an expression of who we are. This message speaks so much louder than what we say. "People don't care how much we know but rather how much do we care?" Do we communicate the love of Jesus? If not, our words, no matter how eloquent, may have a boomerang effect and do more to drive people away from Jesus rather than draw them to him.

As another has wisely said, "To win some we need to be winsome."Effective communications are so important in all areas of life, but especially as we are working to build God’s kingdom here on earth.  That reminds me of the Bible passage found in:

1 Corinthians 14:8-9

And if the bugler doesn’t sound a clear call, how will the soldiers know they are being called to battle? It’s the same for you. If you speak to people in words they don’t understand, how will they know what you are saying? You might as well be talking into empty space.

That is a wrap for today’s meditation, next week we will continue our trek on Meditation Monday as we take time to reflect on what is most important in creating our living legacy.  On tomorrow’s trek,