Tom Raley, Henri Nouwen & The Beach Boys

There is a hat rack in my office with an old wool fedora hanging on it. I always get asked if it is mine. It belongs to my friend Tom Raley, who passed away in 2012 at the age of 79. When I came on staff with Young Life in 1987, Tom had already been on staff for 30 years. We shared an office during his last years, and I consider Tom one of my greatest mentors.

Not long ago, I pulled Tom’s copy of a book we read together off the shelf. It was “Creative Ministry” by Henri Nouwen. The chapter entitled "Beyond Retelling the Story: Preaching" hit me hard as I began to think about a “Communicating the Message Clearly” workshop I was preparing to lead. I was especially struck by what Tom had underlined.

Here are just a few things he felt his red pen and ruler were worthy of...

"But whenever an answer is given when there is no question, support is offered when there is no need, or an idea is given when there is no desire to know, the only possible effect can be irritation or plain indifference."

Now before I re-type the entire book, ask yourself a few questions as you prepare your next message, devotional, or Bible study you lead.

1. Am I answering questions that anyone is asking?

2. Am I really in touch with the feelings of those I address?

3. If not, what do I need to do to put myself in their place, feel what they are feeling, and ask what they are asking?

4. Do I keep myself on the outside as the speaker or leader, untouchable and invulnerable?

5. Am I willing to risk real engagement to be in relationship with those who listen?

6. How can I put my own faith and doubt, anxiety and hope, fear and joy in my message to remove obstacles to my message being heard?

I know that's a lot to ponder, but I try to ask myself those questions as I prepare a message or give a devotional.

Nouwen says that when true dialogue between the preacher and his listeners takes place, then the audience member can say...

"What you say loudly, I whispered in the dark; what you pronounce so clearly, I had some suspicion about; what you had put in the foreground, I felt in the back of my mind; what you hold so firmly in your hand always slipped away through my fingers. Yes, I find myself in your words..."

Maybe that's what the famous director Cameron Crowe (Jerry Maguire, Almost Famous) meant when he said this about hearing Beach Boys famous "Pet Sounds" album for the first time at age 13...

"You find songs so personal that they feel like someone’s been reading your diary... you ache hearing these songs; they’re filled with secret cries for help disguised in harmonies. For me, Pet Sounds is a record that takes you gently by the lapels and says, 'Here’s what it feels like to be alive.'”

When you speak or teach, may your audience find themselves in the words of the Gospel as we say it loudly, pronounce it clearly, put it in the foreground, and hold firmly to nothing other than the Good News. May they say perhaps for the first time, "Here's what it feels to be fully alive."

Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of Nouwen's Creative Ministry.

Just make sure you have a red pen and a ruler handy. You'll need it.