Andy Stanley is an effective communicator. The church he pastors and helped found, North Point Community Church in Atlanta, is one of the most innovative and creative evangelical churches in America. Although sometimes criticized for what some perceive as an overemphasis on relevance or pragmatism, there is no question but that it's staff is among the best in the art of communication. When I first heard of Andy after moving to Atlanta in the late 1980's, I was a little taken aback to find out he was working for his father, Dr. Charles Stanley. But after hearing him speak a few times (along with another late twentysomething named Louie Giglio), those thoughts of nepotism quickly vanished. Andy has a gift for humble, cogent communication, but he also has a desire to communicate effectively, and where some communicators rely on either gifting or preparation, Andy takes his gifting to a new level by continuing to learn and hone his skills.
Andy has published more books than we can count. Most of the recent ones are essentially various repackaged message series from North Point, some of which even come with companion DVDs. If you've heard Andy speak you know why this book will be warmly received by those seeking to improve their communication skills. This one is not so much a message to the church as it is handbook on communication. Andy is one of those leaders that literally thousands of young guys would like to sit down with and learn from. 
Since Andy can't possibly do that, he's done the next best thing...with input from another staff member, Lane Jones, he has put down on paper what he knows about communication. The result is (at least in part 2) a book that will be helpful reading for any young pastor in or preparing for ministry, even if they are not as gifted as Andy.
The book begins with an introduction in which Andy briefly discusses his experiences with communication and the early days of his preaching and teaching while in college, to set the stage for the topic of the book.
Beyond that intro, the first section of the book--roughly one-third--is a sort of "One Minute Manager" narrative story involving two characters, one of which is a struggling pastor, whose paths intersect and result in the pastor learning a number of points about effective communication through various conversations and experiences. If you like fiction and light reading you may enjoy the word pictures and associations, but I had lost interest by the end of the second chapter and skipped ahead hoping that what I was reading was not destined to be the only content of the book. I was relieved to find out it was not. Beginning in chapter eleven, the authors get to where the rubber meets the road. The last two-thirds of the book delivered what I had hoped to find: insight into the methods Andy uses to prepare the messages he preaches at North Point Community Church (points which correspond to those illustrated by the fictional story used to open the book).
Beginning on page 91 the authors dig into seven imperatives that must be present in order for communication to be effective. In introducing the second section, they make it clear where he is going:
The remainder of this book is a detailed explanation of the seven imperatives. You may find some of our ideas challenging, perhaps even a bit unorthodox. But before you dismiss these ideas as impractical, let me place them in a context we can all understand. If you saw your three-year old child reaching for a scorpion what wouldn't you do to stop her? I imagine you would be willing to forego all the rules of normal, even decent behavior to keep her hand away from that scorpion's sting. You would raise your voice. You would run in the house. You would leap over the furniture. You would risk bodily harm if that's what it took to keep her out of danger. You would do whatever it took.
Every single person who sits politely and listens to you on Sunday is one decision away from moral, financial, and marital ruin. Every one of 'em. Many are considering options with consequences that will follow them the remainder of their lives. There are husbands teetering on the brink of unfaithfulness. Wives whose schedules are sustainable. Couples who are drowning in a sea of debt. Teenagers who are there because their parents forced them to come. Young men who have been told they are gay. Young ladies who have been told their worth goes no further than their physical beauty.
There they sit. Silent. Waiting. Hoping. Doubting. Anticipating. What are we going to do? What are you going to do? What are you going to say?
This is the world we have been called to address. These are the issues we have been called to confront. There is much at stake. There are many at risk. The great news is the pages of Scripture are filled with principles, narratives, and truth that address each of these needs. The question you must answer is, to what extreme are you willing to go to create a delivery system that will connect with the heart of your audience? Are you willing to abandon a style, an approach, a system that was designed in another era for a culture that no longer exists? Are you willing to step out of your comfort zone in order to step into the lives God has placed in your care? Are you willing to make the adjustment? WIll you consider letting go of your alliterations and acrostics and three point outlines and talk to people in terms they understand? WIll you communicate for life change?
First, they write, determine your goal. Just what are you trying to accomplish? Indeed, life change is the goal North Point leadership has in mind. They write, with regard to this question:
Our approach to communicating should be shaped by our goal in communicating. Most of us inherited our approach to communicating. We grew up listening to preachers who all took basically the same approach. Then we went to schools where we were all taught to develop messages along the lines of the style we grew up listening to. Chances are, nobody challenged you to think about your goal as a communicator. They just taught you an approach. But if your approach to communicating does not support your goal as a communicator there is a disconnect.
For the remainder of the book, the writers detail their speaking style and explain how the seven imperatives work. Those imperatives are:
- Determine Your Goal: What are you trying to accomplish?
- Pick a Point: What are you trying to say
- Create a Map: What's the best route to your point?
- Internalize the messages: What's your story?
- Engage Your Audience: What's your plan to capture and keep their attention?
- Find Your Voice: What works for you?
- Start All Over: What's the next step?
While covering thes seven imperatives, considerable ground is covered, discussing topics like:
- The five components of an effective message and how this outlining technique assist in the preparation and delivery of his messages
- How Andy prepares messages and what he has with him when he presents the message
- Why they prefer a one-point message to the traditional 10 or 12 point message formulas
- What part of your message needs to be memorized ("internalized") and why
- Why clarify is more important than style
- Why you should listen to your own messages, as painful as it is to do
- How to pray when you get stuck during message preparation
- Why conference teaching and Sunday morning preaching call for different styles of preparation and presentation
Stanley and Jones know there are those that criticize the North Point delivery style, but throughout the book he answers critics who might allege that all one has to do is "preach the word." They observe:
I agree, it is the job of the Holy Spirit to take the spoken word and convict, convince, and change the hearer. And we have no control over what part of what we say the Spirit might choose to use. Further, I think you would agree that the Holy Spirit often takes different ideas, illustrations, and insights from the same message and applies them to different people in various ways.
and
At the end of the day, it is God who empowers people to change. It is the Holy Spirit who opens the eyes of the heart. It is our Savior who gives men and women the courage to love and forgive. I, like you, am simply a mouthpiece.
There are churches who water down the message, to be sure, but not all contemporary churches do so. The authors defend Andy's topical preaching against those who say that anything short of 100% expository preaching is unbiblical. While there is room for debate among (many) evangelicals as to whether preaching should be all topical, all expository or some mix of both (and I hold to the latter), I hope there is agreement that all preaching--whether topical or expository--should be Bible based, which Andy's is. And while some will question one-point messages versus the ten-point messages of the elder Stanley (Charles, Andy's father), I think we can agree that a one point message with one point remembered is better than a ten point message with all points forgotten.
It is God's word that transforms lives. And to be understood God's word has to be preached in a language that is understood by the culture. Some reading this are of the opinion that any and all contextualization is wrong, not realizing that their own preaching has already been contextualized to some culture...whether it be the 1950's, 1850's, or 1550's. And others reading this have contextualized...but contextualized to the point where the gospel has been removed and the Bible nowhere to be found as an absolute indicator of truth. This book will help you improve your communications skills, and in so doing, will enable you to present the gospel with more clarity, authority, and effectiveness. We're called to communicate the Gospel. To preach. To Teach. From there it's up to God.
Purchase Communicating for a Change: Seven Keys to Irresistible Communication
