I was watching Bishop Jakes do his thing the other day.
Somewhere around the 45 minute mark in his message (just after the introduction) I realized that as a pastor, I listen to preachers on two levels at the same time:
1. What they’re saying
2. How they’re saying it

The first level is for content, the second level is for context. If you’re a musician, you can relate. The average listener appreciates Mute Math in a totally different way than you appreciate Mute Math. You appreciate the subversive chord progressions, the complicated time signatures and the off-the-wall production elements that somehow work. Most listeners just like it because it’s…different. Most people listen and play air drums, or sing along. You listen and then go write a song of your own, inspired by what you heard.

So when I hear Bishop talking about The Chemistry of the Crumbs (a message from T.D. Jakes Classics Vol. 2, recently purchased as a gift from my staff-who obviously knows my love language), I’m excited about what he’s saying: God can make a miracle happen in my life with leftovers.

But I’m equally fascinated by how he’s saying it: his cadence, his word selection, his dynamics…not to mention precise timing, command of the subject matter, or charisma.
What he’s saying inspires me to be a better Christian.
How he’s saying it inspires me to be a better preacher. Not that I’d have the audacity to try to emulate the Bishop. That would be stupid, because he’s from Mars. Besides, God already has a Jakes. My job is to be Furtick.
But I’m always on the lookout for principles of good communication that I can observe, own, and then make operational in my own unique ministry.