Communication is a true art. Books have been written about how to do it better. In fact, I have a book on the subject of Listening; a huge part of communicating. On the scene of a fire, due to its high level of danger, we have an “order model” to prescribe how we are to communicate. It essentially says that the receiver of the message will acknowledge the message by repeating it back to the sender. “Command to Engine 1. Take a hose line to the second floor. Engine will call back: “Engine 1 copies, take a hose line to the second floor.” There is no room for misunderstandings when lives are on the line. Yet, how many times have you had a fight with someone only to find out “that’s not what I meant”? Leaders need to keep communications open with their people too. Some call it “touching base” and others call it “checking in”. Today, change is constant and people need to know what is going on around them. If they are worried about the latest rumor, they won’t focus on their job and then you’ll be communicating with them in other ways. The old saying “you can’t treat people like mushrooms” is true. Keeping them in the dark and feeding them crap just won’t work. People need light and encouragement from their leaders.

“The people walking in the darkness have seen a great light: on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” Isaiah 9:2

Living in the shadow of death without hope of eternal life is unimaginable to me. The sad truth however, is that there are people living in those shadows. They walk in darkness and despair without hope because they don’t know about the light of Christ. Witnessing to people is one of the hardest things that we can do. Sometimes we’re not confident in our knowledge of bible verses or we simply don’t want to be pushy. It takes courage to overcome these fears. Ask God for help. Maybe this blog post is that help. You don’t need to go around quoting the bible or offering street corner sermons. Simply reminding people that there are options and that no matter what they’ve done, God loves them. If you are still not sure, close your Face Book page or Twitter account for 15 minutes and look up witnessing tips. We have seen a great light! Now, go and share it!