After yesterday's post, focused on preaching to the younger unchurched, I thought it would be helpful to think more on the topic of communication.

Last week I listened to an Andy Stanley message. I've had the privilege to visit with Andy on numerous occasions and we have at times spoken about his approach to communication. He sees that as a primary spiritual gift in his life and I think he's is correct. Andy is one of the most effective communicators we have in the church today-- and I think we can learn from him.

Last week he began a series "God still has the whole world in his hands." I have been considering changing my preaching plans for the spring and doing a series on "uncertain times." That was his theme-- God is still in control even though there is much turmoil in the world today. You can listen to the message on-line here.

A few years ago, my friend, John Shepherd, and I met with Andy for a couple of hours. John and I worked together at the North American Mission Board, which shares a property line (but not a denomination) with North Point Church, pastored by Andy Stanley. (That is another story for another day, but it is not dissimilar to the story of many other contemporary church pastors who were once part of the SBC.)

John and I are both no longer at NAMB. John is now a teaching pastor at Mountain Lake Church in North Georgia. John and I were planning to write a book together called, EPIC Leaders, and this was going to be on one of the chapters. The subtitle was "Church Leaders, Their Stories, and Their Gifts." Each leader would be interviewed, tell their story, and give advice in their area of gifting. So, Andy Stanley was our "communicator." We had others planned such as Erwin McManus (creativity), Bob Roberts (transformation), Mark Driscoll (culture), Rick Warren (caring), Tim Keller (theology), etc. We had even approached a couple of them.

Well, life got in the way and we never wrote anything beyond Andy Stanley's chapter. So, I talked to John and we decided to share it here on the blog in five parts. Today I am sharing part one. John will also be dialoguing here at the blog. Finally, be sure to read Andy's book, Communicating for a Change, which gives much more detail about his communication practices. Andy was very gracious to share his ideas with us for our book, but if you are interested you should get the book. Perhaps you could consider these posts as a teaser for his book!

Andy's Philosophy of Preaching

Question: What is your philosophy of communication/preaching?