TONE

I'm still studying the idea of "blessings" but it is more multi-faceted than I would have guessed. In the meantime, let me share a little observation that hit me last week. A speakers TONE really does matter. I guess the idea should not be a surprise to any of us. I remember being told as a kid, "It is not so much what you said, as it is the tone with which you said it" and that tone usually conveyed disdain, anger, or something unpleasant.

Recently, I read about how important the tone of a discussion or attitude of a teacher is to Emergents, even to the point that the tone may be more important than the actual content being communicated. The idea shocked me because while I value the tone with which a speaker shares his or her message, I did not consider it anywhere near as important as the content. I still agree with that, however I had an interesting experience this week that made me start thinking about it again.

Last Sunday I sat home with a sick little boy and a sick mother-in-law. One of them, I'll let you guess which one, wanted to watch the Sunday morning preachers, so I obliged. We watched one particular well-known pastor. He preached about the decline of American culture and I am not sure what else. His content was absolutely solid but I was so uncomfortable listening to him. It reminded me of Len Sweet's book (great book by the way) "Out of the Question Into the Mystery" where he talked about us being so caught up in being right, and valuing being right over valuing relationships. The pastor's content was unassailable, but I, a Christian, was offended by the vehemence with which it was delivered, the absolute assuredness that his take was the right take on the issues of the day. There is nothing wrong with being confident in your beliefs but the confidence and strong tone somehow seemed to combine to discredit him in my eyes as just another far right, fire and brom stone preacher. I am sure he is an upstanding Christian seeking to bring glory to God but I had to wonder if I was uncomfortable, how would this appear to someone not yet a follower of Christ?

I am not advocating having a particularly seeker sensitive church service, but I think there has to be a better way to communicate. I have to believe there is a way to hold fast to Truth and be unashamed to share it, but in a manner that exudes grace, and values and respects other people and their conclusions.