If you have ever worked in leadership of any kind you probably know that the #1 complaint against leaders is “failure to communicate.”  I don’t care if it church work, factory work, school work, parent/child relationships…you name it and that complaint will usually find its way out of the bag sometime.  I honestly don’t think that leaders start out that way or to be deceptive in what they are not saying.  Least not the honest ones.  But sometimes it gets too overwhelming or too bothersome or too much of a hassle to make sure needs and desires and vision has been communicated-not just once-but continually.  Like every church we have had that “failure to communicate” moniker hung on us (as leaders).  For example, this past summer we were faced with the prospect of moving our worship experience to another venue.  A thorough investigation was done of all possible sites and the decision was made by the leadership to renegotiate and stay where we are.  I took three weeks to communicate this to the people.   One very complete and detailed presentation and then two very “outlinished” presentations without all the details.  Still, some never heard and thought that no effort was made or that I had made the decision to go back to the complex.  No amount of communication did the trick.  But while we didn’t drop the ball on that particular incident (some didn’t/didnt’ want to hear) there have been times that we have not communicated very well at all. I am guilty as much as the next person.

So, what should we/should we not communicate?  Just a few thoughts;

• We should communicate concern.  We should not communicate apathy.
• We should communicate love.  We should not communicate disinterest.
• We should communicate truth.  We should not communicate hurtful truth.
• We should communicate feelings.  We should not communicate misguided feelings.
• We should communicate important information.  We should not communicate confidential information.
• We should communicate with discretion.  We should not communicate indiscriminately.

There are more you can probably think of I am sure.  The Bible says, “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer each person.”  Col.4:6 As a leader I am concerned about being a good communicator-inside and outside the pulpit-and know I have a long way to go in both.  But no matter how I do it, my speech must always be encouraging and if not, then it must be said with grace.  Even strong truth can be must be said with grace and love.    I think it was D.L. Moody who once said, “Never preach about hell without a tear in your eye.”

How do you do in this department?  Do you find yourself communicating in a good or bad way?