Last week I wrote about something of a walk down memory lane at Dave Fellingham’s 80th birthday concert.
This was not my only dose of nostalgia because in the same week I also attended a Bob Dylan concert and an evening with Rob Parsons from Care for the Family.
Dylan concluded the concert with a favourite song of mine: Every Grain of Sand. It is the last song on the third of the so-called Gospel Years albums: Shot of Love. It is a song that always moves me and is a reminder that Dylan is not ashamed of that body of songs.
Rob Parsons also used nostalgic songs for his Evening with Rob Parsons event.
His presentation was interspersed with newsreel-like videos of the 1950’s and 60’s accompanied by music from the era. This proved to be an excellent backdrop to the story that Rob shared about his life.
Although what Rob was doing was not preaching, nor overtly Christian and he only quoted one Bible verse, there was so much in the evening that was instructive for preachers.
First, Rob is a brilliant storyteller. He tells his own story in a compelling way that makes hearers want to hear every word. Even when I had heard a story before I wanted to hear it again. I don’t think I will ever tire of hearing about the knock on the door one Christmas when Ronnie, a homeless man who stayed for the night and never left. Nor will I forget the story of his Sunday School teacher or his youth leaders who had such an impact on Rob as a child and a youth.
Second, Rob has the human touch. He can connect with people with such a helpful relatable style. He can make each person in the audience feel that he is addressing them.
Third, Rob seems to be able to speak about the issues that matter. I have heard him speak about marriage, parenting, and the painful experience of seeing children walk away from the Christian faith.
Fourth, Rob has thought carefully about how to communicate well. He has turned some of his insights on communication into the book The Heart of Communication.
In this book he talks about three keepers of the atmosphere in a sermon:“emotion, empathy and connection”.
The preacher is looking for the hearer to experience something that will help them to connect with the message in a way that touches their minds, feelings and wills.
Rob has the emotional intelligence to understand that people need to believe that a speaker feels what they are saying, identifies with the hearer and connects with them in a way that helps them to receive what is being said.
It was a wise man who said that “people may not remember everything a preacher has said but they will never forget how he made them feel”!
I can say that the evening with Rob Parsons made me think and feel that God is lovingly interested in the details of life.