Guest Post: Know Your Audience (Life Lessons from Chess) by Paul Fleeman

 

This is a guest post by Major Paul Fleeman, Principal of The Salvation Army's College for Officer Training in Chicago.  It is part of a series that he has agreed to have posted on my blog.

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE
Major Paul Fleeman

Key Bible Verse: Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces. (Matthew 7:6 NIV)

During a lesson at the St. Paul Citadel Chess Club, I explained to the students the importance of making the right moves in the game. My objective was to illustrate the importance of making right decisions in life.  I began by sharing that if you count both the “white” and the “black” side’s first move, there are actually 40 possibilities. Add this to the second move and you will discover 71,852 possibilities. The third move includes 9 million possibilities. The fourth move, 315 billion. At that point, Donavan raised his hand and said, “Major Fleeman, I’m only in kindergarten!” I could not help from giggling inside when I realized the information I was sharing was much more interesting to me than my audience.

Scripture warns against throwing pearls to swine. Now I don’t believe He was comparing people to pigs as much as explaining the importance of discerning what and how much to share with your listeners as you tell them of the love of Christ. The fact is, if they don’t understand what we are saying it will only lead to confusion, not discipleship.

My response: Lord, what words can I use to make understanding of the love of Christ clear today?

Thought to Apply: “Sing it o’er and o’er again, Christ receiveth sinful men; Make the message clear and plain, Christ receiveth sinful men.” (Erdmann Neumeister)

Like what you are reading? Consider the following: 1. Subscribe to my blog (there is a link for that on this page). 2. "Follow" me on twitter. It's a free account, and a great way to meet like-minded friends. My link is: http://twitter.com/tommccomb. 3. Leave a comment (I love your candid feedback and might use your ideas in future posts) 4. Tell someone else about this blog. Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you soon.