"If the mall and the church disappeared tomorrow, which would people miss most?" Jim Henderson, of the Off the Map movement, says most people who are not believers do not notice the church at all. The Off the Map movement works to help believers view the idea of talking about Jesus differently. They invert the typical church meeting by asking pastors and leaders to sit quietly in the audience while non-believers take a microphone and explain why they don't believe.

Henderson says too few believers are actively involved in evangelism because of what the church has made it. It tends to view people outside the church as enemies with whom we engaged in warfare, not lost sheep who need a shepherd. Henderson says the biggest complaint from non-believers is that believers don't listen. He says, "They talk. They want to give a speech, but they don't want to listen." Unchurched people want to talk to Christians, but they don't want to be talked at."

Henderson and OTM promote evangelism as simply "Christians connecting with non-Christians. Henderson says small acts of friendship often lead to opportunities to talk about faith. Research has revealed that more the 90 percent of people outside the church said they would go to church on two conditions, if someone invited them and if that person walked in with them.

A church leader from Ohio who attended an OTM meeting puts things into perspective. He says, "Instead of being targets, non-believers are brothers and sisters. I no longer count conversions, rather I count conversations."

—www.charismanews.com, March 14, 2002, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

The root of evangelism is "good news." We may find more opportunity to speak if we take the time to listen first.

2 Timothy 4:2 NIV "Preach the word, be prepared in season and out of season, correct, rebuke, and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction."

After Roberta Israeloff's in-laws returned to New York from wintering in Florida, her mother-in law called her to tell her about the drive home. They ran into one car problem after another. Three times the car broke down, once on a bridge in the middle of rush hour.

Right as Roberta was going to tell her own worst "break down" story, her mother-in-law had to hang up because someone was at her door, but before she said goodbye she said this to her daughter-in-law. "Thank you for listening, but thank you most of all for not telling me your worst car story."

How many times has that happened to you? You really need to talk to someone and you really need for them to listen. Maybe it is about a problem with your parents, or with a teacher, and before you finish your story, your friend interrupts and says, "Yeah, my parents did the same thing to me," and then they start their story. Inside you want to scream and say, wait a minute, I need to talk, I don't want your advise, I just want your ear. But instead, you patiently wait as they talk about ancient history while you are thinking about current events.

Or maybe you've just discovered a lump, or you've noticed your jeans are getting tighter, or you feel a wall building between you and your husband. And you really need to talk to someone, so you give a friend a call. But they interrupt your story with their story.

How many times have you done the same thing? Instead of really listening, you interrupt the speaker to talk about what is on your mind or tell a similar experience?

"Bear one another's burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ." (Galatians 6:2 )

Ever met someone with a knack for fixing broken things? Where does that come from? Certainly from instruction and experience, but it can also come from something as simple as listening.

That’s the way it was for one machinery repairman who worked in a large factory.

He left the lunchroom 10 minutes early every day to stand in the middle of the room, close his eyes, and listen to the machinery. His ear caught every subtle sound the mechanism produced. He listened to every click, every vibration, or change in pitch. He became familiar with every sound the machines made, and could identify the first sign of a developing problem before it became apparent.

Occasionally, someone gets blind-sided with divorce papers and didn’t have a clue it was coming. When it does, one of the problems that surfaces is inattentiveness. Are you listening to the people around you?

—Our Daily Bread, July 16, 2002, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

James 1:19 NASB “This you know, my beloved brethren. But let everyone be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger;”

Japanese Telecommunication carriers, who pioneered Internet capable and picture-snapping handsets, have come up with a mobile phone that allows users to listen to calls inside their heads.

The new handset uses a "sonic speaker" which transmits sound through vibrations that move from the skull to the bones in the inner ear, instead of relying on the usual method of sound hitting the outer eardrum first. If a user holds the handset to the top of their head, the back of their head, cheekbone, or jaw, and then plugs his or her left ear, the call will be heard internally on the left side. The technology has been used for fixed line phones in Japan for several years to help the hearing impaired. This is the first time bone conduction has been used in mobile phones.

So far, reaction to the new technology has been mixed. It cannot be used for taking pictures or email, only vocal communication. The biggest demand comes from customers who work or travel in noisy environments. By plugging their ears to prevent outside noise from drowning out the transmitted sound, customers can hear phone calls better. One man said he liked the bone-conducted phone because railway stations and streets were often too noisy too talk.

—www.smh.com.au, Block your ears to hear better on Japan's new bone phone, January 21, 2004, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

This new technology might be the answer to hearing a phone call in a noisy room, or in a railway station, but it doesn’t resolve the biggest problem of all—the break neck speed of life and the epidemic of busyness that keeps us from quieting down and being still long enough to be able to really listen. That can only happen by moving away from the “noise” in our lives and quieting down. Then and only then, can we really hear from God.

Psalm 46:10 (NASB) "Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

In his book, "The Magic of Dialogue: Transforming Conflict into Cooperation", Daniel Yankelovich writes, "Most people, especially when conflict-ridden, are unaccustomed to finding the right words and phrases to express their feelings. Empathic listening requires patience and an ability to tune in to other people's feelings."

James 1:19-20 (GW) "Remember this, my dear brothers and sisters: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and should not get angry easily. [20] An angry person doesn't do what God approves of."

Learning to listen can lower our blood pressure and stress hormone levels and make us less at risk for a heart attack. A Duke University study “found that people who interrupt are up to 7 times fore likely to get heart disease!”

--Bottom Line Health, Spring 2010, p. 4 Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

When subjects in another study focused on being silent while others talked, they lowered their blood pressure and stress hormone levels.

Philippians 2:3 (NASB77) Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself;

When we think highly of other people, we are interested in what they have to say. When we regard them as more important that ourselves, we listen to them instead of interrupting with our own opinions.

A 2008 study reveals that 49% of American workers are not satisfied with their job. Why? Do you think it is because it is too demanding? Or maybe because of too little pay? No—the reason is their perception that their boss doesn’t listen to their ideas. –Jim L. Wilson and Joe Lam

James 1:19 (ESV) Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;

Sometimes all it takes to love others is a listening ear and a compassionate heart. In December of 2004, a Tsunami hit the west coast of Indonesia. The massive Tsunami left almost 300,000 people dead. It was devastating. It altered the course of life for millions of people and left them to struggle to find their new reality after the initial blast was over.

Southern Baptist disaster relief workers were some of the first people on site to help assist in the efforts. They fed people, recovered bodies, searched for loved ones, and lent a helping hand in any way possible. But what the relief workers quickly found out was that the thing that had the greatest impact on the people of Indonesia wasn’t their physical support, but the love and compassion that they showed the people who were left behind by such a devastating event.

One of the men helped by the disaster relief team said, “Thank you for your physical help, but what means the most to us is that you have joined us in our tears.” –Jim L. Wilson and Eric Gibbs

Romans 12:15 (HCSB)“Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.”

In their book, No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention, Reed Hastings, Erin Meyer write, “Feedback helps us to avoid misunderstandings, creates a climate of co-accountability, and reduces the need for hierarchy and rules.”

In their book, No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention, Reed Hastings, Erin Meyer write, “The more people heard what they could do better, the better everyone got at their jobs, the better we performed as a company.”

In The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business, Erin Meyer writes, “When interacting with someone from another culture, try to watch more, listen more, and speak less. Listen before you speak and learn before you act.” —Jim L. Wilson

My dear brothers and sisters, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger,