A New Audience

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
(Hebrews 12:1-2 NIV)

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
(The Message)

“For most of us,” writes Medefind and Lokkesmoe “communication success boils down to the reaction of the audience – be it a lover, a friend, a small group, or a full auditorium. A laugh means we are funny. A standing ovation means we are accepted. A nod means we are connecting.” They continue,

Receiving the desired response, we are taught, is the standard of success.

But such a standard is stunted at best. As Tomas Merton observed, “The logic of worldly success rests on a fallacy: the strange error that our perfection depends on the thoughts and opinions and applause of other men! A weird life it is, indeed, to be living always in somebody else’s imagination, as if that were the only place in which one could at last become real!”[i]

Ironically, this audience-obsessed definition of success does not make our communication more audience-centered. It is all about us, the communicator. What do they think of me? How am I doing? Will I be admired, praised, thanked, remembered… and ultimately get what I want?

When this sort of success becomes the North Star, other people are reduced to means. They become objects to be moved and molded in ways that help us achieve our self-interested ambitions: admiration, clout, connections, financial gain, false forms of intimacy, or professional advancement.

With our eyes fixed solely upon these ends, our communication becomes little more than manipulation. Without even being aware of it, we begin to seek words and techniques that yield automatic, push-button responses. The desired results, we hope, will follow like a candy bar dropping from a vending machine after the correct change has been inserted, or like a rabbit popping from a hat with just the right wave of a wand.

Jesus’ approach could not have been more different.[ii]

Ponder...

How did Jesus measure success?


What are some practical ways we can fix our eyes on Jesus?

“It is high time that the ideal of success
should be replaced by the ideal of service.”


“The highest of distinctions is the service of others.”
King George VI











[i] Thomas Merton, The Seven Storey Mountain, pt.3, ch.2 (1948).
[ii] Ibid., Medefind & Lokkesmoe, The Revolutionary Communicator, 136.