What neuroscience can teach us about ministry...

 Leadership platitudes are a dime a dozen but here’s one I believe:

Leaders are readers.

But let’s broaden it a bit shall we?

Leaders are learners.

Whether you love to read or listen or watch is irrelevant.

What matters is that if you’re leading you don’t let your thinking grow stagnant.

One of my greatest fears is that my thinking will become rigid and inflexible...unable to process change, new challenges, or opportunities.

It's a scary thought...

Thus my quest to continually learn new things.

About ministry and church leadership, yes, but also other things.

Business, culture, current events, scientific breakthroughs, food, art, music, and even pop culture - just so I can retain at least a loose grip on what’s going on in the world around me.

Today I’d love to share a current learning passion of mine that might not seem relevant to you as a pastor or church leader.

But here goes...

It’s brain science!

Or perhaps more accurately: neuroscience.

Now, before you tune out, give me a second to explain.

I’m not fascinated by neuroscience in general.

I’m mostly interested in how it impacts communication.

As a pastor, my job is almost exclusively a matter of communication.

You probably relate!

We preach, teach, counsel, write, and lead meetings...sometimes all in one day!

So where does this all come together?

Well, neuroscience has opened up new understanding of how our brains process information and specifically how we respond to particular words and phrases.

And here’s what’s gets me excited!

If we can learn how and why certain information is received and retained we’re going to be much better at our jobs as leaders!

Question: Would you like it if more people paid attention, remembered, and applied your sermons?

You bet your bottom dollar you would!

Would you like to be able to clearly and persuasively cast the vision God’s given you to your team?

Absolutely!

We all would!

So what if I told you there’s a way to leverage the way the brain works in your communication to improve your results?

Pretty excited?

Ok cool, so over the next few days I’m going to discuss some key ways you can improve your communication but also share with you a few INCREDIBLE books I’ve read recently that have helped me in this area.

For book #1 I’m pulling out all the stops because I bet you’ve never heard of this one before and it’s definitely not your run-of-the-mill Christian conference book.

It’s called "The Brain Audit" by the brilliant Sean D’Souza and it’s actually a book about marketing...but...don’t be put off.

The principles in this book are transferable to any form of communication!

So, if you’re willing to put in a little effort to translate it to a ministry context you’ll be richly rewarded!

And, it’s conveniently available right here.

Never stop learning and growing,

Jake