Clients and friends told me so. A few family members. And I believed them. Until two years ago when I read Adam McHugh's The Listening Life: Embracing Attentiveness in a World of Distraction.
Turns out that some of my rather prideful assumptions were, well ... wrong and somewhat out of kilter.
The Listening Life is our 2nd Book Open House selection. To say I'm excited would be an understatement.
I can't help but believe that Adam's award winning book will upend, shake around, and pivot much of what you perceive about your own ability to listen. In your personal relationship with God. As you connect with others, especially those in deep pain. As you consider what nature whispers. As you pay attention to your body, your emotions, and those ongoing 'scripts' you believe.
And how we do listening in the church, oh the church. God have mercy on us all.
The section on How To Be a Bad Listener is worth the cost of the book alone as you discover how bad listening often masquerades as good listening. You might spy yourself in the scenarios he paints ... you'll smile, you'll wince, you'll find yourself convicted.
I'd venture to say that the discussion that emerges during this second Book Open House will enlighten and give us all plenty of those priceless 'aha' moments. Comfort and hope mingle as we share our stories ... and realize, once again, 'Phew, I'm not the only one.'
Adam muses, 'The question that drives this book is, how would our relationships change, and how would we change, if we approached every situation with the intention of listening first? What if we approached our relationship with God as listeners? What if we viewed our relationship with nature as one of listening? What if we approached our relationships using our ears rather than our mouths? What if we sought to listen to our emotions before we preached to them?'
McHugh's the kind of guide you'd choose if you were taking a long, winding journey to someplace unknown. He's wise, he's got a keen sense of humor. He knows where he's headed, because he's the first to admit the mistakes he's made in the past.
If you like reading with a highlighter or pen in hand, you'll be using yours full throttle.
This is a soul-stirring and convicting read, yet not at all ponderous or preachy. Adam's anecdotes will crack you up ... his wry humor is even interlaced in the books's end notes. Christianity Today listed The Listening Life as one of the 'books most likely to shape Evangelical life, thought, and culture' in their 2017 Book Awards. It's that much of a game changer.
I'd love if you'd ...
1. Grab your paperback or Kindle edition of the book. {As I hit the publish button, the Kindle edition is only $3.99!}
2. Mark your calendar for Thursday, April 19th. Our weekly discussion kicks off that day and will run for 5 - 6 weeks.
3. Share this invitation with your FB tribe, blog, Twitter feed, small group, and book club.
4. Subscribe so you don't miss a single post.
4. Subscribe so you don't miss a single post.
I can't think of a single soul that won't benefit from reading this book, but you're absolutely welcome to drop by and participate even if you don't read the book.
Anticipating ...
P.S. Curious what a Book Open House looks like? Click here to check out our first.
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