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You would have had to be in the service this morning to appreciate how powerful a message brother Tony Howeth preached. I don’t know of a greater sermon I have heard on handling life when the load is overwhelming. The response was tremendous, the altar was full and most of the conversations I had with people after the service were about how the message was just what they needed.

Brother Tony has been a long time friend and help to me and is one of the greatest preachers I know. It would be hard to count all the men that have been helped through his ministry. Brother Tony works with Macedonia World Baptist Missions. He is a true leader and trainer of men. Check out his deputation tips.

I thought I would post a picture of our class this morning. We had some traveling but this is most of the usual group. Today we talked about Bible reading. I recorded it also and Mike Shane and I are going to try our technical hand at a podcast. Pray for Mike, he will do the technical stuff and I will provide the recording. We are going for 100% of the class reading their Bible every day. Its exciting. Howard Hendrix said it best, and I repeated it this morning; “Class time should be for the purpose of assembling a bomb that you set off during the week.” I love that thought.

I like the website Year to Success by Bo Bennett. There is a daily success strategy that has a great tip for each of the 365 days of the year. This one is on remembering names. There are many proven strategies for successful living, however you define it.

It has been said that a person’s name is the most important word in the world to that person. Using a person’s name in conversation is one of the best ways to build rapport. Sounds good, but if you are like most people, the names of people you meet go in one ear and out the other. So step one is remembering the name.
Many memory experts believe that we all have perfect memories. We are capable of remembering just about any detail from our lives no matter how far back and how specific. The challenge is recalling the information from our memory.

There are dozens of techniques for remembering names; some work for some people and some do not. For this reason, I am listing many of them for you to choose the one that works best for you. You may want to adapt a few techniques rather than just one. For example, use a visual technique for those you meet face to face, and when they tell you the names of their children, use an association technique to associate the person you met with their children’s names. The key again is to use what works best for you.

Here are some steps that should all be followed each time you meet someone:

1) LISTEN AND PAY ATTENTION TO THE NAME. So obvious, yet so overlooked. Pay attention to the name when it is given to you and make sure you can recall it 5 seconds later. If you can, you are halfway to putting this name in your long-term memory.

2) Repeat immediately. The first sentence out of your mouth after hearing a name should include that name. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Jennie”. Use this instead of “Jennie, it is nice to meet you” because saying the person’s name right after they say it is often a mindless automated response that does very little, if anything, toward helping you remember the name.

3) Repeat often. Be careful with this one. You do not want to sound like a psycho, or worse a pushy salesperson, by overdoing it. However, people love to hear their own name and this technique will keep your listener interested in what you have to say.

4) End the conversation with their name. This is the best way to end any conversation. “Jennie, it was great meeting you”. This not only once more sinks their name into your memory, but says to the person that you have cared enough to remember their name.

5) Comment on and/or ask questions about the name. “Jennie, have you always been called Jennie or do people call you Jen as well?” or “Do you spell Jennie with a ‘y’ or ‘ie’?” If it is a unique name, ask about its origin or say that it is a beautiful name (if you really think it is).

6) Review. After the conversation is over with the person, review their name and face in your mind several times. Do this frequently over the next 24 hours. As you get better with steps 1-5, this step will become less important.

Memory is linked to your senses and emotions. As you incorporate more emotion and more of your senses into remembering a name, the name will become more difficult to forget.

Now here are some techniques used to remember names:

1) Face association. Examine a person’s face discreetly when you are introduced. Try to find an unusual feature, whether ears, hairline, forehead, eyebrows, eyes, nose, mouth, chin, complexion, etc. Create an association between that characteristic, the face, and the name in your mind. The association may be to associate the person with someone you know with the same name, or may be to associate a rhyme or image from the name with the person’s face or defining feature.

2) Substitution. Take a person’s name and substitute objects that you can visualize with that name. Then associate those objects with the person somehow. For example, “Murphy” can be substituted with “Murphy’s oil soap”. Visualize the person pouring the soap all over them while dancing the jig. Why dancing the jig? The more outrageous you make the visualization, the better it will stick to memory. Just try not to laugh when making the association, especially if the person is in the process of telling you they have just been fired.
3) Paint their name on their forehead. OK, not literally, but in your imagination. Use your favorite color paint and clearly see each letter as you paint it. If you are standing closer than a few feet from the person, do not look directly at their forehead but rather between their eyes.
4) Association with someone you know. Associate the person you meet with someone you know or know of with the same name. Then visualize the person you know in the same situation as the person you have met. For example, if you meet a “Will” picture your Uncle Will (assuming you have an Uncle Will) standing there, in that same spot. To make the association stronger, visualize your uncle Will doing something that he is known for doing - like his loud drunken laugh.

If you forget the person’s name at any time during the conversation, THIS IS THE TIME TO ASK. Do not be embarrassed to say something such as, “Forgive me but I’ve forgotten your name…” or “I am sorry, what was your name again?” Remember that most people forget names. Those who make it a point to humble themselves and ask for a name again are seen as someone who cares about learning the name.

The more you do this, the more second nature it will become and remembering names will be an automatic process for you. Using names in conversation will take you a long way in building and maintaining rapport, as well as helping others to both remember you and like you. You will soon find that remembering names becomes a game and it is really quite fun, not to mention one of the best skills that anyone can possess!

I discussed this verse with the Bridge Builders class this morning.

2Co 4:3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: should we add, its hid to them that are lost, by them that are saved?

I have read this verse many times but lately it seems to have a second part. Since we are the ones who have the truth and are responsible for making sure that the gospel gets to the world, and since the truth is more powerful than the blinding ability of satan, the verse implies that those that have it are the only ones who can hide it from those that don’t.

Consider these things about our witness:

Its hard to draw on an account that is empty. Our witness depends on a growing and on going relationship with Jesus Christ. It requires daily freshness and daily replacing of supply. The man we call the importunate man in the Bible, would have had nothing to give his friend that was in from a long journey if the one he got out of bed had not given it to him. If you are not putting something in the spiritual bank account each day, you can expect to come up empty when its time to make a withdrawl. It takes a daily reading and praying time to have something to give, or to have the daily experience with Jesus that will create a living witness.

Does your office let people know that Jesus Christ is important to you? In my office is a pulpit or teaching stand with an open Bible on it. It is a place i spend time at each day as I pray for my employees and the people that I will come in contact with. There are other bibles, maps, pictures of missionaries, scriptures hanging on the walls etc. In the front lobby you can get a tract or a prayer card of a missionary. Most of my business conversations start or stop with what is happening at the Bible College.

Do you know how to lead someone to Christ? Strange as it may sound, most people feel uncomfortable doing this. There is someone in your church that can help you learn to lead someone to Christ. It is truly one of the greatest experiences in a Christian life and an amazing thing that God would involve us in such an incredible operation like salvation. I remember visiting Stanley Tam at his business in Ohio and talking to him about how shy he was as a young Christian but how bad he wanted to see people get saved. He bought a projector and a film about Jesus and went door to door asking poeple if they wanted to watch it. I remember him telling me that his worst fear was that they would watch the film then want to get saved afterwards! He routinely lead people to Christ daily.

If the gospel is hidden to them that are lost it must be by us that are saved. Jesus certainly is not trying to hide it and the Devil can’t hide it unless we cooperate.

Be sure to read your Bible tomorrow and to subscribe to the Bible Reading Revolution.

Well, of all people starting another blog. You might hate me today, but I am convinced we need this blog.

If you read my last post here, you know that I talked about starting an epidemic of Bible reading. Well, its called the Bible Reading Revolution.

Add this one to your readers and help me get this epidemic started.

I am an early (real early) morning Bible reader. I have the Bible set up on my computer and read on a program that completes the Bible every six months. I am reading my Spanish New Testament and Psalms also in that six month period. Usually it takes about an hour to read and write my devotions out. I send them to my accountability partner, Austin Gardner and also Tony Howeth and Chris Gardner. Try to get into trouble with those three guys staring into your personal life. Its not easy.

This morning was one of those mornings when I got so wrapped up in reading that i had to go for two days worth. It became a two hour meeting with God but he opened up so many verses to me i could not quit. One thought fuled another, even more exciting thought and the truths of His Word excited me beyond description. I would love to see a Bible reading epidemic start in our church. I would love to see people calling people telling them what they got from their Bible. Imagine how pleased God would be if that would happen.

I have read my Bible through dozens of times and sometimes like to walk around my house or my office (early in the morning) and read it out loud. I have often times thought about reading the entire Bible through out loud. I love hearing it and somehow the truths sound even more powerful when I am reading out loud.

So many parts of the Bible come to life based on what is happening in my life. Other times things I learned in the New Testament on the last reading make something come to life in a book like Numbers (there is good stuff in there) when I read it this time. I cannot describe to you how exciting it is to get a relationship with your Bible. To love it, listen to it, carry it, respect it. It is the one aboslute truth concerning our God and our Savior.

Before Timothy ever told us to study to show ourselves approved, he said to give attendance to reading.

1Ti 4:13 Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.

Catch a bad case of the Bible reading epidemic.