Listen to Your One.
My wife and I toured an open house while looking for our first house.
We didn’t have a buyer’s agent, and when we passed on that house, that listing agent became our buyer’s agent.
Hiring him as a buyer’s agent was a big mistake.
It may be difficult for our younger readers to imagine, but in those days, every house was not listed on a website with pictures. Agents had lists, and listings were published in print. So, having a buyer’s agent opened the door to houses you didn’t know about.
We told our agent precisely what we were looking for, including school districts, size, condition, number of bedrooms, and everything else.
He took notes and started scheduling showings for us.
As soon as we pulled into the driveway of a house, my wife would say, “This isn’t what we are looking for.”
Eventually, we told the agent to stop wasting the homeowner’s time by showing us houses we didn’t want and to send us the listing before scheduling future viewings.
All of this frustration could have been avoided if he had just LISTENED.
Our last post discussed not being a vacuum cleaner salesperson as we reach our One. We don’t want to seem like we are pushing a product people don’t want.
Thus, the practical skill of LISTENING is one of the best skills you can teach your church members as they reach their One.
I love the Message translation of James 1:19, “Post this at all the intersections, dear friends: Lead with your ears, follow up with your tongue, and let anger straggle along in the rear.”
Teach your people to Lead with their ears.
Leading with your ears does several things:
It sets people apart in a noisy world. There is something unique about encountering people who listen to you.
It builds trust. Listening builds rapport in every relationship.
It creates the appropriate opportunity for your people to tell their Jesus stories to their One. As they listen to their Ones, they will hear opportunities to share how Jesus, the church, and the gospel have impacted their daily lives.
The key to this is saying it in a genuine and caring manner that comes from the heart.
Speaking of listening, our recent podcast with Mark Ashton is inspiring. In the episode, he shares a collaborative vision for reaching all the Ones in his city.
Oh, and one more thing, the agent didn’t find us the house we were looking for. He missed out because he didn’t LISTEN.