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Quotations I love: Knowing how to “tune in” and “tune out” of conversations

Lynne Baab • Wednesday May 26 2021

“There are many causes of ineffective listening and all of us are guilty of some of them at some time. In fact, it is almost impossible to maintain a high involvement in listening all the time. We need to ‘tune out’ to give our minds a chance to rest, but we also need to be able to ‘tune in’ when we want communication to succeed.” —Terry Mohan, Helen McGregor, Shirley Saunders, and Ray Archee, Communicating! Theory and Practice

Ten years ago this month Dave and I were getting organized for a six month sabbatical. I had already conducted interviews with church leaders in...

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Quotations I love: A primary task of listening

Lynne Baab • Saturday May 22 2021

“One of the primary tasks of the listener is to stay out of the other’s way so the listener can discover how the speaker views his situation.” —Robert Bolton, “Listening Is More Than Hearing” [1]

Can you think of a conversation where you started talking about a topic, and after you talked about it for a while, your perspective changed? Certainly our perspective can change from hearing another person’s opinion, but sometimes, in one of those rare and beautiful conversations with a good listener, we find that our views on something change as we talk through it.

You’re probably familiar with the concept of...

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Quotations I love: Try softer

Lynne Baab • Wednesday May 12 2021

“If trying harder doesn't work, try softer.” —Lily Tomlin

“Trying softer isn't about knowing or doing the right thing; it's about being gentle with ourselves in the face of pain that is keeping us stuck. Because no matter how hard we try, we can't hate or shame ourselves into change. Only love can move us toward true growth. This is the love given to us by a gentle, kind, compassionate, good God — and the love we are invited to give ourselves too.” —Aundi Kolber, Try Softer

Our son Mike, a journalist, has done quite a bit of research and writing on the impact of stigma...

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Quotations I love: John Stott on pruning

Lynne Baab • Tuesday May 4 2021

The setting is the Urbana Missionary Conference, and John Stott is speaking daily about the Upper Room Discourse, John 13 to 17. I am a university student who travelled from the Pacific Northwest to Illinois during my Christmas vacation. I sit in that huge arena on the campus at Urbana, captivated by John Stott’s teaching. His exposition of the material in John 14 and 16 about the Holy Spirit completely changes my perspective on the Holy Spirit. Now I understand that the Holy Spirit is not some esoteric, mysterious force, but instead a person who I already know. The Holy Spirit...

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