Episode 51: 51 Steven Beebe - Lessons on Communication from C.S. Lewis (Part 1)

We at Watchman Fellowship are committed to helping and equipping the church to effectively communicate the Gospel to those of other religions and worldviews. But such communication is never really easy.

• The first step in being able to successfully articulate the Gospel is a relatively simple one, though -- Being familiar with the message. 


• The second step is to know the language of your audience. Are they Mormons? Atheists? Muslims? Jehovah’s Witnesses? 

The wisdom and skill in effective communication is to be able to translate the message of the Gospel to your audience, using reason, imagination, metaphors, story, and parable, just as Jesus did. If you’ve ever tried sharing the Gospel with people, you have likely experienced the need to further clarify what you are trying to share to people unfamiliar with language that is familiar and common to you. How do you explain the atonement to atheists? The Trinity to Muslims? The Deity of Jesus to Jehovah’s Witnesses? 

On this special two-part episode with communications professor Dr. Steven A. Beebe, we look into the craft and techniques of communication used by C.S. Lewis. How have Lewis’s works become so widely popular and influential in communicating the Christian faith to people? What can we learn from Lewis as we try to communicate the truth of God’s word to a non-Christian world that neither understands nor accepts it? 

In part one, Dr. Beebe shares how he became interested in Lewis and how Lewis’s ability to communicate makes his readers feel that they have a genuine relationship with the author. 

ABOUT STEVEN A. BEEBE: Dr. Beebe is Regents' and University Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Communication Studies at Texas State University. He served as Chair of his department at Texas State for 28 years and concurrently as Associate Dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communication for 25 years. Prior to joining the faculty at Texas State he was a tenured member of the Communication faculty at the University of Miami for 10 years. He is author and co-author of fourteen books (with editions totaling more than 75 books) that have been used at hundreds of colleges and universities (including international, Canadian, Russian and Chinese editions) by several million students throughout the world. Steve’s research focuses on instructional communication and communication skill development.

• C.S. Lewis and the Craft of Communication by Steven Beebe: www.cslewisandthecraftofcommunication.com.


• Dr. Beebe's author page on Amazon.com: https://amzn.to/2Ngo1VY

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