Miscommunication.

Last week I was at an arts conference at Granger Community Church in Granger, Indiana. One of the breakout sessions was specifically about worship. I was sitting at a table right next to an older lady about 65 years old. Granger Community Church is known for its progressive arts (i.e. their music rocks the house).

The session leader was discussing the types of songs to use in a service. He discussed hymns, and he said, “Hymns have rich lyrics. Don’t just throw away the hymns. But at the same time, never do a hymn without extreme caution and reservation.”

I happened to glance over to the notepad of the older woman next to me. She wrote something down. It was the only thing she wrote down during the entire session: “DON’T THROW AWAY THE HYMNS OF THE CHURCH!” She’s going to go back to her church and claim that Granger Community Church wants everyone to sing hymns. That’s not what he said. Not even close. But that’s what she heard.

How often do we hear selectively? Do you know people who hear selectively; only comprehending what they want to hear and ignoring stuff that they don’t like? I think we need to always listen to what people are really saying. A lot of times we just listen to what the words they said but we ignore what they are REALLY saying. It’s like if someone says, “Do you want to borrow my car?” they are not just offering their car, they are REALLY saying, “I trust you.”