Review: Revolutionary Communicator

This is the second of the reviews from our "Great Book Giveaway."

Before we get to that, I will say I had some trouble shipping the books. I used some old envelopes and apparently several tore open in the mail and the volunteers received empty, torn envelopes and no books. I am trying to get them some suitable replacements AND I have purchased some new padded envelopes for future distribution. Sounds like a Seinfeld episode.

Anyway here is the second review. The book "Revolutionary Communicator" was one of the most requested. This review was written by Ryan Brymer of Grapevine, Texas.

Jesus and Communication

The full title of this book is The Revolutionary Communicator: Seven Principles Jesus Lived to Impact, Connect and Lead. I was a bit put-off by this as it seemed to be leveraging the name of Jesus to sell a business book. The first few chapters of the book are packed with great stories and examples of the principles that the authors are suggesting. Among these stories are references to the life of Jesus and scenes in which he embodies these principles. However, it appers that only about 20-25% of the content in these chapters has anything to do with Jesus. To be fair, the final chapter and conclusion really hone in on the life of Christ and his example.

Communication as Lifestyle

What I got out of this book was nothing like what I expected going in. The table of contents really gives no clue to what one is about to read. The principles that are suggested seem obvious to communication including: attentiveness, asking questions, and storytelling.

While this book has a lot to say about how we communicate, the real thrust of these principles is a suggestion of how we are to live. In a very real way I would place this book up beside Foster's Celebration of Discipline as a book about spiritual life long before I would place it in the business (even Christian Business) section of the bookstore.

For the authors, communication is not something that occurs in a vacuum when a person sets foot on stage or behind a microphone. In their estimation, everything that we say or do is communication and that for it to be of real value, it has to come from a life lived with purpose.

They come to the conclusion that the reader could attempt simply to leverage these principles into their own communication with some success. The authors' real desire, however, is that their readers will not just model Christ in what they say, but in how they live life.