Throughout the Holy Bible, we are able to see ways in which Jesus demonstrated leadership principles that we today hold up as best practices. Throughout the class, we will look at this Red-Letter Leadership (in many Bibles the words of Jesus are printed in red) as it applies to communication.
In past courses, your devotional reflection has been a 1/2 to 1-page interaction between you, the Bible text, and some provided prompts. For this course on communication, we are going to switch things up a bit. Instead of a written reflection, you will provide a 3-to-5-minute video reflection using the Video Note tool (like you have done for the course opening biographies). While you may want to make some notes or a basic outline of key ideas that you want to communicate in your video (in response to the Bible text and prompts), important values for the video reflection are authenticity and transparency. Often it can be helpful to think about three categories of response:
1. What are the key insights that occurred via your reflection?
2. What are some of the ideas, principles, or perspectives that really touched you deeply?
3. What are the questions you are grappling with as a result of the reflection?
Consider your video note to be like a personal conversation you are having with a trusted friend or advisor in a quiet booth at the back of a restaurant over a cup of coffee or tea.
Upon successful completion of this assignment, you will be able to:
• Appraise a biblical perspective regarding communication.
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
In this short passage, Jesus covers all five of the most common reasons we use communication: (a) sharing information, (b) social connections, (c) develop and maintain relationships, (d) develop identity, and (e) influence others.
The passage starts by Jesus developing his identity. He wants to know what others are saying about him. “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” His disciples respond by telling him, and none of those answers are correct. However, it is still important for Jesus to know who the crowds think he is. It will influence how he teaches them. Jesus then goes on to ask, (and this is paraphrasing), “Who do you, my closest friends, who do you say that I am?” This is the social connection piece. He is giving them a special place, acknowledging their special relationship to him. Peter responds correctly, that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. When Jesus affirms this, he is both helping his disciples develop a correct identity of who he is and is sharing information with them. This is a big deal, that he is the Messiah. His confirmation is a turning point in the book of Matthew, where this identity dominates the story and Jesus is ultimately killed for claiming it. With his declaration over Peter, Jesus further develops his relationship with Peter. And then by ordering his disciples not to tell anyone that he is the Messiah, he influences them.
1. Review the information in the Getting Started and Background Information sections.
2. Record a 3- to 5-minute video response to the questions below using the Video Note tool..
a. Which of the five uses of communication stood out most to you in this passage (listed below):
i. Sharing information
ii. Social connections
iii. Develop and maintain relationships
iv. Develop identity – Who am I, how do others see me?
v. Influence others
b. Jesus asked the question, “But what about you? Who do you say I am?” C.S. Lewis said, “Jesus is either a liar, a lunatic, or Lord.” What do you think about Jesus? Why?