Here’s a section from the book. This Josh talking about the plaza evangelist, the man who was NOT relevant:

“Around him, I felt like a worm, like I didn’t matter, like a lowly pawn to his king. I felt unimportant, like I wasn’t worth knowing, like there was nothing of value in me, like I could be fully understood, inside and out, with a simple glance. He thought he knew everything about me, as if my past, my soul, and my mind were his childhood bedroom. He was certain he knew what I thought, how I lived, what I wanted, and what I needed. But he didn’t. He didn’t know the questions I was asking about God, my struggles, and my fears, so while he was talking to me, he wasn’t speaking to me. He didn’t know anything about me, and he didn’t care to find out. What made him irrelevant was his arrogance.” (my emphasis added)

And that’s how the listening is connected. In order to be relevant, we have to care. And caring, the way it looks when it’s played out in real life, involves listening to understand people, not just to solve all their problems for them.

-Marshall Jones Jr.
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