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Sacred Conversations: How God Wants Us to Communicate
Imagine the best conversation you've ever had -- one that set your heart on fire, challenged your thinking, brought you closer to God, and inspired you to act. Recall how that conversation made you feel and how it changed your heart and your life. Such interactions rise to the level of the sacred -- sacred conversations -- dialogues that transform hearts, strengthen relationships, and make the world a better place by converting compassionate love into action.
Conversations like this are rare but accessible to all of us all the time, regardless of where we are on our spiritual journeys. Dr. Christopher Reed provides a divinely inspired, scientifically tested, step-by-step process for guiding interactions between "seekers" and "helpers." We are all seekers, and we can all become helpers. This book will show you how to relate to others in their pain, frustration, hopes, and dreams. You will also
The six components of peak communicationHow you can invite, understand, and illuminate others through your conversationsThree historical and scriptural reasons we should study and use sacred conversationsHow to stop, connect, reflect, and choose the best course of action in dialogueFive ingredients in the anatomy of sacred conversationsPractical ways to build community, give thanks to God, and show gratitude for othersUsing Scripture, real-world examples, key scientific studies, and stories from his own formation, Dr. Reed provides approachable, fun-filled, well-researched advice on how you can use sacred conversations to become your best self and build closer relationships with others and with the Lord.
Sacred Conversations offers a set of "how-to" tools for application, including flow charts, lists, and resources on the "Rules of the Road," the "Sacred Conversations Model," the roles of seekers and helpers, seven lessons for sacred conversations, and conversation starters to help you apply the model now to improve your life and help people in need. These pages will inspire your heart and reveal how everyday interactions can lead to spiritual growth, deep connections, and meaningful impact.
This isn't merely another Christian self-help book. It's an inspired invitation to transform your life, and our world, one "sacred conversation" at a time. These spiritual encounters between people who want to grow in faith and virtue and live more purposeful and fulfilling lives will open your heart to hear God's voice more clearly and respond to His love more generously.
Conversations like this are rare but accessible to all of us all the time, regardless of where we are on our spiritual journeys. Dr. Christopher Reed provides a divinely inspired, scientifically tested, step-by-step process for guiding interactions between "seekers" and "helpers." We are all seekers, and we can all become helpers. This book will show you how to relate to others in their pain, frustration, hopes, and dreams. You will also
The six components of peak communicationHow you can invite, understand, and illuminate others through your conversationsThree historical and scriptural reasons we should study and use sacred conversationsHow to stop, connect, reflect, and choose the best course of action in dialogueFive ingredients in the anatomy of sacred conversationsPractical ways to build community, give thanks to God, and show gratitude for othersUsing Scripture, real-world examples, key scientific studies, and stories from his own formation, Dr. Reed provides approachable, fun-filled, well-researched advice on how you can use sacred conversations to become your best self and build closer relationships with others and with the Lord.
Sacred Conversations offers a set of "how-to" tools for application, including flow charts, lists, and resources on the "Rules of the Road," the "Sacred Conversations Model," the roles of seekers and helpers, seven lessons for sacred conversations, and conversation starters to help you apply the model now to improve your life and help people in need. These pages will inspire your heart and reveal how everyday interactions can lead to spiritual growth, deep connections, and meaningful impact.
This isn't merely another Christian self-help book. It's an inspired invitation to transform your life, and our world, one "sacred conversation" at a time. These spiritual encounters between people who want to grow in faith and virtue and live more purposeful and fulfilling lives will open your heart to hear God's voice more clearly and respond to His love more generously.
- GenresNonfiction
177 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 19, 2024
5 people are currently reading
14 people want to read
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July 9, 2024
July 7, 2024: This was my second read and I not only realized how much I had already forgotten, but how much I failed to take in the first time. This is one of those books I will need to keep on my 'reference' shelf, or maybe I need to create something like an 'annual' shelf, where I put those books, which are vital enough that I need to reread them every year or two at least.
Okay, so what stood out this time: the three questions. Dr. Reed talks about an encounter he had with a stranger who gave him three vital questions which we need to ask ourselves and they are: 1) What do I want? 2) Why don’t I have it already? and, 3) What am I willing to do to get it? He said that was a gift for him and I realized that it was for me as well. I took it to journaling yesterday and it was definitely a new approach which I am going to start using.
One other thing from this read, Dr. Reed offers six lessons in communication which he learned from putting together items from the Swedish store IKEA. I won't include them here as that might be giving too much of his book away, but they are Excellent!
Reading this a second time was WELL WORTH it! It convinced me that I need to read it again ... SOON! Thank you again Dr. Reed for a wonderful book!
May 17, 2024: When I came home from my second formation meeting back in March of this year my spirit felt heavy with dissatisfaction. The Holy Spirit or my Guardian Angel—or both perhaps—were letting me know I had not done so well in listening to those in the formation group I’m supposed to lead. When I get excited or happy (as I had been during our class) my natural inhibitions disappear; in short, I blather. I knew I needed supernatural help and just asking Jesus to help me without knowing how to cooperate with His Grace was not going to be enough. But what to do? Where to turn? Where else, when you are a booklady! A book, of course.
I googled books on ‘conversations’, ‘effective communication’ and studied a number of titles, reading descriptions and reviews. There are of course Listening Skills courses, and while I knew I would benefit greatly from those, I have neither the time nor the real need for that much training. I’m not a professional after all. I’m a grandma, a Secular Carmelite who wants to be able to have better—holier—conversations with her fellow Carmelites. Several books sounded intriguing but not exactly right, and one in particular, How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply by David Brooks, but there was a long waiting list at the library. It was a discouraging search. There are many good books out there, but none which seemed to be what I was looking for. Then I got an email from Sophia Press which offered a book describing ‘How God Wants Us to Communicate’. I knew THAT was the book I was looking for!
I bought a Kindle copy because I wanted to start it right away. Inhaled it in four days and wrote a review, which the author liked enough, he sent me a complimentary real copy. So now, I am going to reread Sacred Conversations at a slower pace and deeper level, hopefully gleaning more…
Oh! And there are VERY FEW books (aside from children’s books, spiritual and other classics) that I read a second time. Life is too short and there are too many books!
FIRST REVIEW, April 6, 2024: As the author, Christopher Reed, writes on p. 131: “Whether you are a Seeker or a Helper, be positive, listen, ask more than you advocate, be other-focused, and seek to engage in loving connectivity.”
I read his book out of an awareness that my verbal communication skills … needed something. After reading, Sacred Conversations: How God Wants Us to Communicate, I realized that there was much more to it. Isn’t there always? Isn’t that why we read? Communication is a skill, and we are always refining and improving skills. Nothing too revolutionary there.
Mr. Reed shows how the ‘science’ of effective communication pairs up perfectly with Jesus’ own teachings and other important lessons in Sacred Scripture. We learn the difference between ordinary and Sacred Conversations and why it matters, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matt. 18:20).
The author has a number of helpful models and lists which some may find helpful but not being a detail-ist, I tend to give a quick glance over those things and say, “Hmmmm…very nice” but move on to the quotes and suggestions. It is here where the gleanings are the richest (IMHO)!
One of my favorites is this: “The goal of practicing this art (communicating) is not to get it right every time; it is not to be perfect about it. Rather, the goal is to commit to the process. The goal is to practice often. As we make this commitment, we will experience pain, frustration, pleasure, and joy. We will develop humility. We will learn to take stock of the tools available for helping ourselves and others to become better.” p. 49.
I hope to begin looking for opportunities to have Sacred Conversations, which Reed defines as: ‘... human interactions designed to help the participants involved to become better versions of themselves.’ p. 50.
Having read this book quickly through on my Kindle, I will be ordering a paper copy so as to read it through again at a more leisurely pace to let the good information sink in and permeate my thinking process. Good stuff here!
Okay, so what stood out this time: the three questions. Dr. Reed talks about an encounter he had with a stranger who gave him three vital questions which we need to ask ourselves and they are: 1) What do I want? 2) Why don’t I have it already? and, 3) What am I willing to do to get it? He said that was a gift for him and I realized that it was for me as well. I took it to journaling yesterday and it was definitely a new approach which I am going to start using.
One other thing from this read, Dr. Reed offers six lessons in communication which he learned from putting together items from the Swedish store IKEA. I won't include them here as that might be giving too much of his book away, but they are Excellent!
Reading this a second time was WELL WORTH it! It convinced me that I need to read it again ... SOON! Thank you again Dr. Reed for a wonderful book!
May 17, 2024: When I came home from my second formation meeting back in March of this year my spirit felt heavy with dissatisfaction. The Holy Spirit or my Guardian Angel—or both perhaps—were letting me know I had not done so well in listening to those in the formation group I’m supposed to lead. When I get excited or happy (as I had been during our class) my natural inhibitions disappear; in short, I blather. I knew I needed supernatural help and just asking Jesus to help me without knowing how to cooperate with His Grace was not going to be enough. But what to do? Where to turn? Where else, when you are a booklady! A book, of course.
I googled books on ‘conversations’, ‘effective communication’ and studied a number of titles, reading descriptions and reviews. There are of course Listening Skills courses, and while I knew I would benefit greatly from those, I have neither the time nor the real need for that much training. I’m not a professional after all. I’m a grandma, a Secular Carmelite who wants to be able to have better—holier—conversations with her fellow Carmelites. Several books sounded intriguing but not exactly right, and one in particular, How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply by David Brooks, but there was a long waiting list at the library. It was a discouraging search. There are many good books out there, but none which seemed to be what I was looking for. Then I got an email from Sophia Press which offered a book describing ‘How God Wants Us to Communicate’. I knew THAT was the book I was looking for!
I bought a Kindle copy because I wanted to start it right away. Inhaled it in four days and wrote a review, which the author liked enough, he sent me a complimentary real copy. So now, I am going to reread Sacred Conversations at a slower pace and deeper level, hopefully gleaning more…
Oh! And there are VERY FEW books (aside from children’s books, spiritual and other classics) that I read a second time. Life is too short and there are too many books!
FIRST REVIEW, April 6, 2024: As the author, Christopher Reed, writes on p. 131: “Whether you are a Seeker or a Helper, be positive, listen, ask more than you advocate, be other-focused, and seek to engage in loving connectivity.”
I read his book out of an awareness that my verbal communication skills … needed something. After reading, Sacred Conversations: How God Wants Us to Communicate, I realized that there was much more to it. Isn’t there always? Isn’t that why we read? Communication is a skill, and we are always refining and improving skills. Nothing too revolutionary there.
Mr. Reed shows how the ‘science’ of effective communication pairs up perfectly with Jesus’ own teachings and other important lessons in Sacred Scripture. We learn the difference between ordinary and Sacred Conversations and why it matters, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matt. 18:20).
The author has a number of helpful models and lists which some may find helpful but not being a detail-ist, I tend to give a quick glance over those things and say, “Hmmmm…very nice” but move on to the quotes and suggestions. It is here where the gleanings are the richest (IMHO)!
One of my favorites is this: “The goal of practicing this art (communicating) is not to get it right every time; it is not to be perfect about it. Rather, the goal is to commit to the process. The goal is to practice often. As we make this commitment, we will experience pain, frustration, pleasure, and joy. We will develop humility. We will learn to take stock of the tools available for helping ourselves and others to become better.” p. 49.
I hope to begin looking for opportunities to have Sacred Conversations, which Reed defines as: ‘... human interactions designed to help the participants involved to become better versions of themselves.’ p. 50.
Having read this book quickly through on my Kindle, I will be ordering a paper copy so as to read it through again at a more leisurely pace to let the good information sink in and permeate my thinking process. Good stuff here!
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