Full of praise and full of themselves…That is the phrase that occurred to me today as I reflected on still another story of a prominent speaker whose interpersonal skills are severely lacking. I frequently hear people tell me how stunning and wonderful some speaker is that they heard at a church or at a seminar somewhere. And sure enough those individuals are generally outstanding orators. In many cases, those skilled speakers are lacking in the people skill department. My favorite story in that regard involves my former employer.

Colleagues and friends alike laugh at me today when I tell them that I worked for two brothers who owned a wrecker service and auto repair shop. It was a great job for a young married graduate student in the field of theology. When we were not busy, I would grab a few moments to review Greek vocabulary words or study church history. I actually learned a lot when I worked for Robert and Wade.

Robert owned the wrecker portion of the business. He was honest, dependable, and very particular about people’s vehicles. As graduation loomed, Robert got me aside one day to dispel some advice. He told me: “When you get your own church, you better speak to your members.” I nearly started laughing. What do you mean, I asked him? He proceeded to tell him that he arrived early every Sunday to handle some of the preparations for the weekly worship service, and the preacher would walk right by him without acknowledging him. Robert found that kind of behavior to be offensive. He then proceeded to tell me that he made _________ speak to him! I nearly lost it at that point! Robert was a hard working, blue collar kind of guy who simply wanted the preacher to extend some common courtesy. What is wrong with that? Not a thing!

Ironically that particular minister was in high demand as a speaker. People thought he was an exceptional speaker. And the truth is…he is a great orator. But he lacked some basic interpersonal communication skills. I realize the case could be made for professionals who are truly introverts. I am married to an extremely strong introvert. She has chosen over the years to work hard at being friendly with people in a public setting.

It is not uncommon for speakers who are in high demand to spend a majority of their time addressing audiences in a variety of settings. They miss out on the daily ministry duties that the rest of us are exposed to. They don’t get to meet the little 2nd grade girl whose mother is in jail. I met her today. They don’t get to work with families who have lost a loved one. I do that almost everyday. They miss getting to visit someone in the hospital facing a serious illness. They don’t get to hear the stories of family conflict, marital troubles, and lost jobs. They travel about and get pumped full of praise by eager audiences. But in the process of missing out on the daily interaction with real people with real needs, they commonly end up full of praise and full of themselves.

I am thankful today that I get to serve people every single day with a variety of concerns. It keeps my feet on the ground. I am already too full of myself. I don’t need any help. When my good church members tell me about some stunning speaker they want us to invite in, I will just smile to myself. And I will probably think about Robert….