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Early on in my faith someone who seemed to really love the Lord said to me in a sharp and offended tone, "Well, I guess you don't have the gift of encouragement!" Even through the sting, I knew he was probably right. I only had the gift of slap you in the face boldness back then and it has take years for the Lord to teach me to be encouraging and I still, like many I know, am pretty terrible at it!

What about you?

The last time you felt really discouraged did you go to church leadership for encouragement?

Sadly, you probably didn't. 

Maybe you felt like you couldn't go to church leadership because you would be judged. Maybe you are tired of pious answers or cliches. Perhaps, like myself, you've been guilty of not knowing what to say or saying wrong things and you just weren't up for it from somebody else. 

How did Jesus encourage? What does discourage mean? How do we as believers stay strong and courageous when we feel constantly powerless and empty?

These are questions we should seek to know the answer to so we can be better Christians knowing how to speak with the kind of grace that imparts grace to the hearer. 

Here are 3 tips to get you started on your journey to being more encouraging. 

1. Consider empathy over sympathy: 

I know how you feel is better than I'm sorry you feel that way. Jesus knows just how you feel and we as believers should be ready to meet people where they are and walk with them. We want to say the right things, but we need to listen

2. Consider your words: 

We have to provide guidance and wisdom. We need to actively listen to give the right answer. Be perceptive. Listen for the sake of listening and give the Holy Spirit time to marinate your words in salt and grace. 

3. Consider how much time are you spending encouraging your people: 

We all have busy schedules, but what would the body of believers look like if we scheduled encouragement into our daily and weekly routines. 

Challenge: Choose 3 people to encourage...walk alongside them and listen and only speak when God would give you the words. 

This blog post was inspired by our Normal Christian Leadership Video Series in our Leadership Training. To check out the video on Encouraging Normally click here. Better yet watch the first video!

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This post was written by Nickole Perry, co-founder and Director of Operations at Cedar Creek Ministries. 

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