Praise for Redeeming How We Talk We all crave connection. But ironically, we don’t spend a lot of time thinking about, or praying about, how our words and our other conversational tools work to draw us close to one another or to God. We are all familiar with the psalm that pleads, “May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” Redeeming How We Talk breaks down how to do just that

In a world where we have tribalized ourselves into identity groups of disagreement, true conversation and dialogue are becoming obsolete. We don’t have conversations anymore; the dialogue is predetermined and reinforced in the echo chambers of media. A. J. and Ken have given us not only a history of how we got here and a theology of communication, but wisdom and practical guidance in how we talk to one another. It is time for us to leave our polarized islands of finger pointing and truly learn to ask the deeper questions, gain understanding, and yes, speak to one another in a way that reveals the love and wisdom of God. This book will give you the tools to heal our fractured world one conversation at a time.

What comes out of our mouths is a reflection of what’s on our hearts. At a time when our discourse has become more coarse and when it’s easier to back into corners with our opinions, rather than engaging with those with whom we may disagree, this book offers a way for us to rethink the importance of civil discourse, and humility and openness in communication. This book comes at a right time when perhaps all of us need a fresh reminder to guard our tongues and our hearts in a way that would honor Christ.

We have become a people all alone, together,” assert Ken Wytsma and A. J. Swoboda in Redeeming How We Talk. Mass communication is more like a corporate cacophony. Few are listening, few speak what’s worth hearing. We just keep missing each other. Is there hope of recovery from the current crisis? Is there hope for the kind of communication that recovers the lost art of community? Wytsma and Swoboda blaze a path out of all the noise that moves toward honest, thoughtful communication where we can listen, hear, and thoughtfully respond

Words have power. This one simple phrase has shaped my adult life in a profound way. There has never been a more important time for a generation to rediscover the power of words than in our current culture. I believe this book invokes a holy understanding of our unique calling as agents of grace, truth, and life in a decaying world.

It is not just the clarity of their speech that sets Ken and A. J.’s message apart, it is the depth of their listening. This is so much more than a book about words; it is a book that lays open our shouting hearts, and gently questions why we speak in the first place. Redeeming How We Talk invites us to a more Christlike way to speak, to listen, and to live