The Pharisees came to
Jesus and said, “Summarize for us the
laws of the prophets. Which law is the most important?” They expected to
trick him, thinking he would surely misquote at least one of the thousands of
laws and Scriptures that had accumulated up to that time. He looked at them and
said, “The law boil down to this one:
Love God with all your heart and mind and soul, and your neighbour as yourself”
(paraphrased from Matthew 22:37). He distilled thousands of teachings, writings,
and theories into one sentence. He boiled it down.
If people could understand their core values, they
would save years of doubt, confusion, and misplaced energy as they try to find direction
for their lives. Advertisers, for
example, are paid to pare things down to their essence. Take the Nike
advertising campaign. All of Nike’s factories, sales representatives, products,
energies, costs, profits, and purpose were boiled down by their ad agency into
three words: Just Do It! The agency
created an award-winning and sales-increasing campaign based on three simple
words (more examples such as Apple’s Think
Different, L'Oréal’s Because You're
Worth It, and McDonald's: I'm Lovin'
It).
The value of everything International
Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES) stands for can be boiled down in one
sentence: Students built into communities
of disciples, transformed by the gospel and impacting the university, the
church and society for the glory of Christ.
Leaders identify, articulate,
and summarize the concepts that motivate others. Most important, they boil
concepts down to an understandable idea. Jesus boiled it down.
If you have to boil down your message or vision or
mission,
What would it be?
THINK BIG.
START SMALL. GO DEEP.
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