Going Up
The first time I showed books at a book festival a man went from author to author asking, “Do you have an elevator speech?” I was puzzled at first but he explained: “How would you describe your book during a one-minute elevator ride with a stranger?” He was running a contest and the person with the best elevator speech would get whatever prize he was offering.
It seemed like a simple exercise, but my inclination was to start talking about the plot with some description of the main character, and I quickly found myself mired in minutia. And with the pressure of the ticking clock, my instinct was to cram in more and more details, and that just created more confusion for both the listener and me. What was missing in the telling, and what people ultimately want to know, is the essence of the story – those qualities that create an emotional connection rather than just an intellectual understanding.
This season of Lent and Easter might be described in an over-long way with all the main events found in the Gospels: Jesus’ birth, childhood visit to the temple, the missing years, baptism, calling the disciples, preaching, miracles, and finally, betrayal, trial, crucifixion, death, resurrection. An elevator speech for the Easter story might be simply to quote John 3:16, which gives the essence of the story. Or, we could simplify further with a few choice words: love, grace, mercy, hope. That is what Easter is about.
In our never-ending struggle to be Godly and Christ-like, perhaps it is good to focus on a few choice words like love, grace, mercy and hope rather than memorize long passages of scripture for street-corner preaching. If we can keep those few words – those qualities – in mind, maybe we can live as God intended and as Christ taught and modeled. And maybe some day our own lives can be described in those simple but elegant terms.
I did finally hone an elevator speech for my book. In fact, I got it down to a few words: citizenship, respect, obedience, redemption. I pray there is some love, grace, mercy and hope in the pages as well.