It has been said that communication is a miracle. There is a big difference between speaking and being heard. People speak in different ways and they hear in different ways. Without real community there is no deep communication. I recently read a story about a Christian recording artist on the radio who was talking about the most important influences in his life. He knows and has worked with all the most prominent Christian preachers, lecturers, authors and performers in the nation. But he said above and beyond them all, the single most profound influence in his life (in fact, he said, the single force that won him to Christ) was his mother. He confessed that he had not been an easy child. If trouble were to be found, he was usually the one to find it. But every night his mother would come into his room, kneel beside his bed and talk to Jesus about her son. He would listen in as she said: "Jesus, he's a good boy. He just doesn't know it yet. Give me the patience to be his mother. Let me be slow to anger and quick to forgive. And let me love him the way you do." The singer said: "I play concerts before huge audiences. I am heard on radio stations around the world. But somehow I think the most important witness I make is every night when I'm home I kneel and pray beside my little boy's bed like Mama did next to mine." We never know the incredible influence we can have on the world simply by sharing our faith, articulating the gospel to one other person at a time. The most effective way of communicating is not through what we say, but rather through what we do and what we are.
As a church, we are trying to communicate all the time. We try to communicate about events for every age and stage of life. We try to communicate the mission, vision, and ministries of the church. We try to communicate through worship, word, and deed. We try to communicate with members, regular attenders, and visitors. We try to communicate with those who are here once a day, once a week, once a month, and once a year. We try to communicate in ways that hold information, celebration, and inspiration. All these areas of ministry invite us to share information in different ways. We share information through mailings, brochures, newsletters, emails, texts, social media, billboards, TV, our website, and our new soon to launch Church App.
Church growth experts tell us that people dictate the way they want to receive information by the tools they make available to you. If we receive your physical address, email address, or mobile number, we assume you prefer that method, or those methods, to receive information. Marketing experts tell us that most people need information in at least seven different formats for it to be effective. This is why we want as many different forms of contact with you as possible. For information to be communicated it needs to be clear, concise, complete, correct, coherent, consistent, compelling, and courteous. With all these dynamics at play in the background it is no wonder why communication is still considered a miracle. This Sunday we will focus on how we communicate love in a way that it can be heard by those closest to us. I hope to see you here.
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