The challenges of communication

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

As those called to be God’s fellow workers (1 Cor. 3:9) and Christ’s ambassadors (1 Cor. 5:20), we are challenged to communicate to the world the gospel of God’s grace in Christ. Our communication occurs in many forms, including words and acts through which we present the truth of God’s love for all humanity. It is always a challenge to communicate clearly, and so we rely on the work of the Holy Spirit, even as we offer to him our best efforts.

As we know, the gospel can be obscured and misrepresented. Our goal is to communicate it clearly and simply, yet in ways that do not strip it of its great depth and richness. This is a challenge. Indeed, verbal and written communication is always challenging, particularly in a world where culture, and the languages that shape it, are rapidly morphing.

“Churchy” words and phrases that are familiar to us as evangelical Christians may be unintelligible to non-Christians and even to Christians in other traditions. This is humorously addressed in a Ministry Communicorps article titled “Churchy Clichés…and what they really mean.” Below are excerpts that I think you’ll find both humorous and enlightening.

Churchy Word or Phrase: Its Real Meaning

Relevant: Something you might enjoy that looks and sounds a lot like a popular TV series, ad campaign or pop culture icon
Authentic: In some aspects, as messed up as you are
Community: A group of people with little in common who all attend the same megachurch
Community Event: Food served in a cul-de-sac, with face painting for children
Revolution: Event or movement that most people will not like, but a few will really like a lot
Driven: Moving forward based on a book-inspired philosophy that has at least four or five key steps
Missional: Same as Driven except steps related in some way, shape or form to something Jesus did in the gospels
Focus: Something one or more church leaders believe is important enough to cancel other stuff in order to devote everyone’s full energy and resources to it
Emergent: We’re making this up as we go along
Connect: Meet
Network: Meet
Engage: Meet
Experience: See or Hear
Belong: Join
WWJD? (stands for What Would Jesus Do?): This issue is not addressed in John 3:16, which is the only Bible verse I know

(The full article is posted at www.communicorps.org/learning/articles/page_churchywords.htm.)

Of course, this list is tongue-in-cheek, and my goal in sharing it is not to make us overconcerned about certain terms. Rather my goal is to encourage us to think about how our words are being understood by the audience(s) we are communicating with.

We’ve been thinking a lot about words in recent years as we’ve come to understand more fully the stunning truth of the gospel in its Trinitarian, Christ centered theological context. This has caused us to develop new thought forms, that require new words to convey those thoughts. If you struggle with the words, I encourage you to be patient. And please realize that it is the thought forms (and what they represent) that is most important.

Trinitarian theology is more than adding Trinitarian sounding words to our vocabulary – it means rewiring our thinking (and out of that, an appropriate vocabulary flows). As we develop the vocabulary, let’s continue to make our communication of the gospel clear and simple and, above all, faithful to whom God is and what he has done (and is doing) for us all in Christ.

Sharing the communication of the gospel with you,

Joseph Tkach

Barranquilla, Colombia church

The GCI congregation in Barranquilla, Colombia has 45 members and an average attendance of 70. They meet in the recreation room of a local school. This location provides many opportunities for members to develop relationships with students at the school. As a result, they have a large children’s Sunday School.

In addition to their Sunday worship service, the congregation has a regular Wednesday evening meeting for prayer, worship and to equip members for service in the work of God. In this meeting new teachers are trained. They also hold monthly prayer and fasting vigils. The most recent one was on December 7 from 7:30pm to 2 am. Attendance was high and the results were refreshing. The congregation also provides discipleship classes, with several expressing interest in baptism.

The Barranquilla congregation held its first Christmas feast on December 17. They visited 27 homes near their place of meeting to invite families to come to the feast – 23 families accepted and about 50 neighbors attended with their children.

During the feast the children gave a presentation about Jesus’ birth. A group of girls then presented a dance. Refreshments were plentiful and delicious. There was a very festive atmosphere – demonstrating that Christmas is a celebration of great joy.

A message was given titled, “Christmas and Salvation.” There was also a brief workshop concerning the meaning of Christmas, which was very well received. The feast also provided the opportunity to celebrate the birthdays of two girl guests. Several visiting neighbors gave positive comments about the event and some who did not attend the event have expressed their desire to do so next time.

Social media in ministry

Several GCI congregations are finding that social media (such as Facebook) is a useful tool for communicating with both members and nonmembers. For a helpful article about using social media in ministry, see The (Digitally) Connected Church at http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2011/fall/connectedchurch.html.

ORM praise report

In a GCI Weekly Update announcement last December, it was noted that Curtis May, who directs the Office of Reconciliation and Spiritual Mediation, would participate this January in the Reconciliation and Police Legitimacy Summit conducted by COPS (the Community Oriented Policing Services office) of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, DC. That summit occurred last week and here is Curtis’ praise report:

It was a blast! And I could feel your prayers throughout the two days.

On Tuesday, I conducted a two hour session with predominately African Americans who work in the Community Oriented Policing Office (COPS). We discussed issues of mutual concern, discussing principles of reconciliation, including some overarching steps toward a solution. We also talked about legacies of the past that can and do influence us today and what we can do about them.

On Wednesday, we had an eight hour conference with leaders in law enforcement: police chiefs, reconciliation leaders, community development leaders and ranking officials in the COPS Department. Other prominent leaders included Gary McCarthy (Chicago Superintendent of Police and National Safe Cities Network Director) and David Kennedy (Director of Criminal Law at John Jay College).

Curtis (at left) and his son Brad May

Director Bernard Melekian took my son Brad and me out to dinner Wednesday night along with New Haven Connecticut Chief Dean Esserman. Mr. Melekian said he heard a lot of positive feedback and that, “you started this” referring to ORM’s work with the Pasadena Police Department over the past few years, which included fellow GCI members like the Sniffens, Raul Ramos and others. I received positive feedback from many others. I was surprised that my references to biblical principles were so well received.

Larry Hinkle graduates

On December 17, GCI pastor Larry Hinkle graduated from Ashland Theological Seminary in Ashland, Ohio with a doctoral (DMin) degree in Formational Counseling. Larry is the senior pastor of GCI congregations in Ft. Lauderdale and Port St. Lucie, FL and is GCI’s district pastor in Florida.

Larry’s doctoral work led to development of two GCI Ministry Development training events. Both offer a Trinitarian approach to spiritual renewal. The first is a three-day long spiritual retreat for pastors and ministry leaders. The second is a daylong seminar, which can be combined with the weekly worship service. For details, go to www.OdysseyinChrist.com.