Effective Church Communications

Effective Church Communications provides Timeless Strategy and Biblical Inspiration to help churches create communications that fully fulfill the Great Commission

Effective Church Communications provides Timeless Strategy and a Biblical Perspective to help churches create communications that fully fulfill the Great Commission. Our tools constantly change; our task doesn’t; we can help.

You can do all you need to do in church communications, for your church and by your people

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In Perelandra, the science fiction fantasy by C. S. Lewis, the primal battle between good and evil on a newly created world is fought by an unassuming scholar, thrust unwillingly into individual combat with personified evil. In the moments before their last, physical wrestling, his mind is wrestling with these thoughts:

The impudence, the unfairness, the absurdity of it! . . . What was the sense of so arranging things that anything really important should finally and absolutely depend on such a man of straw as himself?

At that moment, far away on Earth, as he now could not help remembering, men were at war, and. . .freckled corporals who had lately begun to shave, stood in horrible gaps or crawled forward in deadly darkness, awaking, like him, to the preposterous truth that all really depended on their actions. . . [and in years past] Constantine settled in his mind whether he would or would not embrace the new religion, and Eve herself stood looking upon the forbidden fruit and the Heaven of Heavens waited for her decision.

He writhed and ground his teeth, but could not help seeing. Thus, and not otherwise, the world was made. Either something or nothing must depend on individual choices.

from Perelandra, by C. S. Lewis
—when Ransom realizes his personal responsibility to fight evil personified

Thus, and not otherwise, the world was made.

Either something or nothing must depend on individual choices.

You are responsible for the effectiveness of your church communications, as this challenging quote from C. S. Lewis reminds us. Your church communications are effective if they make a significant contribution to, either through your personal outreach, individual ministries, or your church as a whole, people are coming to know Jesus as Savior and growing to maturity in their Christian lives.

Effective church communications can change the eternal destiny of individual people, enrich the lives of families and communities, and inspire compassion and service to a world desperately in need of sacrificial kindness.

You, as a church communicator have an immensely important calling. [Read more...]

Paul’s challenge to church communicators: Proclaim the whole will of God

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In the Apostle Paul's farewell to the Ephesian elders, he gives us a summary of the responsibilities of leaders in church that also applies to those who lead in church communication:

For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. 28Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. 29I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears. Acts 20-27-31

Though Paul shares a number of challenges we can apply in our work as church communicators, one of them is especially difficult to apply:

“For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God.”

As we communicate God's messages to his church, we need to make certain we are taking time to communicate all of it, the difficult parts as well as the more pleasant and encouraging ones.

We don't seem to have trouble communicating the upbeat and the positive, quoting God's promises and blessings and we should do that. Those messages alone, however are not the whole will of God and if that is all we are communicating we will present a distorted picture of the Christian message.

[Read more...]

Constant change is not necessary for effective church communication

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A current conference advertises itself with this statement:

Constant change is necessary to reach our culture with the unchanging message of Jesus Christ.

Why?

On what basis?

It can't be on the basis of any kind of current marketing theory. Consider some of the most successful brands today:

  • Has Coke ever changed its logo colors?
  • Has Nike ever changed "just......"  you know the rest of the statement.
  • Did the Olympic committee alter its logo from interlocking rings to interlocking squares to keep the image fresh?

Many time-honored brands have not changed their distinctive characteristics for years and they won't. They know that change would be deadly to their brand identity and profitability. There is nothing intrinsically good or beneficial about change. In fact, change can be a destructive and distracting—especially for churches. [Read more...]

Returning to the moon, going to Mars, and the timing of dreams

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The moon landing memories that were a frequent theme in media stream surrounding the 40th anniversary of the moon landing revived interest and discussion about returning to space. The discussion appears grand and glorious. Frequent references are made to the human quest for adventure and exploration of the heavens.

The quest for adventure and exploration of the heavens does seem to be an innate part of human nature, but  as I listened to the arguments for the return to space, it seems though the desire might be valid, the timing is off. The inappropriate timing of our expectations, demands, and dreams can cause us no end of frustration and mistakes. I thought about this when these stories about returning to the moon brought to mind a little poem I've kept for over forty years. It is a poem that has often reminded me of our glorious future when death will be no more and the planets our playground. Let me share it and then what that has to do with the timing of dreams.... [Read more...]

What is honestly unfortunate—communication channel pride

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7-29-09 the quote below appeared in USA TODAY in the article: “Governments tap into the power of  Twitter.” Tom Watson, a Labor Party, blogger said:

There are some very bright, digitally enabled civil servants who unfortunately have to write these documents for their bosses. . . who still get their secretaries to print off their e-mails so they can read them.

This situation is can be repeated in every office, governmental, educational, religious, in probably every nation in the world. No disagreement there. But here is what does bother me, not only in this instance, but also how this applies to our technology interactions  in church communications. [Read more...]