Communication

I have been thinking about communication lately. Church communication specifically, but communication generally as well. I have learned that what you desire to communicate is more often than not entirely different than the message recieved. I have learned that what kind of communication you think will work has more to do with you than your audience. In other words, we only really communicate well with others just like us because we communicate in ways we like.

Therein lies the communication problem and interestingly the gospel problem. To communicate effectively you must said aside yourself and focus on your audience. This may mean you have to communicate in different ways for different people. So it is a question of focus. Focus on something other than yourself. Perhaps this is why Jesus calls us to deny ourselves. Perhaps if we do not, we cannot achieve the focus necessary to communicate the gospel to those who need to hear it.

Even as I write this, it is becoming clear that communication is critical. It is what we are about. It is what we are called to do. Jesus gave us the task of communicating the gospel to the world. The Church then must always be asking itself, "are we communicating the gospel?" This question is essential to everything we do. If we are to learn the lessons above, it is clear that we must set self aside before we can even begin to answer these questions and before we can begin to communicate.

This forum is an example. I thought the nature of our church would make this a lively spot for church dialogue, but that is what I enjoy, it works for me. It is apparent it has not been recieved the way I expected. Perhaps this is because my focus has been on how I think the UBC should do things, assuming the prophetic voice if you will. Well Elijah I aint. I suppose if I focused on the audience, I would have to lay aside my puffed up opinions and communicated the message I have been charged with. Praise God who has mercy on us in the midst of our failures, loves us despite our imperfections, and sustains us when we lose our way. I forgot to put self aside and in so doing lost sight of the message. I wonder if anyone else has found themselves lost on this path?