Pretty and memorable picture, but what was the message?

In "The more you know, the more you see", Lester comments about the importance of being able to connect using images, however images need to be more than merely making services more interesting or entertaining. It is easy today with modern technology to go to Google images, download an image and project it using PowerPoint to enhance a presentation.

"More often than not, images that are remembered are the ones that combine
aesthetically pleasing design elements with content that matters. However, works
that combine both beauty and meaning are enormously difficult to produce."

Paul Martin Lester, Visual Communication: Images with Messages

Today we have so little time in comparison to other influences to make an impact on our congregation and we feel the need to compete with Hollywood and their massive budgets in communicating our message. We must always remember that we are there to proclaim the gospel and that message shouldn't be confused or subverted by a pretty picture, images need to support the theme not merely exist as part of presentation that shows the preacher can use PowerPoint.

It is a skill to use images well, last week I observed my pastor within 30 seconds searching, selecting, and presenting an image to support the theme of the message, this approach misses the opportunity to connect fully the message and the imagery so as to create synergy where by the sum of the parts (spoken word, and visual imagery) work together to create a message that is more memorable, and transformative than the constituent parts would on there own.

Evangalism and Images

Jesus is the master of Parable. His use of images in presenting stories to many people allowed people at many differing levels of faith understanding to understand a message based on their knowledge. His use of pastoral and religious images allowed people to connect with and understand the the kingdom of God; a concept that is quite alien and unobtainable to most people. In using evangelism today our first need is to understand what people understand of their picture of God and what images from daily life may give a picture of the kingdom of God. We need to understand the culture we live in. In Jesus' time the culture was rather more simplistic than today and people on the whole had a great understanding of the spiritual realm. Today, however in the western world there are many people who have no understanding of or deny any existence of things spiritual. Our greatest area we have access to is that of motion pictures, television and books. Movies such as "The Matrix", "Narnia", and "Lord of the Rings Trilogy" allow the conveyance of biblical and spiritual truths. Books although controversial such as the "Divinci code" allow conversations 'around the water cooler' that would not be possible.
On reflection the use of the current culture has its risks as this quote by Francis Shaeffer comments "looking for meanings in secular books, films and the arts is not the same as endorsing them as wholesome material for all Christians to read or watch. The purpose is not review for Christians, but holding up a mirror for non-Christians to find an element of truth in the books and films they already consume. Someone called by God to be such an interpreter may need to analyse material which includes content that is not particularly uplifting."

Personal Stories

Personal stories allow the congregation to connect with the preacher. They allow the congregation to see the preacher as a human being; that despite their place of privilege they are no more perfect than they are. If the congregation are able to see the vulnerabilities, the struggles and the celebrations of a preachers life, they are able to connect with the preacher on a deeper more personal level.

The Christian narrative is one of redemption and transformation; if as preachers we are unable to convey our experiences of being transformed by the love of God we miss a vital opportunity to present a living faith in action. A big part of discipling people is modeling the right ways of handling life.

There however are caveats to the sharing of personal stories. The sermon is there to lead, inspire, educate, give vision to, provide hope for the congregation not as an outlet for the preacher to seek sympathy or help with there troubles. It is important that the congregation are left with the feeling that they are able to approach the minister with their concerns and not feel burdened by the need to support or comfort the preacher. In this case it is best to speak of stories that have happened in the past; not issues the preacher is currently working on. If the preacher has issues these are best dealt with through a professional supervision situation.

Same story - Different meaning.

In constructing stories we are allowing people to take what they like from them. This is no different to what Jesus did. Jesus often spoke in parables (an earthly story with a spiritual truth) that allowed the people who was his audience to take meaning from something they already knew and apply it to their lives. By presenting stories we are allowing people to formulate their own response based on their life. Hence we are able to connect more fully with our congregations. Jesus' parables were often multi tiered and allowed people with differing understandings of faith to take as much as their were able to from the given story.
In an example from Jesus' teaching of the Parable of the Tenants Matthew 21:33-46, The Pharisees get quite a different picture from the general population who have been living under the rule of the Pharisees. The general population see hope of a new kingdom whereas the Pharisees see a challenge to their authority and subsequently wish to have Jesus arrested. Same story - differnt meaning.

Preaching as dialog

More and more today people are prepared to question authority. No longer do doctors have such a privileged position as a purveyor of information regarding medicine; people are likely to check out their condition on the Internet, consult alternative treatments or consult second or third opinions. The role of minister is also changing; no longer are ministers the sole source of religious truth.
The idea of preaching becoming more akin to dialog is necessary. In my role working with children's ministry I see first hand the desire to ask questions and to discuss the lessons. When the young people each 13 we send them off to youth group where they are in an environment that supports query based learning, where discussion is extolled and all peoples opinions are considered valuable. What happens after youth group is they are expected to sit in a church sermon, listen to a preacher for twenty minutes, sing a song of reflection or listen to a prayer, and then go about their day. By providing dialog as a form of preaching we enter into communication a 'two way street' which allows peoples personal life to enrich the message and help others to relate to the message, and one would hope apply some new truth to their lives. In encouraging dialog the preacher is opening themselves to become vulnerable, which is threatening and removes a sense of the power imbalance and distance between a preacher and congregation.

Creating Space for Emotion

Preaching should effect the heart. Therefore an emotional response should be expected from a sermon. How that is created is critical to the successful conveyance of the message. When we preach we are not out to entertain, educate or to fill in time, we are trying to challenge behaviour and create an ongoing life long change in people. Jesus' teachings all had a point and appealed to what people already knew from their occupations, their knowledge of the old testament and their local environment.
Once when preaching I talked about Christmas and contrasted the amount we in the West spend on Christmas compared to the cost of fresh water for everyone on earth (Advent Conspiracy). It was important for people to be taken from an emotional high of celebrating the birth of Jesus, their Saviour to being challenged by the effect of him being their Saviour and what that means to them. To change the mood of the people within the service allowed them to consider the effect of their lavish western styled Christmas and how at odds with the true Christmas message their lifestyle has become. In terms of a deeper more personal emotional response that may be better left for the safety and mutual support of study / life groups, as I feel people today don't go to church to be 'beaten up emotionally' but to escape the darkness of the world and to be encouraged to keep walking in faith, this however maybe just a result of the competition from life's other activities people face in attending church, and people wish to go for an enjoyable time.

I heard it on the grapevine...so I'm going

Churches like any people centred organisation have inherit communication challenges. Typically when churches fail to communicate well, the role that the grapevine plays in communicating or more importantly miscommunicating information is given a higher credence.

The grapevine mode of communication is however incredibly powerful when tapped appropriately. People prefer to be communicated to personally. No matter how many times someone reads an announcement in a church bulletin or sees a PowerPoint slide during the notices, or hears a ministry leader speak from the front; a personal invitation to an event is going to win every time hands down, and when that invitation comes from a friend who is already coming to the event you are set for success. Generating this style of grapevine communication takes time and identifying who are key people on the grapevine and who play important network roles such as opinion leaders, bridges and stars.

My first two family events demonstrated the power of this form of informal communication well. I was hosting my first family BBQ and did everything well (or so I thought) good marketing, posters, announcements and buy in or so I thought. On the day I had one family attend (and they were the interns so didn't really have a choice). After feeling rather disappointed I attempted again this time I connected with one of the mother's who played a central role in the parent's group; though not the leader, and fed her information and got her to buy in to the event. The result was that almost every family from church attended. This harnessing of the grapevine and the importance of identifying people to feed correct and accurate information to can be very beneficial.