The way we communicate and the things that we say are so important. It can be a little harder for those in church contexts because levels of expectation can be different.
This weekend, one church service, that I attended, had an opening to a sermon that got things completely wrong. The person speaking/preaching used an illustration that gave all the wrong messages. The introduction to the sermon spoke of a less glamorous job and described it as “going nowhere” and worthless. It was poor and I was really surprised and am left disappointed in the illustration, the message conveyed and the environment in which it was said.
How do we respond to this? How do we reflect on poor communication?
Firstly, we need to understand that the speaker (in the cold light of day) would not agree with the sentiments they expressed. They were trying to open up a long sermon with an illustration that captured people’s attention – it certainly captured attention, but for all the wrong reasons, it was poor communication and demonstrated a lack of thought. When speaking publicly we need to think through all our illustrations before we use them, you can’t be too careful.
Secondly, we need to weigh carefully the things we hear, understanding the speaker, the context and acknowledging that not all those that speak in a public context are experienced. Mistakes can happen!
Having a job is a blessing in current economic times, we cannot afford to dismiss those in less sought after positions, we should stand with them to encourage and support them. In truth we need to be more careful in our illustrations, in how we communicate and how we share any message.