Huh?

Did you ever see a commercial on TV and after it was over wondered what it was all about? It’s a strange sensation. You sit there looking blankly at the screen asking yourself “What were they thinking?”

I have to admit that, as someone past the half-century mark, I don’t ‘get’ those commercials because they weren’t aimed at me. The target audience was younger, more attuned to the messages and the vehicles used to communicate them. I’m sure younger people don’t understand the commercials aimed at my generation.

In the course of a recent discussion about outreach, I commented that it’s difficult for Christians to think like non-Christians because our faith is so inextricably woven into who we are. That’s why it’s important to pay attention to what people outside the church are saying, thinking and doing. A good communicator knows the audience with whom he or she is trying to communicate.

The Christian faith vocabulary is blessed with words rich in meaning—sin, salvation, redemption, confession, absolution, Word and Sacraments—which have little relevance to those outside the faith.

Unfortunately, sometimes those within the Christian community don’t get it when an outreach effort uses words, images or techniques that engage a non-Christian. But, remember, the message isn’t aimed at the saints..

As I recall, Jesus didn’t endear himself to the religious community. Like a doctor who doesn’t need to heal the healthy, His message was aimed at the spiritually sick.

If the Church—if we —are to communicate effectively outside our four walls—in whatever medium—we need to use language, images, ideas and techniques that effectively communicate the simplicity of the Gospel message with those whom the Lord wants to seek and to save: the lost!