As we waited to board a flight in Atlanta last month, one of the terminal’s door alarms went off, sending a shrill wail sailing through the air for minutes on end. As you will see in this video, no one on the concourse appeared to pay attention to the piercing sound, let alone alter their activity. At the same time, the gate agent kept attempting to share information about boarding procedures. The alarm, the agent … no one was listening to either if they could help it, and, crucially, no one was changing their behavior in the situation.
Maybe there was a time in the past when, if someone spoke into a microphone or sounded an alarm, people would stop, listen, learn, and change direction.
If so (and we think that golden age is mostly a myth), it no longer holds. People are plugged into their own tailored version of reality, inclined to shut out the world beyond, and only glancingly attentive to what crosses their path.
What is your church’s ministry trying to communicate – and what action are you calling people to take – in your weekly emails or newsletters?
What is the point of announcements during worship? What precious end are you hoping to achieve through that time-consuming use of the microphone?
How does anything and everything your church board tries to communicate (whether to the congregation or the larger world) relate to and connect with your identity as a ministry outpost for the Risen Christ?
Notably, when it was time for our Atlanta flight to board – and the alarm had blessedly stopped – a servicewoman with a small child was invited to board early. The gate agent acknowledged the woman, thanked her for her service, and gave the child a high five. Everyone at the gate applauded and smiled.
Acknowledgement, relationship, and kindness are a different type of communication than shrill alarms and droning scripts. That sort of person-to-person connection, however brief, is a welcome invitation to a different way of living.
The adult ed class that usually meets in the library will move online next Sunday—please see Taylor for the link.
Most church announcements, in whatever form, assume pre-existing knowledge and commitment. That level of assumption both overlooks and undercuts what folks are really hoping to find: a source of meaning and sustenance for living in a complex world.
There will be lunch after worship next Sunday in the fellowship hall, all are welcome, contact the office for the sign-up sheet if you can bring something.
Whatever that sign-up sheet may say, there is no appeal to meaning or spiritual sustenance.
It seems obvious, but we all seem to forget – for everything we do in church, and especially with our church boards – there is no “business as usual.” The business of the church is always shaped by scripture. And the gospels have so much to say about how we communicate and what we communicate in faith communities.
Luke 19:1-10. Jesus stops, looks up, and calls Zaccheus by name. This is equivalent to the gate agent moment: the servicewoman, the high five, the applause. Jesus doesn’t make an announcement for all tax collectors. He sees a person, he reaches out in relationship, and it changes everything.
John 4:1-26. Jesus encounters a woman at a well at high noon. A peer-to-peer connection during an ordinary stop on a journey. No microphone. No crowd. Jesus engages her actual life – her complexity, her history – and she becomes the most effective evangelist in the gospel.
John 6:35. Jesus says, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry.” This text almost directly rewrites the fellowship hall lunch announcement. The hunger is real and deep; the invitation matches the depth of the need; and it goes out to Whoever comes to me, no coding for those already in the club.
Matthew 11:28-30. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened….” This is the anti-alarm. It is quiet, it is personal, it names a real condition, and it offers something specific in response. It assumes nothing except that the listener is human and tired.
If we want a single anchor text, John 1:35-39 might be it. Two disciples follow Jesus and he simply asks, “What are you looking for?” Not an announcement. Not a program description. A question aimed directly at the human search for meaning. “What are you looking for?” is the question every church communication either asks … or ignores.
“What are you looking for?” is a question rooted in humility. It does not assume prior knowledge or enrollment. It honors needs seen and needs not visible. It makes room for the skeptics in the pew – those who are present not in service to the institution, but out of a deep hunger they are trying to trust.
“What are you looking for?” is a place to start in assessing your church board’s communication.
Think about a recent airport experience you have had. When did you pay close attention to the announcements, and what were they?
Think about a recent church experience you have had. When did you pay close attention to the announcements … and what were they?
Think of a scripture in which Jesus communicates – could be one of those listed above, or another of your choosing. How would you characterize his communication style?
How would you characterize the way your church board communicates with the congregation?
What could you do differently to communicate that your ministry is not just ‘business as usual’?
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