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If we have good news to tell, why are we so bad at sharing it with one another
If you can answer all those questions, then you are a minority verging on an endangered species.
The plain fact is that we are bad at communicating with one another in the church. It's true that the decisions made at meetings aren't everything, but if we can't even share effectively with one another what is going on, how can we hope to influence the world outside? And if we behave as if we haven't got any good stories to share with one another, what hope have we of convincing the world that we have good news to share? In fact there is a mass of good news to share about what is happening within the church. There are lively, growing congregations, there are countless experiments with new ways of working and worshipping. There are churches making new disciples and churches making a difference through innovative community service. There are artists in residence schemes, the success of the Training for Learning and Serving courses, TRIO projects, better access to our buildings for the disabled, closer contacts at the local level with the world church. There are flourishing Pilots companies and life-changing youth camps. In fact there is more good news than could possibly be listed but not only do we not tell the world, we don't even tell each other. Perhaps there are some simple things which we can do to keep one another informed about the good things that go on in our churches, Districts and Synods, and share good ideas and better practice. There are some basic rules for communicating, whether you are reporting back or simply telling a story (and after all, telling stories is what the gospel about).
At the risk of labouring the obvious, there are five simple principles which are the basis of all good story-telling and reporting, yet when we communicate we so often seem to forget them. Who was involved? What happened (or what was said)? Why did it happen? Where did it happen? When did it happen?
Above all, we forget the simplicity of story-telling and too often confuse formal records with real one to one communication. How often have you come across the record of a meeting like this: Yawn 'The meeting was constituted with prayer by the Chairman of the District, the Reverend Joseph Bloggs. He thanked the ladies most cordially for the excellent repast which had been provided.' Bin it! That may be fine for the Minutes (provided they were written in 1915) but it is neither user-friendly nor relevant when it comes to saying what happened at a District Council. The idea of going to the meeting was not to have tea - it was to get together in order to use our joint resources to assist the mission of the church and to witness to the gospel. If we apply our five principles we find that what we need to record is: Who decided? We often take for granted that everyone in the church is familiar with all its structures. The truth is that probably only a tiny minority have a clear understanding of where different responsibilities lie and who it is that takes decision. People talk of the decision-makers as 'them', unaware that 'they' are not distant figures but are often sitting in the pews around them. In communicating a decision it can often help to remind people just who it is that took the decision - if it is representatives of local churches, why not say so? What was decided? Brevity is important, but not at the expense of clarity. While it may be important that the minutes preserve the exact wording of the motion, for wider communication more explanation will be needed. 'The meeting agreed to implement the deployment proposals presented by the working group' may mean something to the few who have followed the process and read all the papers but it is simply noise to most people. Why was it important? A few words of background can make all the difference to the way a decision is understood and received. There is a big difference between 'The Council agreed to reduce the number of full-time ministers in the District by one' and 'The Council recognized that the closure of a number of local churches and the amalgamation of several pastorates in the last 10 years means that the District now has more than its fair share of full-time ministers. It was agreed that the number of full-time ministers serving in the District would be reduced by one by the end of 2003.' Where and when is it going to happen? Even when a decision is spelled out, we can still fail to communicate effectively if we do not say who is going to be affected and when. In the case of the deployment example given above - who is going to be affected and when. We may well need Minutes to keep a formal record of our decisions and activities. But passing round the Minutes is not a way of sharing the experience of the meeting or communicating the good news.
The Newcastle District, for instance, prepares a brief report of its proceedings immediately after it meets. This report goes out with the Minutes to District representatives, who can then use it as a basis for their reports back to churches. It can also be included in the church magazine or notice-sheet. Never more than one side of A5, it picks out the main decisions or issues and reports them in a simple style which is entirely different from the formal Minutes. Churches find this simple reporting an effective way of communicating the relevance of the District's work and representatives can easily present it to Church or Elders' Meetings. Exactly the same can be done for Church Meetings or Synods, following a few simple rules. The report should be one side of A4, maximum. The language should be simple and the sentences should be short. The content should be based on the five principles. The report should be available in A5 and A4 formats so
it can be taken up by church magazines. Here is an example of how such a report might look:
...short, simple and effective because it
ensures a consistency of message and reporting. As part of its three-year programme, URC Communications will be running training sessions at a national level to encourage those who are willing pass on such skills to others at Synod, District and local levels. |
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