Growth by Slogan? Just...try harder, you lot.

I was invited to a meeting for 'Hope-25'; the dioceses latest slogan to get people gospelling.

I wrote back:

 

These frolics dreamed up by the diocese (Connect 09 was the previous one) concern me. Not that prayer is not a good idea nor is sharing the gospel.

But here's the point, IMO:

If we are getting a certain undesired outcome, let's examine our 'delivery system' to see why that outcome is being experienced.

Next work out how we need to change the system to avoid the undesired outcome. The 'Check--Plan--Do' cycle of industrial effectiveness can be a useful rubric.

The reason why Connect 09 was a resounding non-event, in my assessment, is that Peter didn't do this. He attempted the futile path of management by slogan. That is not management (let alone leadership) and amounts to an abrogation of responsibility.

So, why might people not be taking opportunities to discuss the gospel?

If my youth is any guide, it is because people are wary of being embarrassed because they cannot give cogent answers to common questions, or responses to common 'come-backs' given by non-believers/cult members/heretics/atheists/"I'm not religious, but I'm spiritual' types, etc.

They don't want to embarrass themselves, the church, the gospel or their Lord.

So the remedy for such system failure is twofold: practice and training., or Training then Practice.

Apart from small groups, the Western church largely has fallen into a mode of conduct that passivates its members. We are not used to talking in formal church gatherings, nor is there a rigorous culture of biblical/theological/apologetic training at the local church level (and sermons don't constitute the type of training that can activate people). This doesn't need to be at a high academic level, but it needs to entail lots of practice to communicate gospel content in a manner that makes sense to the hearer, and acknowledges their questions. Good training is highly interactive and trainees would be constantly discussing, and trialling their grasp of the content.

The other leg of the problem is a little harder to handle. Our Sunday gatherings are largely performances: a bunch up the front do all the 'worshiping' and we just look and listen; sometimes stand and sing, then back to look and listen. This itself creates a message that the ordinary person has nothing to say. As Marshall McLuhan has said 'the medium is the message'. The 'medium' is our way of doing church (I mean the West in general, not us at St Eric's necessarily), and the message is 'sit down and spectate'.

Anyway, a few thoughts, and I hope they are  not discouraging, as I think I've suggested a possible corrective approach.

What I have not explored is that 'gospelling' is hard work and not everyone's gift. We make it too big a thing. I like Greg Koukl's approach that encourages people to be gardeners, not harvesters. And he provides in his books and articles means of exploring people's views through conversational questioning.