If we are to effectively communicate the message of the church--Jesus Christ and His gospel--what elements are absolutely essential? What must we be focusing on, and not leaving out, in order that those both within and outside the church have a clear understanding of our preaching and teaching in Jesus' name?

Scripture. We must align to God's Word. Our commnications must continually focus on the Word. We must not strain and stretch in order to "make the Word relevant". The Word is relevant. The Word is cool. The Word is amazing, authoritative, powerful, truthful, consistent, cohesive, intriguing and foundational. The Word is right, just and eternal. The Word is worthy of our trust and stewardship.

Church communication that does not center on the Word, but refers to it only in passing, is weak, uneducated and unpersuasive. People long for truth, boundaries, solid beliefs and strong convictions--the Word speaks these things like no other book in the world. It is the means by which God chose to give us His revelation, teaching, instruction, rebuke, correction and training. Move beyond a "theme verse" or "reference" and make the Word a consistent and central element in your church's communication.

Surrender. In coming to Christ we do not "make Jesus Lord" (He is already Lord) or "invite Him into our hearts" (a phrase found nowhere in scripture). Christianity is not a commitment to Christ. It is a complete surrender of ourselves to Him. Not only our "religious life", but our whole being. Our heart, family, resources, job, dreams, desires, relationships, ambitions, goals--everything that makes us who we are--are given over to Christ without reservation. We do this regardless of the consequences, knowing that gaining Christ is worth more than anything this world has to offer.

That sounds biblical and a little idealistic--but frankly our communcation in the church lacks idealism. If we communicate Christ as "a part of our lives", then we will encourage people only to manage Christ versus serve him devotedly and wholeheartedly. If, instead, we emphasize that to trust Christ is to surrender to Him, we put Christianity on a different level. Fewer people will accept such a surrender--but their impact will be far greater than a lukewarm mass. Let your communication challenge people toward complete surrender to Christ.

Sacrifice. A great fallacy of modern church communication is that Christ and material blessing go hand-in-hand. We don't come to Christ to get our "best life now". We come to Christ to get Christ. Throughout the New Testament we see that Christians make great sacrifices personally and as a group to see the mission of Jesus carried out in their homes, their cities and arount the world.

Christians model Christ with their lives (Christian means "little Christ"). Christ Himself lived a sacrificial life that ultimately resulted in our salvation--and the Gospels are filled with His expectation of sacrifice by His followers (John 15:13, Mark 10:45). New Testament believers were not growing richer and happier on earth. They were giving their possessions away and subjected to harsh and difficult persecution.

Our communication, then, to be in line with the example of scripture, must include the element of sacrifice. This is most evident when we emphasize not the blessings and desires of this life, but the eternal nature of God and His promise for the life to come. Perhaps this attitude and teaching is best summed up in John 16:33: "These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world."

Service. A Christ-follower who is not serving is like a ship on dry land. Not only is he not accomplishing his purpose, he is literally wasting away. Through service a Christian realizes his potential in Christ. The command to serve is found throughout the New Testament (Galatians 5:13, Ephesians 6:7, Romans 7:6, John 12:26, Mark 8:34).

God provides our resources, talents and abilities so that His name might be proclaimed both here and among all nations (Psalm 67:1-2). Our wealth, then, is not for our sake, but to serve Him. This is because God's world does not revolve around us. God's world revolves around God--His purposes, His commands, His Word, His plan.

The greatest weakness in church communication with respect to service is that we do not consistently teach that all believers are to serve Christ wholeheartedly, all of the time. Service is often presented as an "add on" once a believer reaches a certain "point of maturity" in their faith. This is not a biblical viewpoint--but one sometimes fostered by the thinking that "service" is a spiritual gift not given to all believers (Romans 12:6-8)--and it is true that some possess a gifteness to serve others that is more pronounced. Instead, in light of the larger example and context of the whole of the New Testament, our attitude should be like that found in Galatians 5:13: "You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature ; rather, serve one another in love."

Significance. Do not make the mistake of thinking that those outside the church are looking to Christ and Christians primarily to find a better life, to solve their problems, to understand the past and future, or to enlarge their wealth or friendships. Religion at its core is man's search for meaning--significance. People want to know their life has a purpose.

If we communicate that the church or Jesus will "fix up" a person's life, we are selling a lie, and worse we are minimizing Christ in the process (Romans 1:22-25). If, however, we communicate that Christ brings both meaning and purpose to a life, then we are aligning with scripture and engaging in a promise in God that is true no matter how one is equipped to serve Christ and sacrifice for Christ.

The beginning and ending of the gospel is Christ. The story of the Bible and of all creation is centered on God's glory--His great pleasure in Himself and His own craftmanship and purposes. As communicators in the church, our greatest message with respect to the world in which we live is to tell others of our place in it. We are answering the question, "What does your life really mean?" The answer to that is found only in Christ. In Him we find eternal significance and earthly purpose. Why would we reach for greatness on the earth, or preach of happiness now, when this life is but a vapor and our future is all of God for all of eternity?

  

The New Inductive Study Bible (International Inductive Study Series)

The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World

Knowing God

> Click for more books and periodicals on aligning (intention).

About the Author. Eugene L. Mason has more than two decades of experience in ministry communications and technologies. More...