Steve Martin plays a dry cleaner attendant who talks like a Southern, fire-and-brimstone styled evangelist like only Steve Martin can do in this humorous skit.
While this is pretty funny on its own, it’s a good example of effective communication and the importance of speaking truth plainly.
Here’s the skit:
[tentblogger-youtube EUwRpkkh10o]
[YouTube]
Whether it be speaking like a Southern, fire-and-brimstone preacher or a dry, highly intellectual, philosophical style, it is important to speak to the listener in a way that makes sense to them.
Can you imagine going to the dry cleaners and having them speak to you like this?
The Gospel is simple, the Gospel is real, and we should follow Jesus’ lead and communicate it in a way that can be understood by the receiver. This should also be a reminder to the Church of the importance of speaking to the next generation in a way they understand, using mediums they are familiar with.
Will we effectively reach and communicate with the next generation by having hundreds sit in chairs and listening to someone speak to them for an hour?
Thoughts?
Tre Lawrence says
Great food for thought.
“Communicating” does not necessarily equate to “communicating effectively,” as any random 10-second viewing of any of the Real Housewives franchise shows will clearly show.
But is the Church nimble enough on its feet to reach people while adjusting itself? Do we have the creative souls willing to be used by God to facilitate change?
Eric Dye says
Time will tell, unless it’s too late…
Doug Black says
There are vast changes that need to happen in the day to day operations of the local church (little C) to do anything missional. It means looking at our weekly schedules, our systems, our structures, our leadership structures and principles. If the Body of Christ is compared to a family all throughout the NT, then our business model doesn’t fit this new generation nor the Bible.
It’ll be like switching from Windows to Mac. It’s a whole new system, and there’s much of baby AND bathwater that need to be thrown out first (only because we’ve tried to dress up the bathwater and call it baby 🙂 ).
Eric Dye says
Mind. Blown. What an excellent analogy — switching from Windows to Mac. Thank you, Doug!