Communicating Contentment

Summer days are lazy days for sheep. They eat and they lie around. They drink a lot of water. Then they eat and lie around some more. Such a life, eh?

This summer’s been pretty nice for my sheep because, in spite of recent dry weeks, their pastures have been lush and green the whole summer. I generally let them graze on one pasture for a few days. Then when they’ve eaten it down, I move them onto another pasture, where new, thick grass tempts their palate.

This makes them happy sheep. Full. Content. And they lie around some more.

Anyone who knows sheep knows life is good when they see their flock lying around. As ruminants— animals with four stomachs—sheep will eat their fill of forage in minutes and then lie down and chew their cud for hours. This chewing is actually a regurgitating, rechewing and reswallowing of the grass they’ve eaten, creating a natural antacid, so to speak, which allows for better digestion in all those stomachs.

Isn’t that appetizing?

Well, I suppose not. But from a practical standpoint, a flock of sheep lying down and chewing their cud is a healthy flock. They’ve gotten enough to eat. They’re digesting in the proper manner. They are happy and content.

David, the Psalmist, is someone who knew sheep. When he wrote of lying “down in green pastures,” he wasn’t just penning creative prose. David knew sheep lie down when they are cared for and content. Using subject matter he knew best—the simplicity of sheep farming—David beautifully characterized the confidence he felt in God’s loving care.

I love to look out at my pastures and see my sheep. And as they look up at me, with jaws gnawing away, I know the good care I give them is fragmentary beside the complete care God gives me.

Pausing for a Breath

I regularly read Penelope Trunk, a career-advice columnist with the Boston Globe and author of the Brazen Careerist. While her subject matter is sometimes off the wall and her manner of delivery is even more so, I still find her informative, educational and applicable.

PT, as she’s often referred to by her blog followers, recently wrote on the idea of the pause. She wrote in regards to public speaking and how a pause adds impact to the important things a speaker has to say.

Here’s an example:

You’re listening to a speaker fire away, non-stop, on, and on, and on. He doesn’t give you time to replenish oxygen let alone absorb what’s being said. In a more effective delivery, a speaker would briefly pause after specific points during his speech. He would give his audience opportunity to laugh at his jokes, feel the emphasis of what’s important, or collect their thoughts.

The same can be said for our writing
The long, drawn out paragraph is like the rambling, non-stop speaker. There’s a major difference, however. The speaker, at least, gets a start with his message before loosing his audience. The writer, on the other hand, loses his audience before his first words are ever read.

Why?

Because we, the audience, are automatically scared away by big blocks of written text. In today’s world of blogging, twittering and news articles, this is magnified all the more.

“I encourage people to pause in their writing,” wrote an instructor, who commented on PT’s blog. “I suggest that they write paragraphs of two or three sentences. This may not be what you learned in school, but it works. A paragraph break in a written document is like a pause in a conversation.”

Pay attention to the writing style of quality newspapers. Take note of well-written blogs. Learn what people are reading today and keep that form in mind as you write your message of Christ.

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Attitudes are Contagious

 

Our church is currently raising money for a $4 million building and renovation project. We’re doing this whether we can afford it or not. Well, sort of.

Nowadays, what congregation can afford to take on such a monumental expense? And what congregation operates on a relatively balanced budget? Certainly, not ours. Before starting the project, we conducted a feasibility survey and opinions ranged from half-hearted support to out and out refusal to commit. Most questioned how we could afford such an insurmountable task. In spite of this, we voted to go forward with construction.

Here’s where attitude comes in, and here’s where communication plays an important role.

We humans are fickle beings. Our attitudes are easily swayed one direction or another. Whether positive or negative, attitudes can be contagious. In the case of our congregation, where the vote has been cast and what’s done is done, it’s important that members’ attitudes go the way of positive.

Communication can shape attitudes. Communication can tell people how they feel or what they are. Tell people they are happy, they feel happy. Tell them they are go-getters, they become go–getters.

A quirk of human nature? A shaping of our emotional makeup? Oh, yes. The media, advertising and political arenas know this all too well. They successfully use it on us every day. Can we also shape attitudes with our communication, and can we do it in a God-pleasing way?

You bet.

For our capital appeal, the communications committee focused on creating a positive attitude that would dispel the Doubting Thomases. We chose a theme based on Isaiah 11:6 that provided a ready answer to the questions of why, when and how. We designed an accompanying logo that was bold, current and pleasing to all age groups…hey, even teenage boys were wearing the T-shirts at the church picnic! We regularly promoted church events to the community with news releases.

All of the above worked to permeate a sense of excitement in our congregation. But our campaign newsletters proved to be the biggest hit.

The appeal committee wisely approved a generous communications budget. This enabled us to professionally print eye-catching and well-designed newsletters that promoted enthusiasm and up-to-date information. Showcasing multi-generational families created a sense of heritage and history, as did photos and stories of bygone days from elderly members. Human interest stories, such as those of members going into the world with the message of Christ, reinforced our church’s mission. Stories involving community emphasized our relationship within our own city.

The tone of our newsletter was also well received. We kept the content light and easy to read. Of course we communicated God’s message—that is most important, after all. But we were also careful to do it in a non-preachy way. We included lots of pictures and most of them were of people. We recognized God’s blessings. We said thank you.

Have we raised our current goal of $1.75 million? Not yet. We’re still in the first of our 3-year campaign.

But God works in wondrous ways. What began as a negative attitude has shifted to a positive. Many people have commented there is a level of excitement and involvement within our congregation that they’ve never seen before.

To Him be all the glory!

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Politics from the Pulpit?

I’m a writer, not a preacher, so I can’t authorize what comes from the pulpit. But “Politics from the Church Newsletter” just doesn’t have the ring to it, and as we all know, it’s all in the headline.

No matter. Whether it’s from the pulpit or the newsletter, the same thought applies: Politics are a no-no.

As we approach this autumn’s political firestorm, it’s important to remember the tax-exempt status of churches, religious organizations and ministers. This “favorable treatment,” as the IRS refers to the special tax laws applied to non-profit organizations, does come with restrictions.

What does this mean?
Well, if your organization feels compelled to communicate a political endorsement, think again.

By law, Section 501(c)(3) Tax-Exempt Organizations are prohibited in becoming directly or indirectly involved in campaigns of political candidates. Like all laws, this has become subject to interpretation, whether you’re preaching from the pulpit, publishing a newsletter or hosting a speaker.

Interpretations or not, apparently the IRS doesn’t overlook the law.

In Pasadena, CA., an Episcopal church nearly lost its non-profit status because of a stance on the Iraq War. In Minnesota, a suburban church came under scrutiny when it invited a candidate to speak on its premises.

So why take the chance? Why disobey the law? Our nation was founded on the ideals of separation of church and state. That includes us too.

“Render unto Caesar…” Luke 20:25.

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No Shop Talk

As a web designer, I frequently peruse online forums to further my knowledge. And as one of the “older set” (meaning IT definitions were not the first words from my mouth), I sometimes have problems understanding the language.

Like, what is this?

“CSS is a stylesheet format for HTML, XHTML, and XML, including SVG and XUL, endorsed by the W3C, which facilitates the ability to separate document content from document presentation in a format universal to all browsers.”

Huh?

Why not simply say, “Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a web design language used to format the layout of a web page. It’s endorsed by the World Wide Web Consortium.”

KISS. Keep it simple (sweetie). No shop talk.

So, what about our faith language? Do we assume all readers are equally as far in their spiritual journey? Does our faith writing also cause people to say, “huh?”

Assume zero Christian knowledge
Much of our writing today is for the web. Our audience potential is endless! We should assume that some, if not many, of our readers know nothing of Christ. They may not even fully understand the English language, let alone our faith language. It must be simplistic.

Simplistic language is a must for our church members as well. People today have little time and our styles of reading have changed. Succinct, direct and uncomplicated are key.

Avoid jargon
Theological words such sovereign, justification, repentence, witness and sin are shop talk to the believer but tech language to someone else. They carry different meanings to different people. Use them with care.

Avoid clichéd phrases
As Christians, we have a tendency to include the full law and gospel message in a single sentence, no matter what the topic. Or, we refer to Christ with a long string of names, just to be sure we’ve covered all his deities.

“With the certain hope of our Almighty Father’s love and guidance…”

Huh? It’s hard to read and too much to comprehend. It loses it’s meaning.

Why not simply say, “With God’s help…”

Church Design Matters

Church design matters…at least hundreds at the HOW Design Conference thought so.

In a recent posting in Church Marketing Sucks, guest blogger Michael Buckingham writes of his exciting opportunity to present a church marketing and design topic at the HOW Design Conference. For those of you unfamiliar to the industry, HOW is a leader in graphic design publications and conferences. It’s not exactly the conference you’d expect to host a church-related topic.

Buckingham writes that he anticipated “maybe a half-dozen people” to show up for his portion of the conference. Instead it was standing room only. And not only did people come, they discussed, asked questions and stayed afterward.

How exciting is that?!

This is an awesome affirmation of God’s hand at work. It’s great to see people recognizing the need for quality graphic design in church communications. And it’s fantastic to know we can learn from what normally is an extremely secular industry and apply it to our spiritual mission.

God works in wondrous ways!

Working With a Graphic Designer

One of my clients says I speak a language different than the normal person. This guy, in fact, says it to quite a few people, many of whom I hope will also be my clients.

Should I be concerned? Not really.

This guy is Jeff Davis, of Cornerstone Stewardship Ministy, and he provides spiritual stewardship solutions for churches and schools, a process that often involves extensive visual communication. When speaking of my unusual language, he’s referring to the idiosyncrasies common to the design industry. Foreign as they may seem, these procedures, technicalities and details all make a difference in creating a successful publication.

As a customer, you can enhance the work your graphic designer does for you. Whether or not you speak the language, there are things you can do to bring your publication from mediocre to great and from expensive to cost-effective.

Blogging: Cyber-Savvy Outreach

Ah, the world demands so much from churches, eh?

You’ve published a website and are feeling somewhat caught up with modern technology. But wait, a website is now so…well, not quite passé, but let’s just say…expected. As a church, what could you now be doing to reach out with the message of Christ?

Blogging

Blogging is one of the latest social phenomena for connecting people, along with MySpace, Facebook, Flickr and other ever-evolving online communities. Trying to keep up with technology can leave us feeling lost and out of date. But before you scoff blogging off as just another distraction from the one needful thing—God’s Word—take a moment to learn how easily it can spread God’s message faster and farther than ever before.

Raising Sheep

So, I raise sheep.

I live on a small farm and raise a flock of wool sheep for absolutely no reason other than they’re cute. I pretend to be a spinner and make cool things with the wool, but in truth, I never find the time and my spinning wheel sits in the living room gathering dust. My family hassles me about the uselessness of my sheep. But, hey, they’re so cute!

Save the Sermon for Sunday

Have I mentioned we don’t read much? One of the greatest mistakes in church communication, especially in newsletters, is length. Verbose preaching. Wordiness. If the article is too long, the average reader won’t give it a glance.

And so we continue on with Church Newsletter 202, with a focus on maintaining the reader’s attention.

Writing for a newsletter is different than writing for other media. Articles must be short and give immediate information. Unless you’re an extremely fascinating writer—and most of us are not—your article is too long if you’ve hit 300 words.

Write tight, cut the clutter

• Maximum sentence length: 15 words
• Maximum paragraph length: 45 words
• Eliminate unnecessary “that” and “of” words
• Edit the whole artice, then each paragraph and finally each sentence. Cut, cut, cut.