on images & generations (part 2)

Postmoderns are by definition undefinable. While this article isn’t a full dissection of the postmodern generation, a few small things can make a big difference in the communication field.

Start with images. Postmoderns tend to be highly visual and relational. The younger generation values experience and feeling. These characteristics flow over into their choices for entertainment, recreation, and marketing.

While previous generations wanted lots of facts and information, today's generation tends to focus on how it feels. Doubt me? Just do a YouTube search for classic tv commercials (try THIS one, or THIS one) and count the sheer number of words.

Then search modern tv commercials (like “Toyota”, or “Febreze”) and notice how the entire focus is on feeling instead of fact.

Advertising today is all about the personal experience. And while we know that the gospel isn't only just good feelings, Jesus did put a huge emphasis on telling your personal story to others. What more is the gospel than the sharing of your individual experience, your feeling about the amazing things God has done for you?

There are also huge differences in marketing and design between past and present generations. I think Christian communicators are wise to develop an awareness of these changes, and see which ones might be beneficial. Here are a few then-vs-now tips in case you serve on your church's communication department, or for sharing with your PHs communication team:

Photography
past: concerned with accurate representation of the object being photographed,
present: concerned with evoking feeling or emotion often using steep angles, creative lighting or other effects

Design
past: concerned with transmitting as much information as possible
present: concerned with transmitting a brand or image, usually with spare visuals, one strong image, and few words

Try designing websites, bulletins and brochures with as few words as possible, and allowing one dominant image to carry your message. Keep colors spare and clean. Don’t be afraid of black and white photographs, especially punched up with one or two accent colors. Write your copy and then cut it in half. Let it sit for a week and then edit it in half again.

The art of writing has changed over time, too. Instead of proving credibility through big words and the cold distance of third person, today's successful wordsmiths tend to settle in the first person. Good writers seek to build a relationship with the reader, even when writing about important subjects.

Research writing hasn’t altered much, and the criteria for college papers may never change – but outside the confines of academia it’s a different story. The postmodern reaction to a forceful attitude of  “I’ve got the truth!” can range from indifferent to hostile. Instead, try drawing out an audience through invitations and examples. Ask them to participate – invite them instead of demanding or overloading.

Experienced writers can play with expression through partial sentences and phrase structure. Put yourself into your story, and tell it from how you feel on the inside. For some writers this is excruciating at the beginning – but that’s okay.

If you don’t watch much television, try going on the internet and searching funny video clips or television commercials. Give yourself a homework assignment to rate the quality of different commercials based on image, appeal, and content.

Visit church websites and decide why you like or don’t like them. Try http://churchrelevance.com/resources/top-75-church-websites/, or http://ministrycss.com/ for an archive of various amazing sites.

Maybe these concepts seem new, maybe they match how your PH and your church already work. Either way, remember that learning your audience and adapting to it isn’t a contemporary concept – it’s a biblical one.

Paul said “Even though I am a free man with no master, I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ. When I was with the Jews, I lived like a Jew to bring the Jews to Christ. When I was with those who follow the Jewish law, I too lived under that law. … Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings” (I Corinthians 9:19-23).

So, even if you're "just the PW", people may look to you for comments or opinions. Or maybe you can just share ideas with your PH about ways to build connections between your church and your community. Whether or not communication is really your thing, you may have opportunities to influence others in the gospel quest to find common ground with everyone in your audience.

And, as the PW, you might be someone who can ask some tough questions: Does your church tend to neglect one generation in favor of another? Are your leadership teams willing to reach outside their comfort zone and try something unexpected?

this article was originally published in 

the February 2008 issue of Practicing Communicating,
a journal for Christian communicators
adapted for reposting on CLUTCH

by Sarah K Asaftei,
former associate director of the
Centre for Secular & Postmodern Studies

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© CLUTCH, 2009-2011 unless otherwise sourced.
Use allowed by express written permission only.
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on images and generations (part 1)

Not long ago, I went to my local Christian bookstore to pick up some bible study lessons. And I was reminded of a challenge that has troubled me for years. The most colorful sets didn’t have great content, and the more solid biblical studies looked like they’d been mimeographed in the 1950’s.

I thumbed through several, finding none that appealed to me, and finally settled on an old standby. But I was left frustrated at all this gospel message on the shelf – with less than zero visual appeal. From conversations with friends and fellow ministry wives, I've learned I'm not the only one who feels this way.

Time was, when our grandparents’ generation didn’t care what information looked like. They wanted to know what was right. What was true. But that era has gradually morphed into the visually addicted society of today. Our generation.

Our generation isn’t attracted by mimeograph. Who cares whether the facts are great, if it looks boring on the outside?!? Our generation didn’t grow up reading books where single sentences were a paragraph long. Many of us were nursed on fast-paced television commercials and split second subliminal images.

Our generation buys movie tickets only if the trailer looked smashing. And so Hollywood plays to our fantasies, and we keep forgetting over and over that the previews are almost always better than the movie anyway.

What has this got to do with church, you ask? Think hard. When was the last time you looked at your church’s event posters? Or website? Or bulletin?

Our generation is the postmodern generation. We tend to think that if nobody bothered to make something look good, then we shouldn’t be bothered to notice it. With so many visually compelling images competing for attention – why should we focus on what doesn’t measure up?

Does this mean the gospel needs to be transformed into a slick commercial machine? No. Am I suggesting that churches should pour oodles of money into fancy gimmicks? Not at all. But could it help if we learned more about the people we’re trying to reach and then sought to meet their needs? Definitely.

There are a few fundamental techniques that professional marketing agents understand, which can only help Christian communicators be more effective. These are:
1) know your audience
2) know your audience
3) know your audience

Sounds redundant? It isn’t. Our audience - both inside and outside our congregations - is shifting constantly. What is normal today will be outdated tomorrow, leaving pastors and gospel communicators in a mad scramble to keep up.

In that scramble, simple is often best. Genuine relationships, straightforward communication, selfless service and interest in others. But simple bible teaching doesn't have to automatically mean looking old-fashioned and outdated either. 

More about that in part 2, next week...

this article was originally published in 
the February 2008 issue of Practicing Communicating,
a journal for Christian communicators
adapted for reposting on CLUTCH

by Sarah K Asaftei,
former associate director of the
Centre for Secular & Postmodern Studies

Share

© CLUTCH, 2009-2011 unless otherwise sourced.
Use allowed by express written permission only.
Tweets, trackbacks, and link sharing encouraged.

Read more...

a tube of blue toothpaste

I remember it clearly, even though it was probably 25 years ago. The pastor held a tube of toothpaste up in the air, and then proceeded to squeeze out its contents (he did hold a plate underneath to catch it falling). The blue paste squirted and spun like a snake coiling and striking the air. Once the tube was empty, he asked the children if anyone could put the paste back into the tube. Of course they couldn’t, despite several trying, and making a royal mess. The pastor then told the children how this toothpaste was just like words. Once they are out of our mouths, we cannot put them back, no matter how hard we try, and how much of a mess we make. This was such a vivid image of the effect our words can have.

I was reminded of that image this morning during my Bible reading. Psalm 141:3 says, “Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord: keep watch over the door of my lips.” David wrote these words as a prayer to God, asking for His power to control what he says. David was a king, a shepherd, a friend, a husband, a father, a son, a brother, and a warrior. All of these titles involved relationships with people (well, not the shepherd), and we often use words to communicate within our relationships. The words we say can have either a positive or negative effect on people. Praise the Lord for all the words we say to people that have positive effects! But those that we say that are negative, and/or have a negative effect, will have lasting impacts.

Sisters in ministry, we need to be all the more careful with our words! Despite the fact that we are just normal—aka sinful--human beings, who are tempted in all ways, our words should be even more measured and guarded. Our church members put more weight upon our words, whether good or bad. Criticism, gossip, and harsh words are like the poison of vipers on our lips (Rom. 3:13). Whoever made up the saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” had no idea what they were talking about. Our words can hurt far more than any stone throwing. If there is any chance that what you say can be misunderstood, it probably will be. And don’t ever think that the words you say “in confidence” won’t make it back to the person they will hurt the most. Call it an occupational hazard, but the secrets of or told by a pastor’s wife will rarely remain a secret for long.

Let us also not forget the words we say to or in the hearing of our husband and children.

We should pray daily and continuously, just as David did, for God to guard our mouths and lips. We want our words to be uplifting and encouraging. We want our words to point to THE Word.

© CLUTCH, 2010 unless otherwise sourced.
Use allowed by express written permission only.
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