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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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

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© CLUTCH, 2009-2011 unless otherwise sourced.
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deep roots

Normally, I write encouraging posts about life, ministry, or being a wife or mom. But lately we've had a season of outreach, so I wanted to share what we've done.

We are small, with only a few people, but God is shaking up our resources and giving us creative ideas, and we are seeing new people find Jesus each week!

Our city has a great downtown cultural area. It usually draws students from Georgia College & State University, since the university is in the heart of downtown. A few weeks ago, the city had a great festival called "Deep Roots". If ya'll could smell the bbq, your mouths would be watering. Music, crafts - I loved it all!!

We knew we wanted our church to be right in the middle of this great opportunity to reach out to more than 15,000 people. What a chance! We didn't want to just pass out flyers and say "come to our church". We wanted to create a fun atmosphere where people could really make a memory.

So we created a state of the art (ok, not really) photo booth! It was so fun!!! We hung black shower curtains from the top of our tent. Shower curtains because they are thicker and heavier then regular curtains and here in Georgia it can get a bit windy. We bought fun props and raided our kids' toys. Two stools went in front of the black curtain.

We also created a video (http://familyroomonline.org/familyroom/enter_site.html) to play on a flat screen while people walked by.

We had a huge bucket of silly bands which kids could have for free. Then we gave out a card for them to go to the website to get their photos, and got their email to send them pictures. They all signed by their email address to give us permission to post their photos to the web. (Permission and privacy is a BIG detail when working with people and the internet.)

We had an amazing response, and so much fun!!! We were also able to activate 20 new volunteers from our church that day! Watching them love people and have fun was so awesome! So many great conversations -- and several have come to church the last two weekends!

Here is the cost breakdown so you can see how we spent just a little to connect with 15.000 people:

$275 - Space @ Festival
$225 - Props/business cards/video/silly bands
$500 - Total Cost

And the REALLY awesome part? We sent a letter to friends and family, sharing our vision for the festival and two people donated $250. In the end, this event cost us nothing but time and love.

What can you do in your city to go deep and dig some roots in the heart of people around your church?

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wanted for hire (part 2)

Continued from yesterday's post.
Where is the line drawn between experiential faith ownership and intellectual knowledge?

I once heard a speaker talk about the three levels of memory. (I've read about it since in the book Searching for Memory, by Daniel Schachter). It made sense, so I wanted to share it with you here.

LEARNED MEMORY:
You know, the stuff you memorize out of history books. Like "In August 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue." Or what you cram into your fevered brain for that final exam. Learned memory is the most quickly and easily forgotten of the three. (I knew there was a reason that in college I couldn't remember the previous semester's concepts to save my life! They flew out of my brain just as soon as each exam was over, making room for new information.)

PATTERN MEMORY:
This is the stuff you've done ten thousand times and your hands just remember how, no intentional thought process needed. Like tying your shoes, or riding a bike... These are the physically repetitive patterns that even an amnesiac can do easily. "I can't remember my name, but I can button my shirt!" Pattern memory is stronger than learned memory, and can stick with you even after your mind is gone.

EPISODIC MEMORY:
These are your episodes of feeling and experience. I had one the other day. I was out running, soaking up the brisk early morning air and warm sunshine on my face. In one yard there were some construction guys starting the day, and one had lit a cigarette. That particular smell of smoke, mixed with unwashed workman's clothes and the cool air and sunshine... and suddenly I was transported to my childhood missionary time spent in Russia - an episode that I will never forget.

My conclusions? Well... in essence... this tells me that as God-followers we must create venues for establishing episodic memory in relation to faith. While truth is essential, it falls under "learned memory" and can easily be overwhelmed by a negative episode. And while many will attend church or participate based primarily on force of habit or "pattern memory", the activities may hold little true meaning for them.

Sooooo... the challenge that lies ahead of every ministerial family? Initiating multi-sensory episodes of faith, based on accurate biblical learning, combined with supportive habit/lifestyle patterns and traditions.

Unleash the ideas on me....

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wanted for hire

WANTED FOR HIRE: one hip individual able to relate, knowledge not required, experience necessary.

A few years ago, back BC (before children) when I was working in full-time ministry, a friend and I were chatting about my upcoming trips planned for the year. When he discovered that Amsterdam was on the itinerary, he joked that I needed to definitely try some "stuff" while I was there.

Yeah, well, "I'm sort of a health nut" I replied.

"So how is a health nut, [i.e. somebody rigid and totally UNfun like you], ever supposed to be able to relate? Aren't you working in a ministry to reach postmoderns? Then you need to explore more! Smoke a little stuff, party it up!"

That got me thinking. Just how much do I have to experience in order to relate?

Oh yes, I believe everyone must travel their own journey. And no, I don't think it's possible to live life without ever making a mistake or a wrong judgment call, just because we hope to learn from the mistakes of others. Rare is the child who accepts "No! Hot!" as final, without still trying to touch the stove.

But how much do we have to experience to be able to relate?

If you're going to teach nutrition to cannibals, must you eat human flesh in order to understand their mindset?

If you're a rehabilitation therapist who is counseling a sexually abusive serial killer, must you go slaughter and rape a few victims before you can get inside the patient's mind to help bring healing?

Do I have to go get rip roaring drunk to acknowledge the medical fact that a hangover is likely to result?

Just how far should we go? Where is the balance? Is knowledge really worth so little without experience? Could experience be overrated? But then, most of us Christians are still feverishly trying to create a faith experience that moves our beliefs from the head to the heart.

Religion without soul is hypocrisy.

So then, if experiential ownership of faith is paramount, what worth does knowledge have at all? Does only experience count? Is it preferable to have only soul without "truth"? Or does knowledge make a difference as well?

And in the quest for reaching our secular and postmodern world with the gospel, what are our limits? Do we immerse ourselves in philosophical theories until we have lost our ability to believe?

Just how far do we go?

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loads of love

Several Months ago my husband and I drove to Charlotte, North Carolina to lead worship for a conference. I don't know about you, but sometimes these little trips are exactly what we need to plan and brainstorm for the future of our ministry.

I propped a whole bunch of sticky notes and a huge calendar up on my lap, with a pencil for notes. On the 5-hour drive we were able to accomplish so much, and get so much down on paper. We got to to dream and scheme without interruptions.

Our church has a huge vision to love our city. Red. Yellow. Black. White. Gay. Alcoholic. Addict. We think you still deserve to feel God's love. We like that do do that through tangible acts of service. Doing things that leave people going "Huh?"

Loads of Love was one of those acts of service.

Our childrens' ministry has 20-25 kids each week (remember, we're only 7 months into our churchplant). The kids brought in change they'd collected by doing chores or helping around the house or found in their parents car. The child who collected the most got to put a pie in my husband's face. If they reached the goal we had set for them we promised to throw an ice cream party.

The kids collected a little over $100. Not a ton of money, by any means. I asked myself "How on earth are we going to pull this outreach off?!?" That's when I felt Jesus' still small voice say "You're not, I am." Okay, fine!

We had people sign up to participate. Then we sent teams to two different laundromats where we'd called first for permission. Each team was armed with laundry soap, dryer sheets and lots of quarters. We also gave them donuts and bottled water since it was a Saturday morning. The biggest thing going for us was a team that had genuine love.

We got to the laundry mat and set up all our stuff. Slowly people trickled in, and we told them why we were there. We saw shock, some cried because they didn't really have the money to do their laundry, and we had so many one-on-one awesome conversations. Not pushing an agenda or our church, just simply loving. They saw a little bit of Jesus that day.

Will we see any fruit? Maybe. But we have at least reached one.

One grandmother with her four grandchildren are currently living in a motel. And it's not a Holiday Inn either. I can't share too much info, but one of the girls, a high school student, is now attending our Wednesday Night Glossy Girls (a small group for young girls). This group teaches girls about true beauty, what God thinks about you, and how he has a purpose for your life.

So - that measly $100.00 raised by the children, which I thought wouldn't be enough, was more than sufficient to meet this girl's heart and give her what she truly needed that day, loads of love.

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