I recently contributed some thoughts on transition in a new book by Scott Wilson titled “Steering Through Chaos: Mapping a clear direction for your church in the midst of transition and change”. Today I’d like to share the first of three simple lessons we are learning when it comes to communicating change to a group of people.
- The words you use are really important. I remember when we were trying to transition our church into being more “seeker accessible”, we made a really big mistake with the language we were using. We saw a bulletin from another church with a disclaimer that read something like, “If you are a seeker here today, this service is designed for you. If you are a mature believer, we have a midweek service that goes more in depth into God’s Word.” I thought that sounded great, so we began to run a similar blurb in our weekly communications. Immediately our seasoned church people began to complain that the weekend teaching was becoming progressively more shallow. The truth is, I hadn’t changed anything about the way I was preaching. All that had changed were those few lines in the bulletin.In an effort to get ahead of the parade, I quickly repositioned the words to say something like, “If you are a seeker OR a seasoned believer, you’re going to LOVE our weekend services.” Amazingly, over time, people marveled at how much deeper the teaching was getting, when the only thing that had changed was a wiser use of words. You’ve heard the phrase, “Them’s fightin’ words”? (If you live in the South, you have
Unfortunately, when used wrongly, words can lead to unnecessary battles and quarrels. In a transition, it’s important to think very carefully about the words that you use. Are we communicating an unintended message? Will the words we have chosen move the cause forward, or will they be a distraction that unnecessarily causes division?
“A very great part of the mischiefs that vex this world arises from words.” – Edmund Burke
“Give me the right word and the right accent and I will move the world.” – Joseph Conrad
“Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.” – Eph 4:29 NLT
sometimes the kindest word can b a unkind word unsaid. words created the world, ur words create ur world…even a fish knows he wouldnt hav got caught if he kept his mouth shut
Comment by norm betrue — February 10, 2010 @ 9:35 am
That's pretty amazing and kind of sad that we can be so easily lead or mislead by a few words. We have access to more words (information)in a day than people 200 years ago had in a lifetime, and yet we have less ability, it seems, to critcally analyze what we hear or read.
Comment by Deborah — February 11, 2010 @ 7:45 am
I recently heard about this book and the buzz following it. What do you think about “Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived”?
Comment by Laura Martindale — May 2, 2011 @ 10:17 am