The other day I was driving down the road going about 50 mph. Just in case you're wondering, that's not quite fast enough.
I passed an organization with a big sign out front. Part of the sign includes an electronic message board that rotates messages. I don't know how many messages there are. At 50 mph, I only saw one. And, because of that, I know that it was precisely "8:28" when I passed the sign.
The funny thing about that is that I didn't really need to know that it was 8:28. I already had that information from my car and cell phone clocks.
It made me wonder though...
- Didn't they realize that I'm going fast and that it's difficult for me to take in more than one message?
- Or, did they think all their messages were important enough that it would force me to stop?
- Did they know they were answering a question I wasn't asking?
- Are they aware that the fancy flashing electronic sign caused me to miss whatever message they were sharing on the non-electronic portion of their sign?
- Do they know that they caught my attention but failed to generate an opportunity to respond?
You know what's funny about this? There's probably a group of people meeting in that organization thinking, "He missed our message because he wouldn't slow down." Then, to affirm their position, someone will likely point out: "Wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it."
And, rather than changing the methods for communicating their message, they'll continue blaming me for not hearing it.Tony is exactly right on this one. You aren't changing the message, just the method. So many churches fail to grasp this, and it is tragic. It limits their kingdom impact.
Technorati Tags: Tony Morgan, Electronic Sign, Gospel, Preaching, Christ, Jesus, God, Bible, Contextualization, Context
1 comment:
Dear Chris
Congratulations on your wonderful blog. We are trying to get a message out too. Could you please help?
Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, recently posted two videos on YouTube in which he describes and demonstrates the two most common abortion procedures, using plastic fetal models, the actual instruments of abortion, and the words found in medical textbooks and court testimony.
You can view these videos at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=us_y9GP_-DA (Dismemberment abortion)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBOAPleF1t0 (Suction abortion).
These videos are part of a new project called, "Is This What You Mean?" It aims to educate the public about the nature of abortion and to challenge public officials and candidates who support the legality of abortion to admit what it is.
A full description of the project is at www.priestsforlife.org/action/abortion-procedure-revealed.htm.
I am requesting that you post links on your blog to these two videos and/or to the full explanation of this powerful project.
We in the pro-life community have been fed up for a long time with “public servants” who can’t seem to tell the difference between serving the public and killing the public. This election season, it’s time for that to change. No matter what politicians or voters or Church officials are or are not going to do, it’s time that we who know what abortion is, draw a line in the sand and give candidates and office-holders alike this challenge.
If you will help spread the word by posting these links please email webmaster@priestsforlife.org.
Thank you for taking the time to read this important message.
Kind regards,
RosePatch
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