Our Message as Christians: Be Inspired to Improve Our Delivery

There is often a roadblock between someone sending the message of Christ’s love and someone receiving that message.

At times it is because of the human heart of the recipient. At other times, I believe, it is in part due to the person or persons doing the delivery of the message. Communication delivery is done through the form of words, actions, or non-verbal communication (i.e. what is perceived communication, which can sometimes be the most dangerous). I grieve that Christians delay the process of men and women, boys and girls finding the truth of Jesus - because of our poor delivery of the message. 

I do believe that part of the reason Believers have found such great backlash in the marketplace is due to bad communication.

We have delivered a verbal message that has: 

• Not been reflected in our actions, therefore, it appears we lack integrity
• Not been translated appropriately to the culture we want to reach

Our lack of understanding of good communication has in turn put up roadblocks for us to make inroads into the culture and it has hurt our efforts. But it can definitely be improved. 

We need to observe and explore,

• How do people perceive our messages, as individuals, as a ministry, as a business?
• What messages are people picking up from how we handle ourselves in conflicts, or interactions, online or in-person? 
• Where is there a disconnect between what I intend, when I communicate, and how people receive the message? 
• Does what I communicate through verbal and non-verbal reflect the heart of the King? 
• Do my words reflect my actions and vice versa? 
• Am I speaking (or living) in a way that the culture I want to reach understands?
• Does my message bring condemnation and judgment with no redemption, or does it speak the truth with grace and strength and suggest ways for resolution? 

These questions to consider are just the tip of the iceberg. The message of Christianity can stand on its own two feet: it should never be watered down no matter who we are speaking to about the message. But how we deliver it, when we deliver it can make all the difference.
 

Responsibility with the Message

I admit, as a communications nerd, that communications can be a complex topic. But where we can, we need to keep it as simple as possible. After all, the core message of Christianity is simple: Jesus loves you and died for your sins.

Communication is like the water of the universe. We cannot live without it. We cannot escape communication, any less than we can get by without oxygen. Every human being communicates something whether we intend to or not. And to communicate does not always require that we use words. As children of the Great Communicator, and caretaker of all things on this earth (Genesis 1:28), we need to handle communication with care and with excellence.

Everything about you communicates something. Literally.

You can walk in the door, never tell me your name, and I could put together some basic profile details on you based on how you are dressed, what you are carrying with you, what fragrance you are wearing, or what your body language is putting off. I can pick up messages by looking in your eyes (are you happy, at peace, fearful, untrusting), and observing how you handle people (do you hug someone as part of a greeting, are you eager to say hello, or do you avoid any human interaction). Your handshake, the presence you carry with you, and the questions you ask of me can speak volumes. 

There is a famous saying we have all heard a hundred times, “don’t judge a book by its cover” which means we are not to make a judgment about the inside based on what we see on the outside. It is a valid and sometimes worthy point. But what could be added should be something like, “be careful what your own book cover communicates because whether you want to or not - you are sending a message.” 

Christianity is all about responsibility. In fact, the very fundamental foundation of Christianity is responsibility. In order to come into the Kingdom, we have to admit and take responsibility, “I have sinned. I need a Savior.” But when it comes to communication, responsibility is often deflected.

We usually do not take time to consider, 

• How did I contribute to the mix-up in communication? 
• What was communicated - was I perceiving it justly in full context? 
• Could their response have anything to do with how I delivered it? 
• Perhaps they are not against the message but my delivery? 
• How can I improve on communicating? 
• And so on and so forth … 

Rarely do we as individual humans stop to consider what harm our communication is doing to our brand, our mission, or our Heavenly Father’s work in the earth.

In our culture, we try to shy away from responsibility and put it on someone else, even when it comes to communication. We do not want to take responsibility because that means we will have work to do, a price to pay, and discomfort. We do not want to be found guilty of wrongdoing aka miscommunication or misunderstanding. It was their fault they didn’t get what I was saying is our default response as humans. We just want to live, be loved, always understood, and never wrong. 

But don’t we want to communicate with excellence in a way that reflects God and His Kingdom?

What messages are you - and your company or tribe or church or family -  pushing forward? What brands are you sporting? What clothes do you allow your children to wear (does she wear dresses that give the impression her standards are loose? Does she wear t-shirts with unicorns or crosses? Does he sport the latest music band? Do you know what the words are in the music they sing?)? What are you posting on social media? What do you talk about with your friends around the water cooler where everyone can hear? What language do you use around your friends? Are you too friendly with people, not your spouse? 

Everything communicates something. Some of it can have bigger or smaller consequences which can then lead people to think inaccurate things about us. Here is an example: 

You may wear your favorite t-shirt from college when you were living on the wild side, and have loyalty to it now because of its comfort. But are you aware of what message you are sending to those you are around?

They thought you were a Church guy but the T-shirt you are wearing suggests something way different. Maybe they did not have you pegged correctly, your co-workers or friends wonder. Unbeknownst to them - the shirt does not speak to who you are in the inside but in the nano-second, they have to take in the message, they will already form an opinion. They do not have the luxury of the backstory. Without knowing the full picture, they will conclude - maybe you aren’t the man of faith and integrity they were coming to believe. How could someone serious about their walk with Christ - support that band??! 

So, what messages are you giving off in how you carry yourself, what you wear, what you buy, and everything in between? We must take responsibility for what message we are choosing to deliver as Ambassadors for Christ. There are so many areas that we can send the wrong message. We must walk in wisdom and discernment.

We Can Do Better than “Good Intentions"

Oh but Amy, you may say, you are taking this too seriously! If I have good intentions that is what counts, right? 

Nope.

More than one person is quoted as saying, in essence, the pathway to hell is paved with good intentions. I don’t want to live a life of just “good intentions”. I want to be known as a person of integrity. I want to be someone that God can say, “I can rely on her to be a good ambassador and message carrier of My heart and My ways. What she speaks and writes, she lives out. I can trust her to represent Me.”

How we dress, how we live, how we serve, how we do business, and exchange trade, how we respond in the face of rebuke, how we treat an enemy, how we look someone in the eye and shake their hand - all communicate something. 

The dangerous part is that oftentimes what is communicated is not the message that is intended. But if we are Christians, as Ambassadors of Christ, we have a responsibility to make sure we are communicating the right message. If people are getting the “wrong message” from us, they do not need to change. We need to up our game and do a better job at appropriately declaring the truth. 

Here let’s consider a possible real-life scenario: 

So your large table leaves pennies for a tip at the restaurant. The message this communicates is that you are stingy.

The waitress saw you pray over your meal, saw you all dressed up in your Sunday best and naturally assumes you came directly from church. She figures you are good, nice people. She took extra care in seeing to your very specific requests and when you leave a pitiful tip that says to her “Christians are stingy and bad customers.”

What she may not know is that that is literally all the money you had left. You don’t have a credit card and you had just enough to feed your family for lunch from the cash in your wallet.

Well, if this is your situation then understand what is being perceived, then do it the Kingdom Way.

Go back to make things right.

Go the extra mile, get her name, and go back on Monday with some extra cash. Treat her well. Let her know it was not a sign of her service but a pickle you found yourself in.

Follow up. Don’t leave a note on the receipt “we are praying for you.” That is not currency she understands or respects in this corner of the marketplace. Love her in language that she understands (and in this way it is a good tip). Make sure that what you are communicating (and what is being received, and perceived) is an accurate portrayal of what you intend. 

Now, imagine if all of us as Christians were this thoughtful with how we are communicating and what might be perceived about the message we are intentionally - or unintentionally - delivering. Oh, the difference communication makes!

Tip for Success

As humans in the 21st century, we are constantly in this discovery: what cues are people putting off that we should pick up (is he a terrorist? Is she trying to corner me with her questions and record me on her phone?) and what cues are not important?

What messages that people are putting off that I am supposed to pick up and what ones am I to avoid is our constant scavenger hunt as residents of this earth. What is my teenager telling me without saying anything? Why is my co-worker’s sudden silence seem significant? Is it important that he never called me back? When she seemingly avoided me in the store - did that mean anything? 

All the neurons God put into our body are continually taking and receiving messages and feeding them to our brain. We process messages in nano-seconds. And the messages that are conveyed in nanoseconds - if they are negative - we have a mountain to climb to undo them. Impressions are formed so quickly and can take a long time to undo. 

Walkthrough a city, drive on a highway, walk into a busy restaurant or your child’s school. Take stock of all the messages clambering for your attention: the billboards, the flyers, the text news alerts, the ads on the radio, the shoes someone is wearing sitting next to you. The ads on the web browser, the commercials before you watch a YouTube video, the robocalls, the Facebook group invites, the announcements at church, or warnings on your GPS.

So many messages are attempting to get our attention. 

We have so many messages “flying” around us constantly, so many marketers attempting to get our attention. It is humanly impossible to be perfect at communication. Never let the rules and guidelines for communication overrule one important piece: Holy Spirit. 

What I’m learning is that in the midst of all these messages, the one that matters most is what is Holy Spirit saying to me? What is my Holy Spirit radar picking up? What does He want me to heed, or to ignore? What is He nudging you on? What red flags is He conveying? Do I have peace? Do I sense His presence? Do I hear His caution?

Holy Spirit is the one that will help us communicate on behalf of the Message - effectively. Again, it all comes back to being familiar with His Presence and prodding. 

We will never be perfect at communications. But we owe it to our Savior to at least try. He is the Best Communicator of all and as His Children, we should be known for our excellence as communicators in this earth. Let it be known we at least worked hard at trying. With a little effort, we will be amazed at difference it can make in our life, family and business and in the influence of others for the Kingdom.

Find more tips and resources on my business website here. 
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