Strategy
Being Articulate in Ministry (and in Life) Doesn’t Make You Awesome
Just a kind hump-day reminder that being articulate in ministry (and in life) doesn’t make you more awesome than you already are (or aren’t).
I don’t speak “christianese” nor do I really know how to speak “church” (yet…?). I know how to speak “tech” but I’m trying my personal best to stop doing that. I’m not sure it impresses anyone and I’m definitely sure it doesn’t help anyone to understand anything better.
The web strategists and technologists you hire should not make things more complex nor should they enlarge the gap between them (as SMEs) and the rest of the staff; they should make that gap smaller. The make it more simple, more easy to understand, digestable, real.
Let’s get a grip, shall we?
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19 Responses to “Being Articulate in Ministry (and in Life) Doesn’t Make You Awesome”
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Thank you, sir. So much emphasis is put on performance and perfection (i.e. being articulate) in how we communicate in the Church these days. I do my fair share of communicating but find that I'm not that articulate, really. I feel validated. I can still be awesome (let's pretend, shall we?) and not be the guy invited to be a headliner. :^)
Agreed. I run the sound boards at my church… and when we have a "professional" come in to work with "professional" talent, they may as well be speaking greek to me. I never learned all the terms associated with mixing sound but I know how to do it.
Don't ever learn how to speak "church." Ever. It will allow you to communicate with others who know how to speak church, and stop you from being able to communicate with those who don't speak the language.
Also, lamesauce.
I went to Bible College and learned how to speak 'Church' really well. I pulled myself away from what is considered 'full-time' ministry so I could connect more with those who don't know Christ and had a serious learning curve as I realized that I was so versed at speaking 'Christaneese' that nothing I said made sense to people. I now talk more like a regular Joe (or at least try to) , but I can still go deep on a subject when necessary without initially turning people away by sounding like a typical Bible College graduate.
Oh I wish you would have come out with this before the CWC. It seemed like my inability to articulate a thought would sometimes be used to my disadvantage by those who could speak clearer. I felt degraded sometimes because they would hijack your thought and then disregard you from that point on. But that is my view of it.
I think that's a problem when you get smart and passionate people in a room together. I liked CWC's intention with the 20/40 sessions (20 minute presentation/40 minute discussion) but I don't think they set the speakers up for success because they didn't lay the ground rules for discussion. I feel like any conference dedicated to web (social media in particular) inherently takes on the "speak first/speak loudest" rules of engagement from the web.
ouch. yes. that happens in other contexts as well…
I make an effort to speak like the client speaks: tone, pace, vocabulary level. I'd rather be understood.
That being said, I think there is room for and value in loquacious speech. Where conciseness and simplicity enhance communication, precision and vocabulary can enhance comprehension. And (particularly in ministry and other areas where development and growth are our goals) communicating at the lowest common denominator can be inhibiting.
I guess it all comes down to love. Do you love who your communicating with? How are you using your knowledge to express that love. Paul says "Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up." But at the same time Proverbs drips with verses about the value of knowledge ("Wise men store up knowledge" "fools hate knowledge"…).
Let's be careful because it is easy to say "keep it simple, stupid" but by doing so we can discourage learning and the intellectual curiosity that motivates our growth as Christians.
* Author's note: the big words used in this comment don't make me awesome. I'm just keeping it real.
I agree that precise language can be very helpful depending on the context. So in our attempts to "be real" we should avoid dumbing down what we are trying to communicate. The most important thing when communicating is to know you audience and meet them where they are at.
Totally agree. We are more successful in our contribution when we strengthen our ability to communicate what we know (usually that is what is obvious to us “geeks”). It is a push for promoting collaboration. I experienced this heavily right after College and 10 years later, it is still a challenge.
"Shut Up and Listen" sounds like a great start. (http://www.littleredbookofwisdom.com/pages.asp?pa...
I absolutely agree. It's unfortunate that the best way to survive grad school is to learn the lingo and incorporate as much of the field's jargon into your papers as you can. (Guaranteed "A+" right there.) The chief reason it's so unfortunate is that we have to communicate with others in the real world once we graduate. No matter what your field is (tech, church, etc.), you have to establish a connection with people. Oftentimes, the best communicators excel at finding this common language, rather than sharing tons of deep academic thoughts no one can understand.
Errr, what's SEO?
not sure.
tried to take christianese in seminary, class was full
Inarticulate?
Stutter? No elequent speech?
A perfect vessel
http://www.ChristianHaiku.com – 1 Cor 2:1-5
haha! sweet!
haha! I love this! it's so true too; it can be really intimidating when someone starts talking over your head and you're trying so hard to follow them.
One thing I value in a person: he or she may speak over my head, but is willing to break it down for me when I ask.
It really depends on the context. From a business point of view:
I find that if I'm talking with SMEs, everyday English is what they like.
If I'm talking with people from large organisations, they seem to like geek-speak.
definitely!