So I start this week a little discouraged - reading this book over the last week has told me that putting its lessons into practice will be much more difficult than I have imagined.
But we press on. Time for chapter 6.
Blow me down if Warren doesn't START the chapter addressing just the feelings I am experiencing!
He brings in the Nehemiah principle - that every 26 days a church needs its vision recast.
Now, this is interesting, because I can think of many times when we have created a vision or mission statement. There's been excitement at first; but eventually the excitement has tailed off, and we've ended up just where we were before. So this is definitely a point we need to understand and apply carefully.
This is a short chapter, but it's also important. I wonder if this is the area where churches, schools, businesses and all sorts of other organisations collapse. Certainly, I can see this principle as being something I will need to apply in various aspects of my life this year!
So how do we communicate purpose?
We could just restate it every month. However, if we simply do that, we end up immunizing people against it. For an example of this, remember the last election? How quickly "Moving forward" and "Stop the boats" turned from being serious slogans to targets of ridicule. This wasn't because either of them were bad statements[1]. It was because of the way they were parroted again and again and again by the two leaders, without any attempt to apply or show understanding of them. This is clearly something we wish to avoid!
Warren gives five suggested ways to communicate the purpose. It should be noted that these aren't (nor are they intended to be) exhaustive, but they are a good collection.
1) Scripture.
If you can't communicate your purpose through scripture, it probably shouldn't be your purpose, so this one is fairly logical. Warren says that you should repeatedly show how every part of your church's mission is found in scripture; preach it frequently and passionately. Personally I can remember the "Care, Reach, Worship, Teach" slogan and its scriptures from nearly 20 years ago, so I can attest to its effectiveness. It should also be noted that this is a broad area - Scripture can be used to communicate the mission in lots of ways, such as memorisation, meditation on the Bible, sermons, Bible Studies and more.
2) Symbols.
A teacher understands this one implicitly. Some people are verbal, while others are visual; and visual people will grasp the concept more clearly through images. Hence the use of symbols. This has been done successfully in many places; corporate logos are pervasive, and such political symbols as the Hammer and Sickle (as Rick points out) have affected the very world. So a symbol is a great way to communicate your purpose. It can also be useful in other ways to communicate complicated ideas.
3) Slogans.
I have just slammed political slogans, but that doesn't mean that no slogans are any good. As I previously mentioned, "Care, Reach, Worship, Teach" was effective for many years. A good and carefully thought out slogan can be a way to ensure that the purpose is pervasive. As a little demonstration of this, think about the following slogans - who are they associated with?
"Such is life"[2]; "Well may we say 'God say the Queen', because nothing will save the Governor General!"[3]; "Go for Growth!"[4] Similarly, it is useful to have a particular slogan associated with the church, especially if it is one that encourages action.
4) Stories.
Stories are an oft neglected medium for communication, but let's not forget that they are the traditional way of transferring information from generation to generation! The stories of the Bible are well known to all of us Christians. Rick Warren lists some stories that have become popular in his church. Similarly we should all be able to tell a story or two of how we've involved ourselves in the church's mission and purpose during the week. If not, we're kidding ourselves if we think we're involved.
5) Specifics.
A church needs to have a specific, clear and coordinated plan for achieving its purposes. All its activities must be in line with that purpose. "The more specific your purpose is, the more it will grab attention and attract commitment."
For a purpose to be fully communicated, it needs to be PERSONALISED - that is, it should be a part of everyone's thinking about the church, membership AND leadership.
Warren splits the personal aspect of the church's purpose into two parts - the responsibilities and privileges of being a believer. The responsibilities are to be a member of God's family, to be a model of God's character, to be a minister of God's grace, to be a messenger of God's love and a magnifier of God's name. The privileges of being a believer are found ONLY in the church - worship helps people focus on God, fellowship helps them to face life's problems, discipleship helps them fortify their faith, ministry helps them find their talents and evangelism helps them fulfil their mission.
As can already be seen from ths chapter, the purpose needs to be stated over and over (in different ways). Whilst it must be communicated in different ways, the message itself must never vary (unless for whatever reason you believe it to be necessary to reset your purpose). The ultimate goal is for every member of the church to not only be able to STATE the purpose (we've been able to do that previously), but also to EXPLAIN that purpose.
[1] In my opinion, both were ABYSMAL statements. The first was a hopeless generalization, the second was capitalising on the general ignorance of the Australian populace. But that wasn't the MAIN reason for either statement's failure . . .
[2] Ned Kelly.
[3] Gough Whitlam.
[4] John Howard.
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