Pastor Matthew Peeples has identified 16 new realities of communication that we as Christians need to be aware of as we are in the business of communicating the message of the Gospel. I will be touching on these new realities in several posts throughout this year. Here is the first new reality:
We are simultaneously connected and disconnected.
I do find it interesting that we have an ever-expanding range of ways to connect with each other, but we seem more disconnected from each other than ever before.
We can “connect” with people online, but still be alone in our homes. We can have hundreds of “friends” on Facebook, but still have no one to talk to face-to-face.
The key for us in our Christian communities is to use the technological capabilities that connect us to a point. But then rely on the physical and personal interactions to build relationships with people.
Our goal as Christians is to connect with people, but then engage them in the real life of Christ, not a virtual world. The methods of communication that are most effective are still the ones that Jesus himself used: sitting with a woman at the well, talking to strangers on the road, dining with leaders of the community, inviting himself to the homes of tax collectors and sinners. If we don’t connect people with Christ on a face-to-face, one-on-one basis, we will remain faceless to them and the face of Christ will not be seen by them through us.
Open your doors, open your calendar, open your heart to be present with people and share your precious time and personal space and Good News with them.
