May 26th, 2012

Communications…essential…not understood or misunderstood…How it complicates life.

With Randy, Josh, Aaron and Keith, I sat through most of a seminar on Tuesday, that was presented by the Barna Group, and in its essence dealt with communication.  Titled “YOU LOST ME.  LIVE!”. The speakers addressed the differences between the past generations and the current “connected” generation.

We were reminded that in the 1960s media exposure was limited to three major networks that were viewed for a very few hours each day.  We were informed that today there are virtually “uncountable” media sources providing products that are consumed on a twenty four hour per day basis; most on a mobile device that fits in the palm of a hand. ( “by the way, keep your battery charger handy”).

Out of this come differences in attitude, differences in meanings, differences in understandings, differences in how tradition is seen, differences in relationships, differences in approach to resolving issues.  How then can the timeless message of Jesus’ love be communicated?

Shortening the seminar for you, and in my words, it seems God himself provided the answer:  by demonstration.  The Apostle John identified that in 1 John 4:9 – 12 when he said “This is the way God demonstrated his love for us:  God sent his only son into the world so that we might live through him.  This therefore is love; it’s not that we loved God (we didn’t even recognize him), but he first loved us and sent his son to be a sacrifice that was an atoning payment for our sins.  Beloved friends, since God loved us in that manner, we also ought to love one another.  You understand that nobody has ever seen God, however, if we love one another He lives in us and his love in us becomes complete in us and a perfect love”. (paraphrase)

Tomorrow (I think) I get to read the book and review the details that took more than three hours of seminar presentation.

norm d. | church elder