Some Ground Rules Communication, Relationships, … · Communication, Relationships, and Evangelism Rev. Maria A. Dixon, PhD Southern Methodist University Dallas, Texas Passionate

Evangelism, Communication, and Church Growth Presentation Materials © Maria Dixon Hall

October 4, 2014

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Communication, Relationships, and Evangelism

Rev. Maria A. Dixon, PhD

Southern Methodist University

Dallas, Texas

Passionate about Evangelism???

• I didn’t even take a class in it in seminary

• The impact of living on a college campus for the last 18 years

• Where is the call to discipleship or the invitation to act on the call of the Gospel?

Our time together…

• Dead Trees, Evangelism, and a failure to communicate

• Understanding communication, relationships, and why we don’t get it

• I have a testimony! The role of personal testimony in Evangelism

Some Ground Rules

• I offer presuppositions and lines of argumentation

– They are subject to challenge and debate

– They are offered to stimulate discussion, retrospection, and if deemed appropriate by the Holy Spirit‐conviction

• I believe in the principle of metal sharpens metal

A Failure to Communicate:The Case for (Re)Embracing Evangelism

Presupposition 1: Organizations are living entities


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Organizational Life Cycle

At any time we can destabilize the process of aging

Key ways to (de)stabilize or prevent organizational demise

• Radical (Re) organization

• Product or output innovation

• Investing in the human resources of the organization specifically recruitment, socialization, and retention of new members

Presupposition 2:The Church is an organization

Don’t confuse organizations with business

• Organizations are collectives of individuals that come together to complete a specific goal for an extended period of time often in perpetuity

• Commercial interests are only one type of organization

Presupposition 3:The Church is an unique organization


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The Unique Organizational Context of the Christian Church

• Like all organizations it has :

– A distinct culture

– A defined mission

– A defined boundary

– It emerges through interaction

The Great Commissionis the beginning and the end

Matthew 28:16‐20The Message (MSG)

16‐17Meanwhile, the eleven disciples were on their way to Galilee, headed for the mountain Jesus had set for their reunion. The moment they saw him they worshiped him. Some, though, held back, not sure about worship, about risking themselves totally.

18‐20 Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge:

“God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.”

Four-fold Organizational focus

EvangelizeEvangelize

SocializeSocialize

EquipEquip

EngageEngage

Our-threefold Organizational focus

EvangelizeEvangelize

SocializeSocialize

EquipEquip

EngageEngage

Presupposition 4:

Failure to pay attention to Evangelism has placed the

Methodist Church in dire straights

Presupposition 4a:

Decline always begins at the roots


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The British Methodist Church

The Methodist Church of Britain

• Is held up as the most influential movement in the United Kingdom

• Seen as transformative in the streets, in the schools, in politics, and sharing the Gospel from the 19th to the mid 20th century

• Shaped the fortunes and philosophy of many key Prime Ministers including Margaret Thatcher

A Failure to Communicate

• Unable to help Britons walk through the horrors of WWII

• Unable to make the Gospel relevant in a shifting, doubting, multi‐cultural demographic

• Spent more time on the issues of the institution rather than on the proclamation of the Gospel

Presupposition 4c:What starts in the roots spreads to the

limbs

Summer in London

• SMU‐London spends 6 weeks living in London at Regents College

• The Common Reading is Amazing Grace by Eric Metaxes

• The Movement of Methodism becomes the framework for the summer

• Over the course of the summer students visit 5 churches in six weeks of Sundays

Doing our Ground Work


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The Sermon at Westminster

• Beautiful setting

• Beautiful music

• Ornate ritual

• Wonderful greeters

• A sermon void of any connection to the saving grace of Jesus Christ

Dr. D, I didn’t get it….

Young people who were excited to learn howpeople their age in service to God had changedthe world entered Church those Sundaymornings willing to give Jesus a chance –leftchurch confused, bored, and disconnected froma God who could inspire

Presupposition 5:

The sustained growth of the church is not dependent upon programs,

structures, and types of worship it is dependent upon our ability to COMMUNICATE the Gospel

authentically

Part II

straight no chaser…

Communication, relationships, and why we don’t get it

Presupposition 1: The goal of communication is shared

meaning

In the beginning


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Communication as shared meaning

Psychological Semantic Physical Psychological

MESSAGE/FEEDBACK

COMMUNICATOR COMMUNICATOR

Presupposition 2:

Shared Meaning is only possible when there is relationship

Stranger

Acquaintances

Friends

Close Friends

Lovers/Spouse

• Relationships progress from the non-intimate to the intimate

• Relationships develop in a predictable way• The way you develop intimacy is the same way it is

dissolved

Theoretical assumptions regarding how we build relationships

Stranger

Acquaintances

Friends

Close Friends

Lovers/Spouse

Presupposition 3: We move into relationship through

the intricate dance of self-disclosure and reciprocity

The Onion of Building Relationship

Most

intimate

Width: the # of topics discussed

Depth:

How deep we will

discuss it

New relationships:

Narrow and shallow


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Presupposition 3: Human beings are more persuaded personal experience and narrative

than objective rationality

Walter Fisher’s Narrative Theory

Human beings comprehend life through a frame work of narratives (stories) viewing their lives as a continuum of stories complete with Heroes, Villains, and plot twists with a beginning, middle, and an end.

Presupposition 3a:

The success of popular entertainmentespecially reality tv is rooted in itsability to connect its story to theaudience’s experience (story) to createshared meaning

The story of a lady from a village

A little lady from a small village

The Story of A Lady from a Village

• Became the biggest debut artist in a decade in the U.S.

• 2 Grammy Award Nominations

• Voted as one of Time’s most influential people

• A leading voice for UK Unity

Presupposition 3b:

There is a direct relationship betweenthe strength of relationship; the abilityto create shared meaning; and thepower of experience and story


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Relational “Intersectionality”

Stronger Relationship

Stronger Relationship

Greater Shared Meaning

Greater Shared Meaning

Increased trust and self‐disclosure

Increased trust and self‐disclosure

Willingness to hear and share storiesWillingness to hear and share stories

Increased relational satisfaction

Increased relational satisfaction

Greater likelihood of the

establishment of share meanings

Greater likelihood of the

establishment of share meanings

Presupposition 4:Relationship, Story, and Authenticity of experience are now required in the

college teaching of Millennials

The Call to “Teach Naked”

• Dr. Jose Bowen’s award winning book suggests:

– Teaching success to this generation is about removing barriers to connection and relationship

– It doesn’t mean being void of boundaries but it means refusing to let boundaries stop the creation of shared genuine experiences

Presupposition 4b:“experience” and genuine

engagement is the key predictor of faith engagement for 18‐22 year olds

Millennial Religious Information SeekingDixon, Graves, Hyong, Kromis, and Armfield (2014)

• 36 month study of the religious information seeking behavior of 18‐30 year olds

• Found current survey measures statistically unreliable with scale reliability at .40 or less

• Seeking correlations between present vs. past denominational affiliation and current intent to engage

• Secularization and information seeking behavior• N=800 from UCLA, Ball State, University of Missouri, Alabama, Vanderbilt, Duke, USC, New Mexico State, UTEP, Stanford

The Key takeaways

• The internet including Facebook and Twitter are least preferred ways to discuss or encounter issues of faith

• Denominational stands on social issues were less a factor in waning or disconnection from church than dissatisfaction with Preaching

• Of those who had completely left their faith traditions they missed their friends but did not miss their pastors/youth leaders

• Key predictors of satisfaction with faith community the ability to engage in ‘genuine relationships’


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It is about connection

• Not just pot‐lucks

• Not just mission trips

• Not just cool or catchy worship

• It is about sustained, ‘crock‐pot’ relationship building that is rooted in mutual experience and shared meaning

Presupposition 4c:It is not about age it is about

genuine connection forged in shared meaning and shared experience

The Fount

• A Catechesis experience that seeks to be the place where S/US/Q people can learn about the walk with Christ and the tenets of United Methodist faith

• Emerged out of our time in England

• Intentional intergenerational relationship building

• 5 committed lives to Christ I HAVE A TESTIMONY

The Power of Personal Narrative in Evangelism


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Presupposition 1: The strongest evangelistic tool

in the Christian arsenal is the Personal

testimony

3A1: We are victorious because of testimony

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night. 11"And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.

3A1: We are victorious because of testimony

11"And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony

Presupposition 1A: The Foundation of Christian testimony is sharing and self‐disclosure about

one’s experience with Christ

Presupposition 1B:

The Personal Testimony is the foundation of the growth of the

Church

Personal Testimony was key to the spread of the Gospel

• Mark 1:40 The Leper

• Mark 5:20 The Gerasene Demoniac

• John 4:28 The Samaritan Woman

• John 9 The Blind Man

• Acts 2 Peter’s Testimony

• Acts 9 Paul’s Testimony


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Presupposition 2:

Contemporary Seminary Trainingis antithetical to the principals of

building genuine relationships through personal testimony

The age old battle of the Epistemology stance in Homiletics and Evangelism

Training

objectivism

subjectivism

The Principal of an Intimate Distance

Close enough to discern problems

Distant enough to cajole,

chastise, and hold accountable

Presupposition 2A:

The Discourse we are taught to value is not personal discourse but institutional discourse

The Glory, The Power, and the Majesty

Presupposition 3:

Secretly, we really are freaked out by the idea of Personal Evangelism


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Presupposition 3a:

We have had some bad experiences and role models when it comes to

“evangelism”

Bobby Hill Boy Preacher

Presupposition 4 : We don’t know how to evangelize but

we want everybody else to do it

Presupposition 4a: Our biggest fear is that we don’t knowhow to tell our personal story of our

experience with Christ

Presupposition 4b: We secretly fear that we don’t have a testimony because maybe we have been living off someone else’s

Sub point b: Do you know what Jesus saved you from?


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Presupposition 5:

We avoid pushing evangelism because it would push us

Presupposition 5a:

If the pulpit won’t do it..it is unlikely that the people in the pews will

Presupposition 5b: Churches that teach their members to evangelize experience growth and

vitality

The Mormon Church

• An aggressive educator of their members (all of them) to share the story of their faith

• Experiencing “growth” in conversions of roughly 4% per year with professions of faith about 282,000 people in 2012*

• According to Charisma (2014), The LDS is on pace to become the largest Church with 90% of its growth coming from conversions rather than cradle LDS

The Mormon Church

• Has perfected a means to help their members share their testimony in simple ways:

– The Testimony Glove

– Workshops and resources that explicitly examine not just the theory but the “how to”

– It is a part of their socialization into the faith

Therefore……


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The Great Commissionis the beginning and the end

Matthew 28:16‐20The Message (MSG)

16‐17Meanwhile, the eleven disciples were on their way to Galilee, headed for the mountain Jesus had set for their reunion. The moment they saw him they worshiped him. Some, though, held back, not sure about worship, about risking themselves totally.

18‐20 Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge:

“God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.”

Documents

Some Ground Rules Communication, Relationships, … · Communication, Relationships, and Evangelism Rev. Maria A. Dixon, PhD Southern Methodist University Dallas, Texas Passionate