We Must Speak: Rethinking How We Communicate About Faith in the 21St Century

By Larry Hollon

We Must Speak: Rethinking How We Communicate About Faith in the 21st Century


Pray that I may declare (the message) boldly, as I must speak.
- Ephesians 6:20

In We Must Speak, Larry Hollon addresses the communications crisis in mainline denominations and sounds a call to action for the church: Speak out in todays digital culture or risk irrelevance.

Communications technology is connecting people in unprecedented ways, yet many mainline churches have been slow to adapt and have continued to lose members and status. Other voices and messages are filling the void, offering superficial entertainment and consumerism as poor substitutes for the good news of the church.

By embracing communications ministry, churches can transform their communities, change lives and be the presence of Christ for a hurting world. Hollon shares success stories, a theologically grounded vision, and specific steps for local congregations and denominations to tap the power of communications.

Larry Hollon sets out the case for why we need to maintain our voice in a world crowded with competing messages and often destructive values.

- Mike McCurry, former White House press secretary

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jul 28, 2012
• ISBN: 9781477232095

Larry Hollon

The Rev. Larry Hollon is chief executive of United Methodist Communications in Nashville, Tenn. A prophetic voice about communications ministry, Hollon has traveled to 50+ countries to tell the stories of persons affected by poverty, and he has overseen advertising that significantly raised awareness of The United Methodist Church.

Book preview

Contents

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

FOREWORD

INTRODUCTION

Part One Why We Speak

Chapter 1    OUR MISSING VOICE

Chapter 2    THE FOUNDATIONS OF CHRISTIAN COMMUNICATION

Chapter 3    IS THE MESSAGE THAT THERE IS NO MESSAGE?

Chapter 4   DEEP SUPPORT

Chapter 5   SINGING GOD’S SONG

Chapter 6   LIVING FAITH, DOING THEOLOGY

Chapter 7   ENGAGING THE CULTURE, HEALING THE WORLD

Chapter 8   THE MESSAGE WE LIVE

Part Two   A Second Chance

Chapter 9   STORY, CALLING, AND MINISTRY

Chapter 10   STRATEGIES FOR LIFE

Chapter 11   PROMISE AND POSSIBILITY

Chapter 12   WILL, FOCUS, AND PUBLIC POLICY

Chapter 13   TRANSFORMATIVE COMMUNICATION

Chapter 14   STORIES OF HOPE AND HEALING

Chapter 15   THE VALUE OF EVERY PERSON

Chapter 16   THE USE OF OUR RESOURCES

Chapter 17   WORD AND IMAGE

Chapter 18    THE CHALLENGE WE FACE, THE CONFIDENCE WE SHARE

Appendices

1.   MULTIMEDIA LINKS

2.   A BRIEF HISTORY OF GOD’S COMMUNICATION

3.   SIX REASONS TO LEAVE

4.   FEAR IS NOT THE ONLY FORCE

5.   IS VIRTUAL COMMUNITY INCARNATIONAL?

6.    THE IMAGINE NO MALARIA PARTNERSHIP

7.   CÔTE D’IVOIRE: THE VOICE OF HOPE

8.   CHART: EXAMPLE OF STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS

9.   THE POWER OF IMAGES

10.   GOD IN OUR MIDST

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Pray also for me, so that when I speak,

a message may be given to me to make known

with boldness the mystery of the gospel,

for which I am an ambassador in chains.

Pray that I may declare it boldly,

as I must speak.

—Paul

(Ephesians 6:19-20, NRSV)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

LARRY HOLLON lives on the corner, squarely at the intersection of Faith and Culture.

By day, he’s the chief executive of United Methodist Communications, the global communications agency of The United Methodist Church, and publisher of United Methodist News Service. By night, he’s a self-described photographer, motorcycle lover, technophile, avid reader, and collector of ideas that foster positive change in our culture.

At all times, he’s both a storyteller and a child of God. Those two passions have defined the course of his life.

His lifelong love of The United Methodist Church started in the welcoming arms of a small church in Stroud, Oklahoma, where as a child and an outsider from an itinerant working family, he found acceptance and wholeness. That experience guided him towards a vocation in ministry as he found himself attracted to the Wesleyan tradition of faith expressed both personally and in action.

After graduating from the University of Central Oklahoma and Saint Paul School of Theology, Hollon became an ordained elder in The United Methodist Church. Shifting his focus from pastoring a church to a career in communications wasn’t planned. His zeal for storytelling led him down a new path not previously envisioned—communications as ministry.

While still a pastor, he found himself hosting a talk show on a radio station in Omaha, Nebraska. To make a long story short, his journey led him to television news; and from there, he became a documentary producer, traveling to more than 50 countries across Asia, South and Central America and Africa to tell the stories of persons affected by poverty, war, and disasters through a lens of faith. In 2000, he was named to lead the global communications efforts of the denomination as the chief executive of United Methodist Communications.

A prophetic voice about the value and power of communications in the faith landscape and staying ahead of the technology curve to reach younger audiences, Hollon has led the denomination in the creation of award-winning advertising campaigns that have significantly raised both public awareness and favorable impressions of The United Methodist Church. A visionary leader in global health issues, his leadership has been instrumental in raising millions of dollars to save lives through malaria prevention.

My priorities haven’t changed that much, says Hollon. They are to deliver messages of hope and healing that offer an opportunity to enter into a relationship with Jesus Christ through a faith community…messages that people can apply to their own faith journeys so they understand God is active in the world, that there is an ongoing revelation of God’s love that is capable of helping us make life meaningful in all circumstances. That is our ministry.

FOREWORD

By Mike McCurry

Most of us remember (at least if we are Baby Boomers) the classic Paul Newman movie Cool Hand Luke, in which the jailer grabs Newman by the scruff of the neck and proclaims, What we have here is a failure to communicate…. Much of the work I have done since leaving the White House in the 1990s involves helping nonprofit organizations communicate more effectively because, frankly, many of their efforts result in nothing short of failure.

One of the many reasons for missing the mark is that organizations doing good work for noble causes often believe their worthiness is self-evident. Surely anyone can see the goodness in their labors. Often an aw shucks humility causes an organization to refrain from tooting its own horn, again believing the world will see the merit reflected in its good works. Then there are the budget issues: Many organizations under-invest in communications in favor of putting more resources where the program can help those in need.

In theory, those are good reasons to put communications lower on the list of priorities. But they represent bad thinking when one considers the enormous challenge of trying to advance a cause in the public marketplace of ideas and keep it current in the eyes of an ever-distracted public.

We know a lot about the changes that are happening in the bewildering world of technology and communications. Mass communication as we once knew it no longer exists. Yes, network television reaches millions with news reports every night at 6:30, but the audience share has contracted significantly in the last 10 years. Yes, daily newspapers still count, but circulation is down and readers under age 35 are far more likely to read the daily paper online rather than in print. We do not gather for appointments with those who deliver important content. We want the content when we need it; and we expect it to be online, available 24/7, and accessible without hassles.

What we are not sure about is whom we can trust to get the story right. So many sources, so many blogs, so many Internet sites, so many loud and angry voices on cable TV and talk radio tell us what to think. Our heads spin with constant bombardment from messages designed to sell, persuade, incite, provoke, and arouse. We don’t get much comfort. We don’t get much context. We don’t get people helping us put information in a framework that allows us to ponder the important things and choose the right things.

My old boss in the U.S. Senate, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, once said, We are entitled to our own opinions but not our own facts. Yet everyone seems to have facts supporting the incontrovertibility of their own opinion. And the information is overwhelming and oppressive. As another friend of mine, Joe Nye, writes: We live in an era with a plentitude of information but a paucity of understanding. Too much opinion. Too many facts. No one to help us make sense of the mix. That lack is the root of the failure to communicate.

The failure to communicate can prove fatal to many a good and worthy cause. We cannot let the failure to communicate effectively impede the work of The United Methodist Church. Our cause is just too important. We are about saving souls. We are about bringing disciples to Jesus Christ and transforming the world. We are about spreading the Gospel good news, and that sacred trust means we must communicate effectively and relentlessly because everything in our being cries out that the world needs to hear the great, great story of Jesus and his love.

My time in politics taught me a lot about storytelling. Candidates for office who are good at it tend to get elected. Candidates who do not know how to construct a narrative inevitably fail.

Storytelling is not easy. Many of us remember how President George H.W. Bush lamented his inability to get the vision thing right when he ran for re-election against Bill Clinton. And I remember how hard it was for Bill Clinton—yes, the President we remember as being effortless in communications but who in reality struggled—to get his message right in 1996 when he ran for re-election. For him to zero in on building the bridge to the 21st century took a long time, but when he got it, it stuck and he made it work.

What is our message, as people of The United Methodist Church, to the communities we want to reach in the name of discipleship for Jesus Christ? As an exercise, I just requested from Google information on motto of The United Methodist Church, expecting to get something about Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors. I did. One of the first entries in this bible of the Internet was a long and heartfelt blog about how the church does not live up to this motto because of our stance on homosexuality. Other top entries highlighted how local churches are using the motto to engage people.

Who we are and what we are is a sum of how we communicate. And everything we do and say and everything that sometimes goes unspoken communicates to those who are waiting to hear: What is The United Methodist Church? Are we effective in communicating our message? Do we understand how important it is to communicate effectively?

Communications is not just an added-on service to be listed as a line item under finance and administration and counted as part of the overhead of keeping the enterprise going. I have counseled nonprofit chiefs and corporate CEOs about the need to count communications as central to the bottom line of how various stakeholders value the organization. Do they know you? Do they accept your vision? Do they see how your values correspond to their values? Do they want to join you in the mission? These are big questions, and they go to the concept of brand.

Brand is a big thing. Google (which I mentioned above) is a verb. You Google something to figure it out. You Xerox something that you need to copy. You FedEx something that needs to get there overnight.

Through a United Methodist Communications campaign called Rethink Church, we posed the question: What if we make church a verb instead of a noun? Church becomes a thing you do, not a place you go. Church is what you do to encounter those who need to hear Gospel good news: I am churching this afternoon at the mall … going to witness and invite some people to help at our food drive or even to benefit from the food drive … or inviting someone I don’t know to share a moment of Scripture. How do we remake the vocabulary of evangelism?

These questions are not easy, and they require professionals who test public responses and attitudes. Yes, in politics we call this polling, but when done the right way, it is a good thing and not bad. Research-driven communications work. Communications built on good anecdotes and compelling personal stories can be effective. Every good sermon preacher knows that. But we also need data-driven research to sharpen and define our communications strategies.

We need compelling and riveting narratives that reach widely diverse audiences. Communicating with the average United Methodist in the pew is an exercise in speaking with Baby Boomers, since our pew sitters are likely to be age 50-plus. Reaching a young seeker unsure about organized religion but knowing that God and Jesus might be a missing element in life requires a very different approach.

Are we a church that will be sophisticated, smart, compelling, and passionate when it comes to telling the stories of Jesus? Do we know what that will take?

I am quite confident that The United Methodist Church will become a great storyteller of the gospel because that is in our DNA, from circuit-riding preachers to cutting-edge advertising campaigns that have set our church apart from other declining Protestant denominations. While every other major mainstream church has cut back its capacity for communications, we have dared to commit resources to reach the seeker, the young person, the doubter, the last, the least, the lost.

In the pages that follow, the Rev. Larry Hollon sets out the case for why we need to maintain our voice in the turbulence of the modern era of communications. This book is a clarion call for communications that commit us to our great commission: to go make disciples for Jesus Christ and in doing so, to transform the world and make it look a little more like God’s kingdom. No issue is more urgent as our denomination strives to make its good news heard in a world crowded with competing messages and often-destructive values.

What remains outstanding is whether we will overcome the failure to communicate, which incapacitates otherwise well-meaning organizations. Hollon argues for a larger vision of a church that knows how to tell its vital story well. I pray that every United Methodist—and every member of the mainline denominations—joins in the chorus of the voice he wants to see projected on behalf of our beloved church.

Mike McCurry is former press secretary to President Bill Clinton and an active lay leader in The United Methodist Church. He teaches Sunday school, serves on the board of governors of Wesley Theological Seminary, and is finishing his graduate work there for an M.A. degree. He was twice a delegate to General Conference from the Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference. He is a member of the United Methodist Commission on Communication and the executive committee of the denomination’s Global Health Initiative and its Imagine No Malaria campaign.

INTRODUCTION

We Must Speak

As World War II drew to an end, the devastation of Europe and much of Asia revealed human suffering unlike any the world had seen before. Millions were displaced or homeless. Starvation was an imminent threat. Bombed-out cities lay desolate across the landscape. People lacked even the most basic needs for survival—shelter, adequate clothing, water, and medical care.

In 1946, Bishop Henry Knox Sherrill, newly elected presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, called in a nationwide radio address for Episcopalians to raise $1 million in one hour to provide aid to the suffering masses. Other denominations were similarly gearing up for relief work; and on Saturday, March 26, 1949, a national radio broadcast called One Great Hour, featuring well-known actors Gregory Peck and Ida Lupino, took to the air.

President Harry Truman opened the broadcast and called on the U.S. public to build a new world, a far better world, one in which the eternal dignity of [all humanity] is respected.

The mainline denominations used the most pervasive medium available to deliver a message of compassion and to engage people in a mission to heal the world. This initial broadcast would evolve into the One Great Hour of Sharing, which to this day is one of the most effective appeals for humanitarian