Now Entering... Vickie's Mind

Hi There

First let me introduce myself... I'm Vickie and I currently reside in Dunedin, working through a Theatre Studies Major (when will it end??!!) and a Biblical studies minor. So, communication is my 'thing.' My passion is to communicate in the most creative and effective way I can, to draw people to God. At my church, I am the 'graphics / web / creative arts' girl. I have previously owned my own graphic design and printing company. The skills I picked up to do all this, I'm proud to say, was all self-taught... that being said, I am convinced that from 5-155... anyone can learn how to communicate effectively and creatively. I also believe that the church should lead the way in communication... Pastor Brain Houston (Hillsong) - 'The church is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church.'

This is a nice little segway for the following myth: Our congregation is the same as it's always been, and we feel comfortable with the way we communicate.

I think this is a two part statement and I'm not sure if I entirely agree with the first - our congregation is the same as its always been. Of course people are changing all the time - that's life. However, I know of congregations that do not change. A strong advocate for tradition (and I'm not against it), despite the changing world around them and the moving / growing nature of the individual, some congregations do not change. A rural Presbyterian church that I know of, had hired a new minister. He was compassionate and a great listener. He gave a great sermon and did home visits. Yet, there were some very small changes he wanted to make, that would ultimately benefit the congregation and encourage visitors. The congregation took objection without consideration and subsquently, the minister felt he was unable to do his job and so, moved on. The congregation.... doing exactly what they have always done. There's a flaw in this consistency... the church doesn't really grow and in fact, as people die, the church fades away. It has happened many times over... the church building becomes a dead emtpy monument to something God did years ago. If the building was in Europe, we would probably pay an entry fee to look at the art inside and take pictures of the arhitechture.

The second part to this myth... is that if a congregation is like the one I described, I can not imagine how anyone person would coomfortable with the way communication happens.