Moving the focus

Today, something different.  I have recently been elected to coordinate the Communications Ministry at my church, so articles relating to that topic are catching my eye.  This morning I read one from the Lewis Center called "Eight Reasons Why People Aren't Listening to Announcements."  If it interests you, read it here.

One of the themes in the article is that we write and deliver announcements from the angle of how they will benefit the announcer - "I need you to volunteer; the Church needs you to give money; this project needs your participation."  We use "insider" language and don't consider our target audience.

I think all of that is true, and it strikes me as un-Christian.  What if our announcements (and our ministry) were focused on loving the person in front of us.  Announcements might be more concerned with how the message will benefit the person to whom we are speaking.  They might focus on loving others and celebrating their ministry.  The announcements might be more impactful and effective if they followed Jesus' words to "love others."

So, the question for me is how to do that.