I was on the phone today for about an hour with a communication director for a statewide denominational headquarter office. I won't share the name, state or denomination given the nature of our conversation. In our conversation, she (OK, you know her gender...but that's all I'm saying) said that sometimes it's like "pushing a rope to get things done." That when it comes to fundamental communication practices (consistency, identity, professionalism, etc.) some people in the organization "get it" and some don't. If she were to lead significant changes, some would be "with her" and some against. We were talking together - in sort of a therapy/coaching session - and I was looking for a biblical example to support professional communication practices. Some juicy nugget of justification she could trumpet around the office.
Ah (I had a moment of inspiration)the Roman roads. It's well accepted that the Roman roads - the extensive network that allowed the Roman army to move swiftly throughout the Empire - also allowed for the swift spread of the Gospel in the early Church. There were probably not a lot of fans of the Roman army in the early Church - but "thank you God" for those roads. So too it is with communications. There may be people in our midsts who don't like the aggressiveness of some communications. They may not like corporate sounding words like "branding" or "demographics" or "measurable outcomes." There may be those who don't want to be confined by the guidelines of your department. But these practices, solid professional communication approaches, do MOVE THE MESSAGE.
After my moment of inspiration, I Googled "Roman roads spread Gospel" and found someone else had the same moment of inspiration. Read on. Some good resources.
Comments