From the 1975 classic “WHAT’S GONE WRONG WITH THE HARVEST” by James Engel
DESIGN AND EXECUTION OF THE STRATEGY
The precision with which the goals were set will prove to be of great assistance in the determination of the communication strategy. While one cannot, in the final analysis, separate the decisions necessary for message and for media, there are some considerations that are unique to each.
Message
The gospel, of course, is not relevant if it is communicated as an abstraction. This requires that the messages utilized in the various media speak directly to the needs of people in areas such as marriage, occupation, and materialism. The lifestyle data cited only in summary form in Figure 4 are invaluable for this purpose. In this context, then, it is necessary also to focus on showing that man is a sinner and that Jesus provides the key to satisfaction of felt need. In particular, it will be required to center on raising awareness about the resurrection and the very uniqueness of Jesus. In addition, the Bible and the Church must be stressed as part of the solution.
The final execution will be the outcome of creative thinking guided and enriched by the Holy Spirit. Creativity is, after all, not pure imagination — rather, it is disciplined imagination, with the discipline provided by the goals and by the leadership of the Spirit. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, there are no rules to be followed in moving from goal to message, a fact long since discovered by the advertiser. 11 While there is a broad sense in which creative writing and communication are guided by rules of syntax and logic, the latitude for individual creativity looms large.
Audience lifestyle imposes yet another form of discipline on creative imagination. Certain patterns of wording, phrasing, and emphasis obviously will be more acceptable than others. Stained-glass words such as “saved,” “washed in the blood,” “justification,” and others all have legitimate theological meaning, but their connotation to the outside world is pure jargon. Linguists long ago learned to find the “functional equivalent” for such words when translated into the everyday language of the people. Functional equivalents also must be found when communicating with those in any given segment. Remember George Calderone’s reaction when he heard a preacher scream the word “sinner” at him on WTLT? It is literally true that George is a sinner, but the .strategy used to reach him was badly off the mark at that point.
Once again, we must also contend with that ever-present danger — ethnocentrism. While it may be less of a problem when one is communicating with the Rollingwood suburbanite than it would be, say, in Nigeria, the danger is always present. It is encountered most frequently beyond North American borders by assuming that everyone follows Western rules of logic: A plus B; therefore C. This is a type of linear thought pattern engrained in our makeup, but it is often totally absent elsewhere. It is not unusual for an oriental to embrace simultaneously certain thought patterns that, to us, appear to be completely inconsistent. It may not work to point out logical inconsistencies or to expose the fallacies of basic presuppositions. An entirely different tack must then be taken in message strategy.
Ethnocentrism has been compounded by the all-too-frequent practice of translating Western books, tracts, articles, and broadcast programs in non-Western settings. The vast majority of the mass-media content used overseas has, especially in past years, been written elsewhere. It is only by accident that such a transplanted style and thought pattern can strike home in a radically different context. Such a practice is of debatable merit, and where it still prevails its perpetuation should cease as soon as possible. The only reasonable alternative is to train and develop national writers.
Just one last point should be stressed here. American evangelicals are prone to criticize any type of evangelistic communication that does not present the plan of salvation. Many would, for example, insist that everything said to the Rollingwood suburbanite should press for that decision. But consider the probable response! The communication will probably be ignored or even reacted to negatively, unless the recipient has reached the stage of problem recognition (stage -3) and is thus open to persuasion as defined in Figure 3. The goal of proclamation, on the other hand, is to move people toward decision, not to call for decision! It is particularly tragic that the well-meaning layman who must often pay the bills for his type of outreach also feels tills gives him the authority to straightjacket the strategy in. inappropriate ways.
Remember, if the stated goals have been accomplished, this represents successful evangelism, even if there are not great numbers of decisions at the present time.
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