Recently I took my car to a banker, uh mechanic, to have it worked on. As a courtesy when I dropped my car off the mechanic had his 20-something employee run me home. Nice guy… until he rolled up to our first traffic signal.
We needed to turn left.
We were in the left lane.
We were the only car in the lane.
There was no approaching traffic (clear for a mile).
Still, my temp chauffeur came to a complete stop, at the intersection, with the light green.
We both sat there silently as his turn signal kept clicking. Talk about an awkward silent moment.
To be honest, what I wanted to say was “THE LIGHT IS GREEN, STUPID-GO!!!!!!”
But I was a good Christian and didn’t say anything. Just sat there, in the car, with him, silent. (We finally got an arrow and he turned.)
The truth is silence never accomplished anything great. It never pushed a vision forward -farther. It never reached people -not being reached for Christ.
Feedback (information) helps us see things we would otherwise miss, it generates new good ideas, and makes us smarter leaders. None of us are as smart as all of us because that is how the body of Christ was designed to work, and it’s beautiful.
The more the lines of communication can be opened up in a church, the farther that church can go and the more people that church can reach. When we limit feedback to only a few staff members, or only a handful of people, we critically limit our potential.
Part of the strategic process of opening up communication in a church (or any organization) is to create easypaths for communication to flow. Social media, websites with feedback , weekly feedback cards, surveys with specific questions on the website, in the bulletin and in the lobby, and simply asking are all ways to begin opening up the communication in a church.
In a day when 80% of the people in many communities are choosing not to attend any church on Sunday, constant feedback is more important than ever.
Luke 11:9 (MSG)
“Here’s what I’m saying:
Ask and you’ll get;
Seek and you’ll find;
Knock and the door will open.”
