THE DYNAMIC PULPIT: UNDERSTANDING COMMUNICATION

“And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” – Gen. 2:16-17

“If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must he put to more strength: but wisdom is profitable to direct.” – Eccl. 10:10

The face of ministry is changing fast today, so also its meaning and relevance due to misrepresentation, misunderstanding and inability of her leaders to humbly learn the art of communication in order to rightly get the message of the kingdom across to people it was meant for in the first place. The problem of clear and true communication has caused so much hatred, suspicion, misunderstanding and disintegration in the body of Christ.

Today, many leaders by act of omission commission, ignore the essence and relevance of effective communication which resultantly, most often than not, instigates and fuels confusion and crises in leadership and the ministry at large. Clear communication is more of being a good communicator. It is more than just being a leader or an acceptable speaker, but being equipped with magnetic and profound skills which will help you to spread your message and still retain your audience.

WHAT IS COMMUNICATION?

The word communication is derived from two different words and culture. Communicare, from Latin- meaning to share and communize from French – meaning common. They are both the foundation for the English word, communication and consequently in their sense, meaning, transmitting and sharing certain information to achieve commonality.

Communication therefore is rightly defined as the medium through which all human relations exist and develop. It is sharing of meaning and additionally, the process by which an individual communicator (that is the source), transmits stimuli (that is, the message), to influence the behaviour (that is, the effect) of another individual (that is, the receiver). Communication is the sorting and sending of symbols in such a way as to recreate in the mind of the listener, the meaning contained in the mind of the communicator. In a simple term, communication is the ability to share or distribute specific information, make people understand, accept and connect (or absolutely create) to them.

BIBLICAL FOUNDATION: (Prov. 18:21; I Sam. 10:3-12,25)

The word of God is very clear on the issue of communication which was why our Lord Jesus Christ, and many other leaders in the Bible, except Adam, succeeded largely. During his leadership, Prophet Samuel spoke in such a powerful way that his communication gave the people clear direction and hope for the future. He was an unequalled communicator because of the following:

He communicated God’s declaration (7:3)
He communicated inspiration (10:3-6)
He communicated deepest revelation (7:3)
He communicated affirmation (10:24)
He communicated exhortation (10:24)

THE PURPOSE OF COMMUNICATION

1. To achieve oneness and uniformity

The basic reason people of like-minds commune together is largely to maintain desirable and popular attitude among themselves, thereby increasing uniformity of opinion, meaning, acceptance and agreement

2. To Make People Buy into your Vision

People will not accept your ministry or church, until they know what it stands for. Communication helps you sell (as in distributing, transmitting) your vision faster than any other thing. If you struggle before people accept what you are communicating to them, they will not buy into your vision.

3. To Maintain Peace and Tranquility

Peace anywhere, be it at home, in the church or ministry is not an absence of quarrel. It is solely maintained and sustained through effective communication. To communicate is to make people understand you and you understand them their need, expectation, worries, bias and feelings.

4. To Forestall Potential Crisis

Crisis are manifestation of suppressed anger, oppression and resentment against an individual, group or organization. To communicate before the crisis explode you will have to nip it in the bud and prevent rebellion, disintegration and break away. This communicating method will ultimately encourage the principle of “jaw jaw” rather than “war war”. That means, to dialogue (communicate with ourselves) is better than fighting ourselves to a breaking point.

5. To Protest Against Injustice and Other Vices

This form of communication manifest mostly through physical protest or deliberate boycott of something, or a parley that in moment of confusion, indecision and collective anger is meant to assuage a raging storm with the leadership. This method of communication is prevalent in political or government circle against unpopular policies and programmes that have negative impact on people.

FORMS OF COMMUNICATION

1. Written Communication

This is the type that takes place whenever we put pen on paper to express an idea, objective or desire. With this, some people communicate better than speaking.

2. Oral Communication

This process takes place when we employ the use of human voice as the medium of exchange of words, desire, feeling, anger e.t.c.

3. Non-verbal Communication

This means of communication is without speech or word of mouth. It is only achieved through the entire participation of part of the body that is chosen, agreed and universally acceptable signs or through lack of it. In order word, a vital information can be passed across through pictures, laughter, facial expression, body movement, body posture, signing, yearning, shrugging, nose wrinkling e.t.c.

CHARACTERISTICS OF COMMUNICATION

Communication is dynamic, progressive and not static
It is always continuous with beginning but without an end throughout one’s life-time
It is a complete and balance process as it occurs at various levels and reflects many influences
It is absolutely irreversible because once a message is sent and received, it produces effects immediately, negatively or positively
It is flexible, easy to follow, patterned or re- patterned to meet specific need at specific time
It is always lucid, though can be made to be difficult and confusing.

TYPE OF COMMUNICATION

1. Intra-personal communication

This is a personal discussion that happens to individual in reaction to internal or external stimuli occasioned by environment, taste, sound, temperature. skin, eyes, frustration, happiness e.t.c. It makes one to ponder on the next line of action by talking only with him or herself without seeking anybody’s help, opinion or advise.

2. Inter-personal Communication

This is communication between two or more people. It occurs when information, messages, or thoughts are shared by persons face-to-face. Both the sender and receiver of this message can easily get feedback and carry out the intended message without much ado.

3. Mass Communication

This is the most complex form of communication. It involves sending messages or signals to a group of people, mass populace and large crowd. This level of communication is sometime cumbersome, complex and delicate because understanding the audience requires a lot of wit before addressing them, if messages must be well communicated and received. To perfect the act, modalities and intricacies of mass communication must be followed in order to be regarded as a good communicator.