Communicating Faith

Introduction

xiii Introduction John Sullivan As the Benedictus for January 26, the day that I write this, the morning prayer of the church offers the following words: “Proclaim the Gospel, insist on it in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, and exhort, do all with patience and in a manner that will teach men.” In order to carry out this demanding instruction, Christians need knowledge and understanding of holy scripture and of their faith, as well as commitment, dedication, and perseverance to the twin (and integrally linked) tasks of living it out and communicating it to others. They also need to be constantly nourished by their particular faith community and to dwell in its living tradition, affirmed in their efforts, forgiven and lifted up when they fall short, and encouraged to try again. If they are wise, they will ensure that the foundation for any attempt to communicate faith is built, not upon their personal competencies, but upon prayer—private and constant, yet also communal worship in the setting of the liturgical cycle that conveys salvation history and the ever-new invitation to humanity to share God’s life. If they are to have any chance of convincing others, they will need to exercise intelligence, paying attention to the use of reason. If they are to rebuke without alienating their hearers, it will be important to temper this with humility and respect. If they are to ex- xiv John Sullivan hort effectively, they must be in tune with the strengths and weaknesses of those they address, balancing challenge and support. If they are to reach out in cogent communication, this depends on a sensitive awareness of the specific contexts of their conversation partners, responding to their diverse assumptions and questions, hopes and fears, temptations and opportunities. St. Paul describes his approach to flexibility and sensitivity in a famous speech, where he refers to himself as becoming “everything in turn to people of very sort, so that he may save some.”1 As Margaret Krych puts it, “Without adaptation to our hearers’ lives, experiences, and categories of understanding , we lose people.”2 However, readiness to adapt our presentation needs to be qualified by concern for the truth, for “if we adapt the message in the wrong way, we may be in danger of losing the gospel.”3 Flexibility and responsiveness to people’s lives and the issues arising for them and fidelity to the Gospel have to be combined and held together. There has to be a match, or harmony, between the logos or meaning of the message to be communicated , the pathos or real state of the audience or target group one hopes will receive it, and the ethos or character and style of the person doing the communicating. Traditionally, this is what rhetoric has entailed. Those engaged in the task of communicating faith should monitor how confluent or disparate this logos, pathos, and ethos are. The gift, the giver, and the receiver are, however, not easy to separate; at different times roles become interchangeable . God is the source of the message but we all play a part in mediating his word. Each of us can be both a giver and receiver of this word, often in the same act of communication. Communicating faith, at its best, is a process of generous giving and grateful reception. Yet we know, too, that it can slip into an impositional instead of an invitational mode, and that, even when offered appropriately, it can be resented and resisted. Communicating faith is an integral part of discipleship. David Attfield offers a general theory of religious communication, covering evangelism, interfaith dialogue, nurture of adults and children, religious education, the academic study of religion, and ministerial formation.4 This book will touch upon many, though not all, of the seven types of religious communication 1. Cor 9:19–23 (New English Bible, slightly modified). 2. Margaret Krych, “What Are the Theological Foundations of Education and Evangelism ?” in Christian Education as Evangelism, ed. Norma Cook Everist (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2007), 30. 3. Krych, 30. 4. David Attfield, Proclaiming the Gospel in a Secular Age (Aldershot, UK: Ashgate, 2001). Introduction xv analyzed by Attfield. One volume cannot begin to do justice to the subtle yet important differences in context, purpose, and methodology required in these various forms of religious communication, but it can bring out key features of the processes involved. In each setting disciples have to...