Importance of Communication in Christian Ministry
The Christian principles of communication are same as the characteristics of ministry. They are communication is paricipatory,libarative,builds community,nurishes culture and prophetic1. So the Christian ministry is more about communication. In christian ministry, all types of communication is involved that is intrapersonal, group etc but the interpersonal communication's role is very important. Preparing the sermons etc coming under the intrapersonal communication and preaching, teaching etc come in to the catagery of group communication.
In christian ministry, there is formal talk and informal talk which are called as trasaction and interaction in interpersonal communication. Inerpersonal communication helps to establishig and maintaing the relationships, helps to avoid misunderstanding, unites the people, giving meaningful expressionof love, gives encouragement, comfort in christian ministry.
Biblical presentation
Communication is very important role in Jesus's ministry, apostles ministry. The Bible gives us the narratives about the interpersonal communication (eg: Jesus and Samaritan woman), and Group communication (eg: sermons of Peter, Stephen etc) intrapersonal communication (eg:prodigal son, Peter in Acts 10) and Mass communication (Scriptures, Temple sturctures etc).
Paul wrote about christian miscommunication in I Corinthians 14:8-12. Hendricks observed that in verse 19, Paul's longing for gift of communication.2 Infact our christian ministry is based on the great commission which involves preaching and teaching- Proclaiming Gospal and making discipiles.Oommen defines evangelism as “Evangelism is the proclamation or comminication of the good news (Gospel) of Jesus Christ – in the power of the Holy Spirit – to a person in a manner that he understands and responds, so that he should put his trust in God through Jesus Christ, accepting Him as his Savior and serving Him as the Lordof his personal life, in the corporate fellowhip of the Church”3 this definition clearly explains about the role of communication as proclaiming, respose to the message etc.
Communication in Ministry
Communication involves differnt ways in Christian ministry. The following are some of the areas where the communication takes place in ministry.
1.Preaching and Teaching: Preaching and teaching is the main way whare communication takes place. Speaking, nonverbal communication like gusteres etc involves. Preaching in the church, in meetings, mass evangelism etc are mostly needed effective comminication. Stage is for communcation, not for monoplay or performance.
2.Personal talking and counseling: This is the most effective tool of communication in chiristian ministry. Pastor's house visitings, counseling the people, christian communicator's talking with others, all involves the way to communicate the gospel and equiviping the individual. In personal evangelism, the effective communication gives much results.
3.through stories in sunday schools, skits, singing, action songs, music etc.,
4.Media: printed media as Bible, books, and electronic media like Television, radio,Vedio tapes, Audio cassettes, Films,Computers,telephone. Many christian ministries have their won television channels. Radio playes very important role in missions.4 Movies, audio-vedio tapes etc are very useful in missions and church ministries.Many ministries have internet usage like maintaing websites, prayer cells through telephones, using LCD etc in the worship.
5.Symbolism: Through the observences like baptisPassionate and Compassionate Communication,m, communion lots of communication takes place. Church constuction, dressing of the priest etc also communicate with people.
6.Leadership: In the leadership, communication takes important role. To make the leaders, to lead the people etc, a leader must have the good communication skills in christian ministry. John Haggai wrote that the leadership requires effective communcation through speech, writing, and without effective communication, a leader never reach his/her leadership potential.5
7.Personality: “Nothing is as easy as talking; nothing is as difficult as communicating”6 this means communication through the personality is very difficut than speaking. The christian message is more communicated through the preacher's personality, life style than the preaching. Christian preaching involves the teaching and doing(Acts 1:1) This ministirial communication explained as 'concept-feeling-action'7by Hendricks, and 'BEING before DOING and SAYING'8 by Oommen.Positive personality gains positive response and negetive gains negetive. If the preacher is not practicing what he/she preached, there are much distraction in his/her communication.
Thus the communcation plays very important role in Christian ministry in many areas.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Bible women:model leaders as agents of change
Assignment
Subject: Women in religion and in society
Topic: BIBLE WOMEN: MODEL LEADERS AS AGENTS OF CHANGE
Submitted by: B.Thiophilos, BD I
Submitted to: Ms. Dong Ring
Submitted on: 6th Feb 2008
Summery
This article explains about the role of Bible women in India specifically South India. This article explains about how the Bible women bring the change in the society by their ministry in the later part of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. the author tries to find out their methodology of approach and impact on the society. From that analysis she brings some of th leadership principles useful for our present context.
The author's logical sequence started at the missing idea of the feminist scholar Jane Haggis. Haggis fails to see the Bible women's contribution to the society so the author tries to deal with that part. Most of the missions reports about women's ministries related to the work of the Bible women. In this article, the author's referred sources are from the CMS Telugu mission in Andhra, other mission reports like the American Marathi mission, and LMS has also been consulted. though the pattern of the ministry of the Bible women is same in the missions, it had slight differences depending on the context they were working. Throughout this article, the author does not underestimate the role of the missionaries but focus on the Bible women's work in changing the society.
Missionaries establish the schools, orphanages, inquirer's homes, converts' homes for girls and women. those people who studied there were mostly the widows,and elderly women converts became the Bible women. For some, mission paid and some worked voluntarily. these women were form both the high castes and the out castes. in 1909, woman's missionary movement had 441 bible women. Lat5er the ministry spread and the mission work was emphasized on the Church. So now the Bible women work is limited and it is continued in some rural congregations. But in those days, these women workers leadership and methodology is very useful for the postmodern leadership.
the Bible women were given basic education to read and trained in crafts like knitting, sewing etc. the main purpose of the Bible women's work was to reach the women in the houses with the gospel. this process involved in literacy work, vocational training to reach the women. They gave the basic guidelines to women at home regarding cleanliness and medicine. They involved in visiting the sick, bring the sick to hospital etc.
In Indian context, if any body converted to Christianity, they lost their old customs and had new social identity. thus, these Bible women had the very different identity in the society thus they impact the society with changes. When they reach the society with their new faith and education, the actually passing on their ideology and beliefs to the next generations at the risk of their own lives. they were beaten and misunderstood in some cases. These Bible women reach the society and contextualize the Christian message. In villages, they retold the Bible stories again and again by visiting the homes in mornings. In the nights, they approach the people with Burrakath, Harikatha, Suddulu and Bhajana. Many Christian songs were composed by the women.
Bible women had very easy entrance into the high cast homes, Marwadis homes etc. So thus they reach Brajhmans, Mohammedans, Goldsmiths, Weavers and all kinds of artisans. Since these Bible women were teaching the education, they had the respect of 'guru' in Indian context. They were available to the people at any time. Some women converted thus homes and villages came to Christ. Many women were living as secret Christians. Bible women were became the instrumental in bringing into being the whole new breed of Christian elite.
In the last part of the article, the author drawn the some of the leadership principles useful today like their behavior, their identity in society, their attitude in the work and their relationship with the other Bible women workers.
Evolution
The total dealing with the given topic is very good. But much references to the subject is needed since in Andhra, she took some part only. The coastal part of Andhra still have these Bible women work, but no references made referring to it. the CBCNC mission had lot of history material about this. If the author consider these also then more light is shown on the topic since the entire part of Coastal Andhra is now mostly Christianized because of Bible women and this work still continuing there.
The author's deliberate use of some statements without references made carelessly. For example, under the reference number 21, the author writes that now no single song composed by women is in the Telugu hymnal. In Telugu, there is only one hymnol book is there. In that some songs written by the women specifically by the Bible women were there for example the hymn number 121 was written by Kommu Krupa.
The author's approach to the Bible women's contribution to the society is very logical and very appropriate. Form the origin to the now, dealing with the purpose of the mission on one side and leadership recognition on other side, the author fulfills the aim of the article appropriately.
Subject: Women in religion and in society
Topic: BIBLE WOMEN: MODEL LEADERS AS AGENTS OF CHANGE
Submitted by: B.Thiophilos, BD I
Submitted to: Ms. Dong Ring
Submitted on: 6th Feb 2008
Summery
This article explains about the role of Bible women in India specifically South India. This article explains about how the Bible women bring the change in the society by their ministry in the later part of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. the author tries to find out their methodology of approach and impact on the society. From that analysis she brings some of th leadership principles useful for our present context.
The author's logical sequence started at the missing idea of the feminist scholar Jane Haggis. Haggis fails to see the Bible women's contribution to the society so the author tries to deal with that part. Most of the missions reports about women's ministries related to the work of the Bible women. In this article, the author's referred sources are from the CMS Telugu mission in Andhra, other mission reports like the American Marathi mission, and LMS has also been consulted. though the pattern of the ministry of the Bible women is same in the missions, it had slight differences depending on the context they were working. Throughout this article, the author does not underestimate the role of the missionaries but focus on the Bible women's work in changing the society.
Missionaries establish the schools, orphanages, inquirer's homes, converts' homes for girls and women. those people who studied there were mostly the widows,and elderly women converts became the Bible women. For some, mission paid and some worked voluntarily. these women were form both the high castes and the out castes. in 1909, woman's missionary movement had 441 bible women. Lat5er the ministry spread and the mission work was emphasized on the Church. So now the Bible women work is limited and it is continued in some rural congregations. But in those days, these women workers leadership and methodology is very useful for the postmodern leadership.
the Bible women were given basic education to read and trained in crafts like knitting, sewing etc. the main purpose of the Bible women's work was to reach the women in the houses with the gospel. this process involved in literacy work, vocational training to reach the women. They gave the basic guidelines to women at home regarding cleanliness and medicine. They involved in visiting the sick, bring the sick to hospital etc.
In Indian context, if any body converted to Christianity, they lost their old customs and had new social identity. thus, these Bible women had the very different identity in the society thus they impact the society with changes. When they reach the society with their new faith and education, the actually passing on their ideology and beliefs to the next generations at the risk of their own lives. they were beaten and misunderstood in some cases. These Bible women reach the society and contextualize the Christian message. In villages, they retold the Bible stories again and again by visiting the homes in mornings. In the nights, they approach the people with Burrakath, Harikatha, Suddulu and Bhajana. Many Christian songs were composed by the women.
Bible women had very easy entrance into the high cast homes, Marwadis homes etc. So thus they reach Brajhmans, Mohammedans, Goldsmiths, Weavers and all kinds of artisans. Since these Bible women were teaching the education, they had the respect of 'guru' in Indian context. They were available to the people at any time. Some women converted thus homes and villages came to Christ. Many women were living as secret Christians. Bible women were became the instrumental in bringing into being the whole new breed of Christian elite.
In the last part of the article, the author drawn the some of the leadership principles useful today like their behavior, their identity in society, their attitude in the work and their relationship with the other Bible women workers.
Evolution
The total dealing with the given topic is very good. But much references to the subject is needed since in Andhra, she took some part only. The coastal part of Andhra still have these Bible women work, but no references made referring to it. the CBCNC mission had lot of history material about this. If the author consider these also then more light is shown on the topic since the entire part of Coastal Andhra is now mostly Christianized because of Bible women and this work still continuing there.
The author's deliberate use of some statements without references made carelessly. For example, under the reference number 21, the author writes that now no single song composed by women is in the Telugu hymnal. In Telugu, there is only one hymnol book is there. In that some songs written by the women specifically by the Bible women were there for example the hymn number 121 was written by Kommu Krupa.
The author's approach to the Bible women's contribution to the society is very logical and very appropriate. Form the origin to the now, dealing with the purpose of the mission on one side and leadership recognition on other side, the author fulfills the aim of the article appropriately.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)