The Communication Strategies Of Jesus: Part 2

In part one of The Communication Strategies Of Jesus I wrote about how Jesus was viral in his communication. Today I would like to talk about another regular strategy of his communication style.

Stategy #2: Jesus told stories using culturally and socialogically relevant word pictures

Jesus often used terms and phrases from local industry that everyone could associate in because probably many of them were connected to those industries. They all lived in the context he was describing. He used the word pictures often to reinforce his point. He spoke about sheep and shephards, sowing seeds in soil, wise and foolish builders, servants, lost son, vine and the branches, the bread of life and tax collectors to name a few.

Everyone knew what he meant. There were no communication barriers here, because everyone had some kind of connection to the word pictures he was using.

Well duh I hear you say. Nothing new there. Obvious.

Yet today I still hear so many communicators speak in the same agricultural terms, the same local social and cultural terms as if they were still speaking to the same people two thousand years ago.

Disconnection.

What would it look like if we brought all of these into the 21st century. When we are telling the same stories what word pictures would we use to get across the word picture Jesus was trying to get across?

How would you change the word picture? What examples of socially and culturally relevant examples have you used when you communicate?

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