welcome to the story.

One way that pastors/teachers/communicators can better connect with the younger generations is through the language that they use. My generation and younger, we think in images. If you say a word, a picture that corresponds with that word automatically reveals itself in my mind. Because we have grown up in the media age of television, movie, and internet, we think in images. But because we think in images, we think in ways that are less concrete. We think more abstractly. We think more in terms of narrative, in story form. We think in grey areas. On the other hand, my parents generation, they think more in words. In black and white, concrete, systematic terms. So for the pastors of my parent's generation who stand in a pulpit and use their words and language to deliver solid, concrete, black and white "points" in a systematic way, that just does not connect well with my generation. What I connect to and relate to better is when the communicator uses his words and language to paint a picture. The more descriptive the words are, the more I connect. The words that these emerging communicators use are almost like paint brushes that paint a image in our minds. The more poetic it is, the better we relate. The less the message is systematic, the better. The more the message is narrative and involves us in the story, the better. The less the words are dry, almost hollow, the better. The more the words pop off the mouth of the speaker with vitality, the better. The more the imagination is encouraged and let loose, the better. The future communicators must paint pictures with their words. We can not just see words as a form of delivering a concrete principle. But instead see words as tools that involve the listener in the journey of the ongoing story that encompasses whatever principle they are trying to convey. In the midst of communicating, create sacred spaces where your words captivate the imagination and lead it on journey towards God.