Why Communication Matters: 95 Theses

| By Scott McClellan | Found in Communication | 5 Comments

Why does church communication matter? Why do we spend our lives in this endeavor? Perhaps the story of Martin Luther’s 95 Theses is instructive.

It was on this day — October 31 — in 1517 that Martin Luther first began disseminating his 95 Theses in a letter to an archbishop and (perhaps anecdotally) on the door of the Castle Church of Wittenberg. Within two weeks, the 95 Theses had spread across Germany. Within two months (according to ye olde Wikipedia), they’d gone viral across Europe. And it seems this was before the 95 Theses were translated from Latin to German and proliferated by the printing press.

Whether you’re Catholic, Protestant, in-between, or something else, you’re aware of the significance of Luther and his writing in the Protestant Reformation. You’re the aware that the Church and the world were forever shaped. But are you aware that you have the opportunity to continue what he started? Here’s what I mean …

If we were to reduce the story of the 95 Theses to its most basic elements, it might look something like this:

SCRIPTURE → CONVICTION → CLEAR COMMUNICATION → RESISTANCE → PERSEVERANCE → CHANGE

Yes, I acknowledge that I’ve drastically simplified a complex narrative (I’m a blogger — I can’t help it), but this is how I think it breaks down. And the reason I say all this is that I think you, as a communicator, are invited to participate in this same narrative. Nearly five centuries later, the Church and the world are still in need of Martin Luthers on large and small scales.

When we love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, when we combine our convictions and our craft, when a compelling message reaches the audience who needs it most, amazing things can happen. Hearts can change, communities can change, the world can change.

All we have to do, when God whispers and inspiration strikes, is be willing to put pen to paper and hammer to nail.

  • http://www.timschraeder.com Tim Schraeder

    LOVE this.

  • Michael Schutz

    Great article, thanks, Scott. As a member of tribe spawned by Luther, we focus on lot on his actions, writings, etc. What has always struck me about Luther is your 2nd part – conviction. He was convinced that his actions were consistent with the historic Christian faith. He was not trying to bring about a revolution – he was trying to bring the church back to Scripture. His famous edict, "here I stand; I can do no other" was a result of his strong conviction that his conscience would not allow him to recant what he believed to be the truth of the Christian faith.

    I think the most interesting thing in this example, though, is that, sometimes the end – Change – isn't actually what happens, at least not in the way we think it should. Luther really didn't achieve what he set out to do – reform the church. He never wanted to start a new movement; he just wanted to get the church back to Scripture. Instead the church called him a heretic and condemned him. Others, convinced that Luther was on the right track, took up the cause, but the change that resulted wasn't actually the goal.

    So I think your chain of events is a great one to think through – at the same time, I think we need to be aware that the end – what that Change actually looks like – may not look the way we want, but it is all the rest that we need to be focused on. I think we might have a tendency to start with a specific vision of what we what the change to be, and I think that can compromise the rest of the chain.

    All that being said, though, I think the lasting legacy of Luther is a consistent and intense passion to keep the church in God's Word. That's one reason I'm in this tribe called "Lutheran", and I think we can all learn a lot from him.

  • http://www.collidemagazine.com/blog ScottMcClellan

    Thanks, Tim!

  • http://www.collidemagazine.com/blog ScottMcClellan

    Great thoughts, Michael! You're so right about Change. My hope is that our conviction is always in truth, not in goals. As you said, starting with a specific vision or change can derail the whole thing. Thanks so much for adding your perspective.

  • Michael Schutz

    And much thanks to you, too – you're a great writer and thinker, and I've learned a lot from you. Keep up the good work!