Communication: More is More

I just got home from a meeting in which there was quite a bit of tension and general bad feelings. I have decided that most of the problem comes down to lack of communication. Policies not settled or explained adequately before confusion arose. Relevant people and committees not consulted. People talking about each other rather than to each other. Words and actions governed by suspicion instead of collaboration. You know, all the usual ways humans get each other all upset.

Of course, I get into trouble for this ALL THE TIME.

The last couple of years have been a learning curve on the topic of communication. When I was in a smaller church, there were fewer people and fewer structures, and everyone talked to each other more often, so it wasn't such a huge deal for me to just have an idea and do something about it. At my current church, if I make some decision and run off to do my own thing and get it done, it affects about a gazillion other people, many of whom think (often rightly) that they should have been included in the making of the decision. I am learning this the hard way. If you want things to go peaceably, communicate MORE than you think you need to, not less. It's pretty difficult to over-inform people about decisions and activities in the church. In this case, less is not more. Less is just less.

Please note that the same is not true in sermons. More words do not a better sermon make.