Communicating the faith to a secular world: ‘it’s not about us it’s about them’

The best talk I heard at the Christian New Media Conference was by Sheridan Voysey, who was involved in setting up and hosting the Open House radio programme in Australia.

The key was to follow the example of seasoned missionaries. Instead of going into a non-Christian culture (the secular airwaves of Australia), setting up a Christian stall, using Christian language, symbols and music in order to address Christian concerns, etc. Instead of this, the wise missionary tunes into the world of the new culture, adopting its language and addressing its concerns, slowly bringing a Christian perspective to everything in order to plant seeds of the Gospel and shed a saving light onto the situation. The aim of Open House radio was not to be a Christian programme for Christians, but a programme with a subtle Christian perspective for anyone who wanted to listen.

The founders made four commitments when they began the work. Open House would be:

1. MISSIONAL: ‘It’s not about us, it’s about them’ – the lives and concerns of the listeners. And ‘It’s not about them, it’s about Him’ – bringing the gentle and persuasive voice of Christ into the secular conversation.

2. CREDIBLE: To do the best possible show, as professionally done as the best secular shows. A desire for broadcasting excellence. To get the expertise needed to do such a show. And in the content of the programming, to be willing ‘to show the best of our critics and the worst of ourselves’.

3. HOLISTIC: To present the whole Gospel, not just the pet topics of the Christian community or the hobby horses of the presenter or the hot-button issues of the day. So they did address controversial topics like abortion and sexuality, but only after they had spent two years winning the trust of their listeners and providing a wider Christian context within which the difficult topics could make sense.

4. HOSPITABLE: The programme would be a safe space where listeners would share what was really on their minds and hearts, and share their doubts and questions without being judged or dismissed.

I found this very inspiring. I didn’t agree with everything, and I had particular worries about the ‘confessional’ aspect of the ‘safe space’ – sharing your intimate problems on air with strangers, and consciously or unconsciously exposing others in the process. But it seems to me to be a brave and worthwhile project.

Fortunately, Voysey gave the same talk a few months earlier at another conference, which you can watch on the video above. It’s well worth it.