Communication Theory for Christian Witness (Revised)

by Charles H. Kraft

Book Overview

In this revision of a long-enduring classic, Kraft draws upon faith experience and the social sciences to make pastors, preachers, missionaries, and religious educators aware of the mystery of human communication in the service of God who calls all into communion. The question is how to communicate with these other cultures so that the message is effectively transmitted and received? How to we recognize the gaps--of language, tradition, life experience--that...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0883447630
• ISBN13: 9780883447635
• Release Date: December 1991
• Publisher: Orbis Books
• Length: 194 Pages
• Weight: 1.42 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.2" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

A dynamic look at creating meaing

I have been reading Charles H. Kraft's Communication theory for the Christian Witness (Orbis Books, 1991) over the last few weeks and it's been challenging me to be more intentional with how I interact with people both formally and informally. Kraft is a professor of Anthropology and inter-cultural communication at Fuller seminary in Pasadena, CA. He believes there are discernible rules in the communication process, and knowing these can help a person become a more effective communicator. Chapters one and two focus on relationships and communication respectively from a biblical perspective. Kraft then proceeds to disassemble some common rules or "myths" people often follow which he believes can operate in a negative way in communication. The meat and potatoes of his message lie in the rules to help communicators move away from performance driven to receptor oriented communication. He provides the tools to help a communicator identify the types of communication that are going on and then brings the focus back on the receptor. Kraft then underscores the fact that receptors are real people with complex needs, and lives. Thereupon he highlights the need for a message to fit within the rage that a receptor will be receptive to. Kraft moves on to a good deal of discussion on meaning. First focusing on how meaning is transmitted to individuals using symbols, and then by examining the structures and contexts that can create barriers to effectively transmitting meaning. The mediums and contexts that operate as catalysts of meaning are treated, and a set of best practices are reviewed. Finally Kraft wraps up the book by bringing the book back to the heart of why he is writing. The goal of Kraft's book is to increase our own conciseness of the communicative interchange that surrounds all we do, so that as presenters we can more effectively transmit our messages to fulfill the purposes of God. Kraft wants to see lives transformed holistically, and a dynamic faith lived out. We are all communicators, we can't avoid it. Our daily interactions at even the most menial level are transmitting messages to others around us. For many people, myself included, this process goes on often without a great deal of thought or concise involvement. I, for one, know that so often I'm not cognizant of the rules that guide the positions and mediums I employ every day to communicate. One of the things I appreciate about Kraft's work is how deeply enmeshed with the scriptures it is. His work is laid upon a foundation that looks to how God communicates is his word, and in his world. At the same time it is very practical, and contemporary. He casts a vision for Christian communication that is "dynamically equivalent." We live in an increasingly pluralistic world. Our methods of communication must be under constant scrutiny or they risk obsolescence. As I read, I wrote down the following 10 questions to ask myself as I prepare to communica

Communication (http://justinfarley.blogspot.com/2009/05/communication.html)

I recently completed a reading critique of Charles H. Kraft's Communication Theory for Christian Witness. Here are a few of my observations: 1. The author's main purpose is his belief that the Bible presents systems to be directed by and an example to emulate. Jesus said, "As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you" (John 20:21, ESV). By drawing from the Scriptures, one might expand his knowledge of various situations, perceive how God has utilized these principles, and grow overall in the discipline of successful communication (Kraft, viii). 2. The author's instruction about guiding an audience was helpful (Kraft, 143). One's responsibility is to carefully select his recipients. Jesus was intentional with who, where, and when he was with people. He chose a mountain to renew the Law and the Sabbath to heal the sick. He functioned within their general context. An effective communicator maximizes different mediums (Kraft, 148). He also purposefully chose the language, sayings, and methods that best connected with his audience. Christ strived to achieve, preserve, and utilize his integrity and influence (Kraft, 149). Another item of instruction that was appreciated was the focus on one's "frame of reference" (Kraft, 16). Recipients are expected to conform to norms, terms, and environment before being accepted. This motive has less to do with holiness as with protecting one's power base. Judaizers made the mistake of expecting gentiles to follow rituals instead of focusing upon grace. They expected converts to change outward actions while they themselves had not changed inwardly. Jesus chose instead to take "the form of a servant" (Philippians 2:7, ESV). He was reliant and transparent in sharing humanity's necessities, difficulties, and meanings (Kraft, 16). 3. The most helpful part of the book was the author's instruction concerning the natural connotations of the gospel's essence (Kraft, 40). God entered into the world of humanity with the intent of transforming it. His life, death, and resurrection were incredibly relational in nature. The gospel can never be reduced to mere words and concepts but rather to always be centered on the language and lifestyle of Christ. Recipients should be challenged in their beliefs to the point where their behavior changes as well (Kraft, 42). The goal is to redirect them on their spiritual journey. 4. The quotation that seemed particularly important was, "What we seek is the kind of Christianity that is equivalent in its dynamics in today's society to the Christianity we see in the pages of the New Testament" (Kraft, 172). Christ's message should transform the unchurched and the outcast as well as those who are over-churched and ingrown. The church can respond to humanism with a Christ-centered perspective, to personal gratification with an unwavering devotion to God, to personal liberties with corporate responsibility, and to capitalism with service and generosity (Kraft, 174).

Spiritual Transformation through Ministry Communication

Communication remains an ever-present challenge. Communicating to people for change, at any level, provides would-be communicators with the greatest possible challenge. "Communication in ministry is doubly difficult because it carries the responsibility before God to communicate His Word accurately. As spokes-persons for God, we must perpetually strive to improve our skills" (John Miller). God is the Great Communicator, and as Christians we have opened ourselves to Him both as receptors of His message and as co-laborers with Him in communicating those messages to others (Kraft). In "Communication Theory for Christian Witness", Kraft does a great job in communicating to the reader the dynamics of the communication process. He provides excellent insight into the rules and principles according to which effective communication transactions take place as well as revealing certain ways in which God has employed these principles to communicate His messages. Working from the Bible, Kraft takes a look at contemporary communication theory to shed light on the communicational dimensions both of what we do and of what God does (as presented in the Bible). "God's communicated activity, then, can provide us with a model to imitate and methods to be guided by. For he has revealed not only the messages to be communicated, but how to communicate them effectively for those receptors who have the interpretational skills to "