Presentation Counts

I am now a guest blogger at this amazing new blog, "Wake. Breathe. Bleed. Live".  My friend created it as a resource for those who work in ministry, "A means to feed yourself, so that the world may be fed. With so much demand on ministers to be the ones to continually expend themselves to feed the flock, we felt it was important to offer a place to be able to come, read, reflect and grow."

I figured that since I am posting substantial posts on that blog, something that I rarely do on my own blog, I could just post them here as well.  This is the most recent one that I have written for the blog:


Life’s all about presentation.


For example, consider the women in this photograph:

The sign, along with their frowns and looks of death, clearly reveal their opposition to liquor. As I can endorse the moderate consumption of alcohol, it is clear that these women will not be attending my St. Patrick’s Day celebration. They are simply standing for their cause and practicing their freedom of speech, but in the end, I don’t think we can assume that this poster was effective. As the quote states that surrounded the picture in the email when I received it, “If you were around in 1919 and came upon this poster, I mean, seriously, wouldn’t you just keep drinking?”

In my short time in ministry, many great publishers, organizations, and companies have presented their products to me. It is exciting to see these groups reaching out to modern man in ways that will attract him. Whether it be online accessibility, modern color schemes, “hip” language, or eye catching graphic design, these products are certainly appealing to the audiences we are trying to serve. After considering program after program from organization after organization, I can’t help but be relieved to remember that the Church isn’t triumphant in winning souls because of its catchy slogans and attractive study materials. It is important to use our resources to reach out to people and develop relationships, but we must always use them in the context of the bigger picture.

In his encyclical, Veritatis Splendor, John Paul II said, “No darkness of error or of sin can totally take away from man the light of God the Creator. In the depths of his heart there always remains a yearning for absolute truth and a thirst to attain full knowledge of it”(1). What does this mean? The Truth is what ultimately attracts human beings to Jesus Christ. These study programs can be fantastic tools to lead men and women of all ages to Christ, but only as much as they participate in the Truth.

When I consider the various study programs, I always ask myself, “Does the attraction of this product go beyond its physical appearances and convenience? When one is no longer entertained by the unessential details of this product, will it still continue to lead them closer to Christ?” The best and most successful study programs are those that, whether immediately or gradually, draw one to Christ rather than to a particular theologian, author, or famous speaker. If they aren’t essentially focused on Christ and the Truth, they may lead to momentary success but long term failure.

I am thankful for these programs and have found them useful in my ministries as much as the studies reach out to the way modern man lives, thinks, and relates to the Truth.. However, I am even more thankful that the human person is created to desire and seek the Truth and I can do nothing but guide them in their search.