Many different listeners
In the first unit of 'Teaching the Bible in Challenging Times,' we say that it is important to identify one key individual who we are talking to. But at the end of the unit we then make things a bit more complicated by pointing out that today it is very unusual for us to have only one kind of listener. Usually, we will have many different kinds of listener.
A couple of hundred years ago, the vicar of a parish church in a village anywhere in England knew everyone in his congregation. He knew that they all had a very similar background. He could have written a very accurate description of his listeners, without even thinking about it. But times change. Today, it is very unlikely that all our listeners come from the same background.
This raises a particular problem if we want to teach the Bible effectively. Who are we talking to? Who is our listener? We shall not be able to talk equally effectively to a wide range of different listeners at the same time, so how do we handle this? Here are three suggestions:
1. Segment your activities for different listeners.
In other words, split them into targeted groups. Churches have always done this to some extent, for example grouping people by age or gender. We have our main services, but we also have Sunday School and youth work. We have groups for ladies, groups for men, groups for retired people, and groups for nursery age children and their mums. This is fine - but because of today's fragmentation we may need to segment our activities even further.
2. Segment your programme within the same activity.
Some churches already do this, with special outreach services, student welcoming services, seeker-sensitive services, and so on. If this is going to be effective, it is very important that everyone involved knows who the target listener is for each event. So regular churchgoers will know that it is appropriate to invite their unchurched friends on one Sunday but not on another. And someone who comes in to a special 'seeker-sensitive' service will be warned that our regular services are a bit different.
3. Choose one listener
If everything else fails, choose one key listener and stick with them, at least for one specific teaching opportunity. Remember, you will not be able to reach everyone equally effectively at the same time.