By The wisdom of the advertising world is that to get people’s attention, you need to get the to tune into the world’s most important radio station: WII.fm. What’s In It For Me?
Now there’s an element of truth we need to grab here as it passes by: when we tell people about something that’s going on, it’s for a reason. We want them to get that, and act on it. They need to sign up for the church lunch; they need to note the change in the kids groups.
But, once again, the advertising world is more fatal than friend.
Because when there’s an announcement that’s not relevant for me, I shouldn’t tune to a different mental radio station; instead, I should support those for whom it is. And that’s a teaching point for us pastors: when we are teaching about being other-person centred, it means helping people see why we always address people who are there for the first time, never assuming they can find the information they need. Teens need to pray for the old folk’s meeting; families need to pray for the young adults and students.
Consumerism would say, we will offer what is directly relevant for you, and you can ignore the rest; countering that mindset means seeing the relevance of it for someone else, and being delighted that it’s happening.
WII.FY. What’s In It For You? It’s not a snappy mock radio station, but it’s an important part of getting why and we serve one another by mundane things like an announcements.
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