Craddock, Fred B. Overhearing the Gospel, 1978 Abingdon Press, Nashville, Tenn.
Overhearing the Gospel is a delightful and insightful book about communication. Though it was written to apply primarily to preachers and other speakers addressing Christian audiences, it is just as, and maybe more, appropriate for Christians seeking to effectively communicate the Gospel to their friends and/or co-workers in non-church settings. Evangelism.
"The premise of Dr. Craddock’s message is found in this quotation from renowned theologian Sören Kirkegaard: 'There is no lack of information in a Christian land; something else is lacking, and this is a something which the one man cannot directly communicate to the other.'" – Quote from the dust jacket of Craddock’s book.
Craddock’s own method as he teaches about method is to take Sören Kirkegaard’s (SK) work on the subject of "indirect communication" and apply it to the communication of the Gospel. Interestingly, the book reads like a primer on communicating to post-moderns, even though that use of it is not even dreamed of in the book itself.
Craddock takes on some sacred cows and lays bare many of the illusions which have shaped Christian communication up to the time of his writing (and far beyond, I am sorry to say). I personally found his writing extremely helpful and have referred to it over the years as a way of honing my own communication skills.
Common Ground Seattle is an evangelistic effort based North of Seattle. They have based their whole approach to ministry on SK via Craddock’s premises. Their services are a blend of movie clips, homily, music, readings, poetry, etc. Not the slick, performance driven stuff, but thoughtful, challenging, and insightful presentations of art from the culture. Attending these presentations has challenged me to ask, "How can I present the Gospel in a way that allows listeners (one on one or in a congregation) to overhear the Gospel? How can I create the distance they need to feel safe from the story and yet tell the story in a way which invites them to be a anonymous participant?" See their story at http://www.commongroundseattle.org.
Craddock and SK emphasize those same two elements, distance and participation. The telling of the story must provide distance, "...a necessary dimension of the experience of overhearing that says to the listener, 'You are sitting in on something that is of such significance that it could have gone on without you.'" (p.122) It must also provide participation: "...free participation on the part of the hearer in the issues, the crises, the decisions, the judgment, and the promise of the message. Participation means that the hearer overcomes the distance, not because the speaker 'applied' everything, but because the listener identified with experiences and thoughts relayed in the story that were analogous to his own." (p. 123)
This book is well worth the read for those Friends who are searching for a way of telling the Gospel story that preserves Friends' respect for persons, and Friends belief that there is that of God active in every person.
P.S. Brian McLaren’s experience with Alice in his book More Ready Than You Realize is a prime example of Craddock’s teaching applied to an individual in a post modern setting. Additionally, Leslie Newbigin’s concept of "indwelling the Gospel" in The Gospel in a Pluralistic Society, applies this insight to the corporate body.
This page is moderated by Johan Maurer as part of the "Evangelism and the Friends Testimonies" project, supported during the academic year 2003-04 by the Ferguson Quaker Fellowship program of Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre. Johan has a minute of service from Reedwood Friends Church.
