In 1 Corinthians 1:17 we read, “For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.” ESV
This verse points out that if we try to get to clever in our presentation of the gospel, the cross of Christ is emptied of its power. As one who has always wanted to be effective in my communication, I was prompted to take some time to reflect on this verse.
It reminded me of a story told by Haddon Robinson that occurred in the 1800’s. A logging town built a little church and called a pastor. The way logging worked in those days was that people would cut down trees, brand them, and float them down the river. At the mill down the river, the logs were pulled out of the water, and the person who had their brand on the log was given money for the log. While visiting his people, the pastor was horrified to see some of his congregation pulling logs out of the river, cutting off the branding, re-branding the logs, and then sending them down the river. So he preached a message that Sunday on “thou shalt not steal.” Afterward, everyone lined up to tell him what a great message he preached. He breathed a sigh of relief that it had gone better than he expected. However, the next week the people continued their practice. So he preached another message: “thou shalt not cut the brand off thy neighbor’s log.” After that message, they ran him out of town.
It seems that effectiveness in Biblical terms is not related to a positive response, but to the clarity of communicating the message. Paul goes on to state that the response is God’s work (1 Cor. 3.5-7). May we communicate the message so clearly that it can be rejected (1 Cor. 1.18; 2 Cor. 2.15-17).
Of course, may we also communicate in such a way that it is the gospel which is being rejected and not our obnoxiousness.