MIM EZINE, FEB 3, 2006

CONTENTS

– Purpose-filled Ministry: But That's Not What I Meant!: Email Protocol

– Book Review: 21 Things God Never Said: Correcting Our MisConceptions About Evangelism

– Classified Ads

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But That’s Not What I Meant! The Ins and Outs of Email Protocol

By Teena M. Stewart

I’ve thought about writing this for some time but other projects kept taking precedence. Lately, however, I’ve had several emails come through that caused me to say, “That does it!” So I am finally getting around to writing an article on email protocol.

“What does this have to do with ministry?” You may ask? Quite a bit. More and more church leaders are resorting to email correspondence because it simplifies (or is supposed to simplify) their work with staff and volunteers.

Recently while corresponding with a fellow Christian writer who is also a church leader, I learned that one of the things on her to do list was to have a face-to-face meeting with another person in her church who had been offended by something the writer had said in email. I don’t know the nature of the offense, but I applaud my friend for scheduling the face-to-face meeting. Sometimes email just doesn’t come across clearly when we are trying communicate. Since you don’t have that person in front of you, you can’t read their body language. You also don’t have the benefit of voice inflexion or facial expression so it is hard to know if they are jesting or not. More than once I have heard of people being hurt by something said in email, often because the words were simply misconstrued.

So, fellow leaders, I urge you to keep this in mind when dealing with email. If, for some reason, something happens where miscommunication happens via email, pick up the phone and talk with the other party, or, better yet, schedule a face-to-face meeting.

Here are some suggestions for email protocol. I am writing them with the church scene in mind but you can also easily adapt them to the general work environment.

• Don’t add someone’s email to your directory or email list without permission. I’ve had well-intentioned people add me to their email list and suddenly I started getting daily scripture passages, prayer requests, or notices that I never asked to receive. Don’t assume that because it is Christian related every Christian will appreciate getting it. Many of us already have overflowing email in boxes. If you want to add someone to your list, get their permission first.

• Don’t send cute sayings, photos, jokes, web site addresses, chain letters, virus warnings, or urban legends. The biggest offenders who do this are usually people who only occasionally use email. Those of us who have high email loads probably don’t want to see your cutesy pictures and website links. As for the chain letters and urban legends, even the Christian ones, please check out your facts before sending. I continue to be astounded at the garbage that people believe. Here are some websites to go to for validating: http://www.truthorfiction.com/, http://www.snopes.com/, http://www.vmyths.com/ Often these facts or skewed or are complete hoaxes. They make you look foolish and clog up the recipients’ inboxes.

• Don’t give someone your email address if you rarely ever check your email. If this describes you, you are better off telling the other party that they can reach you via phone. Just make sure to return the phone calls.


• Don’t hit “Reply All” to an email when you only need to send your response to one or two people. This causes countless additional emails to go out to people who may not care what your response is.

• Don’t send attachments unless you alert the recipient you are sending them in advance. When I get unsolicited attachments, I immediately dump them because I did not ask for them and they might contain a virus.


• Don’t send email notifications and get angry when someone doesn’t respond. They could be traveling or it may have landed in their spam folder. If you don’t hear back from them, follow up with a phone call or speak with them face-to-face.


• Don’t delete the contents of an email when responding. On more than one occasion I have had someone respond to something I wrote them only to delete all of my message. I had no clue what they were talking about. Save the particular line or paragraph and use the term: You wrote: or In response to:, and then put your comments following.


• Don’t use all caps. It is considered shouting.


• Keep your subject line pertinent to the topic. People often forget to change the subject line and it can throw the reader off.


• Just the facts, Jack. Don’t clutter up email with fancy fonts, backgrounds, etc. Keep it simple and easy to read. A commonly used 12 point font is best.


• Respond to emails in a timely manner. Don’t keep the other party waiting. The purpose of email is to expedite response. Otherwise, what is the point of having email

By keeping these protocol rules in mind you increase the likelihood of good communication and streamline ministry. The better we work together, the more we can achieve for God’s kingdom.

Teena Stewart is a published writer, a speaker and a consultant/editor for Ministry in Motion. To learn more about her speaking visit her speaking web page http://www.ministryinmotion.net/speakers_christians.html.

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Book Review - 21 Things God Never Said: Correcting Our Misconceptions About Evangelism

By R. Larry Moyer, Kregel, 2004, ISBN# 0825431719, 176

As president and CEO of EvanTell, Inc., an evangelistic association based in Dallas, Texas, veteran evangelist Larry Moyer is highly familiar with scripture passages that apply to evangelism. His vast experience has also put him in touch with many people who either unintentionally misinterpret such scriptures, take them out of context, or don’t remember them correctly.

21 Things God Never Said is very straight forward. At the beginning of each chapter, Moyer states a common misconception and then references the scripture passages to apply to that belief system. He goes on to explain how these misbeliefs often come into existence and what the true passage means and how it should be applied.

For instance, one misguided belief is that if you want to be saved you must invite Jesus into your heart. In truth there is no scripture passage that states this. The phrase originates from Revelation 3:20 which states, “Behold, I stand at the door ad knock . . . “ Moyer states that the passage is actually an invitation for Christians to open the door to Christ regarding fellowship and not one addressed to non-Christians concerning their salvation. The true issue is trusting Christ alone to save us.

Moyer’s book gives clarity to what one must do to be saved without the added baggage many of us have tacked on because of misinterpretations. It also details what God expects of Christians regarding evangelism, and this clarification lifts much of the guilt we place on ourselves when we misunderstand what God’s word actually says regarding our call to accept Christ and presenting the gospel message to unbelievers.

A nice addition to the book is the Appendix which lays out the May I Ask You a Question Tract that Moyer’s ministry developed to help lead people into a commitment to Christ. 21 Things God Never Said is an important book for those who want to clearly understand how one comes to faith and how to present the gospel message to others.

Order 21 Things

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