March 9, 2010
We have just held our Alpha weekend and encountered the usual challenge at the end of encouraging people to take that step to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
An analogy occurred to me from the world of advertising, which is similarly encouraging people to 'take the step' and purchase the goods or services being offered. Advertising has followed a history from focusing originally on the features of the product. For instance, car advertising originally focused on the features of the engine: how many cylinders, the size of the fuel tank, the number of people it could take, etc. It then developed on the lines of what every salesman is now taught - that you sell benefits, not features. So advertising focused on how quickly the car accelerated from nought to sixty, how economical it was on petrol, how reliable it was, etc. However, in recent years advertising has focused far more on the experience rather than the benefits. Advertisements now try and convey the experience you will get when you (own and) use this product. It tries to give you the sensation (in two dimensions, soon to be enhanced by 3-D technology). But, although the 'image' can be tested by just looking at it 'in the flesh', there is no substitute for actually getting in the car and taking it for a drive to experience what it is like to drive it.
In the same way, the talks on the weekend follow a similar development. The talk, 'Who is the Holy Spirit?' largely describes its features; the talk, 'What does the Holy Spirit do?' lists the benefits; and the talk, 'How can I be filled with the Holy Spirit?' tries to convey the experience. However, as we concluded at the weekend, there is no substitute for 'getting in the car' and inviting the Holy Spirit into your life. It is only then that you have the opportunity to experience the real thing, rather than someone else's best attempt to describe it, sell it, or give you someone else's experience. The people in my group said this helped them take the step and 'get in the car'..
I imagine some people would relate to this analogy and some not, and one might need to be sensitive to whom one was offering it. It worked with my group but what do you think?