Nov 26, 2019
By Katrina Goodrich
Authenticity. Take a moment to let that word sink into your bones and meditate on its meaning. It has become a buzz word within the business community in recent years because many people have realized that the more authentic and genuine their brand and company seems (and hopefully is) the better their product or service sells. The church isn’t a business, I know, but we have the same PR problems that a business so typically does. Many non-Christians have preconceived notions about the church and feel Christians are inauthentic and untrustworthy—sometimes it is unjustified and sometimes their wariness and unbelief is understandable and completely justified. The church has a PR problem and I think the beginning of rectifying some of that is learning to be more authentic in our actions.
Right or wrong, people know if they trust you or not. Recent figures show that, in general, people believe about 30% of human beings are trustworthy. However they believe that out of the group of people they know that figure more than doubles to roughly 70%. So allow me to ask—how well does your community know your church and its members? This is an important question in light of the statistics, because if the community doesn’t know you, chances are much better that they will never listen to the Good News.
If people who know you understand you are a Christian and attend a church, what sort of message are you sending them about your church’s identity? How do you get into that 70%? A really good way to start is by being authentic. A big part of building authenticity is taking an interest in getting to know the people around you, asking questions, and actually taking time to listen to the answers. Many people are desperate for someone to listen to them, even about just small things. It doesn’t have to be huge, deep secrets that you’re listening to. If you demonstrate that you are listening and paying attention when a person speaks to you, especially with the small things, it’s more likely that they’ll trust you with bigger things, too.
This goes in the other direction, too. You don’t have to air out your dirty laundry to everyone you meet—but learning to admit when you’re wrong, owning up to the fact that you’re in a mood, or that your day has been tough—it is okay in appropriate moments. People who see you often tend to have an idea when things are off, even if you’re good at putting on your “church face” (church face has many connotations with inauthentic, if you were wondering), and just admitting that your life isn’t perfect helps build your credibility—nobody’s life is perfect. Pretending otherwise makes others wonder what you’re hiding. Conversely, when people already know you’re in a mood because you’ve been snapping at them all day—that is the time to apologize and admit you were wrong, not admit that you’re in a mood. Trust me, they know.
With the holiday season upon us, it’s an easy time to get out into the community and get to know people. Typically communities have many holiday events and you might even see people at church you haven’t seen in a while. Now is the perfect time to practice building authenticity within your church family and community. This time of year tends to foster good will and pleasant feelings for those of us who have hope in Jesus—because this is the time of year when we celebrate the beginning of the plan to save us coming to fruition. We have a little jump start: the challenge will be carrying this level of authenticity and genuineness into and throughout the new year, demonstrating that Christians don’t care only at Christmas and Easter.