"In the end, people are persuaded not by what we say, but by what they understand." - John C. Maxwell

The local classical station played Brahms' Academic Festival Overture, which has a funny backstory about how he wrote it. You'd recognize the center section it if you heard it.
And that story made me think of the word ribald, one of those terms you don't hear anymore. But if you can work ribald into a sentence you probably need to move on to another topic anyway.
That got me thinking about other words fallen from our vocabularies. Like perfidy.

For decades Chevrolet stamped their name into the metal of truck tailgates (only the ones they made). Vendors that sell parts for Chevy restorations offer vinyl letters to put in that stamping to make it stand out. You can get black, white, or (blech!) chrome. Because my truck is two-tone I decided to try something I'd only heard about. I bought a set of letters in white (could'a been any color), and then after painting the top of the tailgate and the center section in Pioneer Beige I taped off that area and put the vinyl letters in place. Then I painted the rest of the tailgate in Bombay Ivory. Once everything was dry I took off the tape and very carefully removed the painted-over vinyl letters. Voila'!

I like it when a plan works.

Speaking of things musical, NPR this morning did another in their series of segments that asks a staff member to identify their favorite current song. As you'd expect, it's never Beyonce or Adam Levine. This morning one of the producers took her turn and picked a song by a Swedish singer. It was weird.
And that made me think of a piece I heard driving into church Sunday. The classical station was doing Memorial Day-themed music and played The Flowers of the Forest.
Goodness!
I had to look it up when I got home from church.
This version was a duet by a flutist and a cellist, but I can't find it on iTunes, only bagpipe renditions. That's because it's an ancient Scottish folk tune that was written after the Battle of Flodden in 1513, when the Scots were defeated by the English. The Scottish King James IV and 10,000 men died in that battle. Talk about sad music! Tradition says a Scot will only play that piece at a funeral or a memorial service, never in concert.
It was the definition of hauntingly beautiful.

The elders decided a month ago that this will be Pathway's penultimate Sunday. I honestly don't know how others feel about that but it's bothering me. I find myself wondering why Pathway isn't viable after seven and a half years of work. I understand why some would say I should just let it go, but I'm not built that way, and that means trying to figure out what I could have done differently.
I'm sure there isn't one single factor, and the interaction of how ever many there are is way beyond my ability to discern. I've come to realize I'm a teacher, have worked as a pastor, am not a church planter (if such an animal exists) and haven't an ounce of diagnostician in me.
But I'm still chewin' on it.

And with that context you'll understand why I was struck by something I saw Monday. The CrossFit gym where I did that workout is in what I guess is called a light industry park, and the suite in front of the parking spot I finally found is occupied by one of the dozens (hundreds?) of start-up churches here in the west valley. In their windows they had large posters that promoted their various kids groups, and based on the graphics I'm guessing they range from pre-school through high school. I'm pretty sure the church is denominational because the posters all had the same small logo graphic somewhere on the them, but denominational affiliations are not front and center in today's church market so I can't tell you which one it is.

Each of the five large posters was full color, had great graphics, and a really clever name for that age group's program. (Sorry, I can't remember what any of them were.) Each communicated energy, fun, action, and cool. All of them struck me as very good PR.

Pathway was always a one-off without access to a PR department, graphic artists, and lacking the funds to engage those services. We said from the beginning that we wanted the emphasis to be on substance, not form, which is why we never went the route of light bars, elaborate presentation graphics, monster sound systems, or four-color handouts.

So as I sat in my truck waiting (I was early), listening to music, and staring at those posters I wondered if the contemporary American church has, for better or worse, become like any business that wants to succeed - dependent in part on presentation and production values. If we'd have had catchy names for our kids' groups....?
I dunno.