Re:Verse reading–Luke 2:1-20 (day three)
“They spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child ” Research into corporate communication culture has shown consistently that the company grapevine remains a valuable and mostly reliable source of news. In fact, a sizeable portion of employees rate the grapevine higher than formal channels of communication when it comes to telling the unvarnished truth. You know why? Because momentous news never fits well into carefully crafted containers of control. People who try to dribble it out to the masses only get in the way, and pretty soon, people figure that out. The ancient grapevine spread the gospel without stilted methods or flashy gimmicks and despite efforts by fearful leaders to rewrite it. The buzz was that something good had occurred in a backwater village. This was back-fence conversation—the way the gospel is meant to be shared.
The grapevine communication is powerful and useful in times of uncertainties, time and environmental constraints or when formal communication is not available to a mass audience due to suitability. When there is lack of formal, official communication, people rely on the grapevine in hope of finding the unvanish truth or the truth that is unfiltered. People, indeed, tend to believe the grapevine which is an inevitable part of personal, organizational, and spiritual life. The grapevine communication tends to spread much faster than any formal communication in organizations. It works well and is very much alive.
I believe that a high percentage of folks tend to believe that the information they receive from the grapevine, informal system is accurate but more research is needed. When there is no formal communication channel, overtime, the information obtained from words of mouth or from the grapevine communication can be inaccurate and become erroneous due to human errors and personal interpretations and recollections.
Luke recorded what the apostles of Paul’s times were taught so they had a true record of what being taught. We all benefit from Luke’s scholarly and spiritual writing work! Luke was brilliant.
Oral communication and written communication go hand-in-hand to enhance communication efficiency and effectiveness of the information that is valid and reliable and has broad and universal applications.
It is a good thing to use the grapevine communication with respect to sharing the gospel as there is no formal communication at a national or global level to communicate the unvanish truth to all citizens about Jesus—the way, the truth, and the life of Jesus. Spreading the gospel by words of mouth can be considered as the best way and efficient way to spread the unvanish truth about Jesus and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
In personal and organizational life, for good intent, people tend to use the grapevine communication to spread unvanish truth about a thing or a person when they feel speaking truthfully, unfiltered, and unedited can help shape a positive outcome and when a win-win outcome is so desired! Grapevine communication travels faster than formal communication as it is unfiltered, and since it is not subject to an administrative process, information can be inaccurate eventhough it tends to be believable!!
There are advantages and disadvantages in using the grapevine communication. In my view, always cross-check any information obtained from grapevine communication to enhance reliability and validity of the information! Rumors and gossips sometimes can be perceived as unvanish truth by some.
Have you been the recipients of information from the grapevine communication or have you been the providers of information? What information did you spread and how did people receive it? Did you draw a large crowd of people? Who were your audiences? And how did you spread unvanish truth about the gospel and what was your assessment? What are your thoughts on grapevine communication? Did you make major decisions on information you obtained from grapevine communication channels?