If you’re like me you probably get a multitude of conference brochures, announcements, funding appeals, website links and at least a few newsletters from people who happen to be “missionaries.” And if you’re like me, you probably get frustrated by how many of these communications are vague and amateurish.

I find a sameness in most of these writings. One sounds a lot like the next of its own kind and not all that different from the communications of completely different organizations in completely different categories. The writing is nearly always vague, sometimes to the point of meaninglessness. Sometimes I wonder if the writers believe they are protecting trade secrets. Other times I fear they don’t report anything specific because they are not doing anything specific.

I admit I have been guilty of this kind of vagueness myself and I am still guilty of being less than definite when people ask “How’s it going?” or “What can I pray for?” I don’t always answer with a clear focus on what I want to happen between the moment they ask and the next time I expect to see them. There is no level of detail that might make what they pray specific and measurable . . . with a desired result in mind.

I’m one of those people who thinks general prayers get general answers. This goes back in part to an experience in college when the student group I was in prayed for open hearts on our campus. I don’t read poorly written newspapers, magazines and news sites because I don’t have to. There are plenty of options. And guess what: There are plenty of newsletters, websites, updates and prayer letters too.Which is mainly what we got: good conversations about God, a fair level of interest in spiritual things, but very little in the way of people embracing Jesus. So I changed our group prayer to the language of Acts 26:18 — the message Paul said Jesus gave him on the famous Road to Damascus: “I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.” When we started praying that way we saw a whole different level of responsiveness from our peers on campus.

I’ll post a few thoughts on capturing and holding the attention of people like me — whether you’re a business trying to gain traction or a missionary trying to raise support — in what has become a very cluttered marketplace of ideas and “opportunities to make a difference” in the world.

Next up: Write What You Mean | Part II