My fellow Christians,
In the last couple of decades, there is a practice of designing experiences centered around the human as an individual. In practice, it involves user research, focus groups, the psychology of language and different mediums, experience mapping among other things.

The essence of the work is to walk a mile or 8 in someone else’s shoes. Do not presuppose anything but be open and honest, engaging with people in such a way as to understand them as a person and not just as a person who does an action. Alot of the work is based around motivation, how to suss out and get someone to do an objective, in a way that will be pleasing to them, and engage them in a way as to make them want to come back to that experience or enrich their life somehow.

Which leads me to the church on a whole. What I’m about to say is going to sound like I’m bashing the act of fellowship in a corporate setting, or the traditional experience and act of going to church. This is not my intent. The goal for this essay is for us as believers in Christ to model ourselves like Christ, not presuppose And to have a sense of humility that can truly only come from our Father.

Heres some ways user experience people engage in the people to help design a experience for them. Our relationships with non Christians and Christians should have the same level of openness and honesty. I’ve seen parallels in my work and in how I am called to

1) ask lots of questions.
Understanding where someone is coming from is important. In ux design, the intention is to know someone and design something for them that is tailored to them. Shouldn’t we as Christians be relevant enough to be able to do the same thing and design our testimony of faith in Jesus around where someone is at in their life?

2) be honest.
A wise friend once told me to always tell the truth, because as long as you do that, no one can really come against you. The same thing happens with the church. At times, I feel that I’m not able to get really real with someone, because I’m afraid of what they might think. My insecurity is based in a feeling of rejection. However, I know in scripture that the people of Christ will be rejected at some point in time, and I should expect it. A good way to do this is to not be ashamed of telling the truth, but welcome the opportunity to do so. No matter how uncomfortable it can be at times.

3) research research research.
Ux design is the study of people, behavior, and life in general. The church should understand the culture that they are in, in order to mirror that culture with the love and peace that is in Jesus Christ. If I’m unable to do so, because I haven’t invested in understanding that culture than I’m not really able to meet the needs of that culture. This is true in designing experiences with people, or sharing the Gospel.

4) be nice.
No one is going to want to offer information to you or be honest and open if your not a nice person. This goes for slamming other religions, sexual orientations, or groups of people. The devil is in the words of your hatred. Jesus never called the person out without a message and voice of Love. We as the church need to rememer that while we ARE human we’re not called to act human, but with love and respect for people, which only comes from the Heavenly Father.

5) Realize that most people are different than you, but the same.
I’ve had to really understand in my role as a ux designer, that I’m a bleeding edge case When it comes to using technology. I’m constantly on the Internet reading blogs, updating facebook, etc. Not everyone is like me. But evrryone has needs that are fundamentally the same. Which leads me to my last point.

Don’t for a minute think that you have the upper hand on someone because you’ve accepted the free gift of salvation from our Father. There’s no difference from us Christians and non Christians. The gift we’ve been given has only come from the father because He called us to the gift in the first place. It has nothing to do with you. But it has everything to do with you too.

Realize that Jesus loves us all. And treat everyone the same. No matter how different they are to you, regardless of your differences.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this parallel to a real world job and our mission to share our faith. I welcome comments.

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