Churchspeak

Every discipline has its unique vocabulary: science, medicine, art, politics -- even religion. So it's not surprising that in church life folks frequently use terms that are either rarely heard in secular society or that have a meaning which is specialized. Researcher George Barna is one of many leaders who have called this to our attention, mentioning specifically such phrases as "the Christian walk," "washed in the blood of the Lamb," and "the fellowship of the Holy Spirit." Certainly Christians would have no desire to do without these and similar beloved and meaningful terms, but it's important to realize that we need to use different language when attempting to help a seeking individual deal with questions of a spiritual nature.

Avoiding churchspeak is easier for some than for others.Those of us who have been raised in a Christian environment will have to exercise more care to be sure that our vocabulary isn't unnecessarily laden with theological or ecclesiastical words. We will remind ourselves to use everyday language to speak about matters of faith. At the same time, its doesn't hurt to sprinkle in specialized concepts like, say, atonement, as long as we define them in understandable ways. And when a seeking friend accompanies us to a church service, it's important that we be sensitive to the fact that not everything is self-explanatory. A de-brief might be appreciated, or even an openness to receiving a questioning text message in the service.