It seems like a lot of people are talking about the silly way Christians talk lately. Some of it is from some recent videos on YouTube, some of it is in trying to talk about being Missional at some recent conferences like Verge and Exponential.
The thing is, we invent new definitions for things when we are trying to talk about something and we want to differentiate it from what we think people would normally think we mean when we say something.
For instance, when I was a kid there were two kinds of cars in my life, Hot Wheels cars and the cars that human beings fit in. A Hot Wheels car was called a car, and what my mom drove was called a “car car.”
It’s the same way with things that we talk about in the church. People don’t typically get together and hang out and talk about the Bible, so when we get together with the intent to talk about the Bible, we call it a Bible Study. I’m not going into the big list here, but instead I want to turn on your radar to the funny words you might use to describe things, and why.
Why do we say weird things like, “We’re building relationships with our unchurched friends?” Do we have to justify having a friend that doesn’t go to church on Sunday by making it a pragmatic mission trip every time we are around them?
I will never forget the time I mentioned a small group to a co-worker and he asked me, “A small group of what?” And what does it say about my perception that every single chair in my house being filled = small?
No criticism or cynicism here, just thinking about the words we use and the bigger pictures and paradigms behind those words. My use of the words “car car” showed that I felt like my mom’s car was more real than the cars in my pocket. What words are we using that reveal a greater reality behind the scenes?
If you have already seen this video, after you watch it once, turn on the automatic subtitles for an entirely new experience. You’re welcome.
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