In army terms.
1 March 2010 by Shandri Brown |
There is nothing like being around someone who is new to church and youth group to remember how much internal lingo is used in our conversations. Sure, every church and company probably uses a certain amount of their own personal language but in the Salvation Army it can seem we have mastered the art of confusing people.
What words are regularly used in your church that wash over a newcomers head??
I recently had a friend come to church who thought she should start clapping when she heard someone had been ‘promoted to glory’. She thought this was indeed some sort of great promotion in the church, and was shocked to find out it meant someone had died.
I go to a church that is not particularly traditional but still I am amazed at how often I find myself explaining to someone what a ‘mercy seat’ is not to mention ‘corps’, ‘officer’ and ‘cadet’. And it is not just Salvo words…it’s the Christianese. ‘Justified’, ‘communion’, ‘fellowship’ and ‘holiness’…what do these mean?
You probably don’t use these words much in your youth ministry but they probably feature in your Sunday church service. Rather than trying to catch all new young people after church so you can translate, why not develop a culture in your ministry teams that explains all Christian terms as they are used in your programs.
Any Christian lingo you can’t get rid of in your language, explain it as you use it.
Comments
Older comments-
Nate
3 March 2010 at 11:14 am
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Naomi
3 March 2010 at 1:07 pm
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Jarrod
3 March 2010 at 1:12 pm
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Shandri
4 March 2010 at 7:22 am
I often forget how intimidating it is to try and fit into a group where everyone else is ‘in on it’ and I’m not. Seriously, you feel stupid and like you don’t belong. When new people already feel like a fish out of water simply because they haven’t gone to church before we need to be so careful about avoiding language that they don’t even understand. Wouldn’t it be cool if our conversations focussed less on youth councils, music camp, CO’s, sagala, life group etc….and more on what’s going on in our lives this week, more about how God’s been impacting our lives, more about life/faith within society, more the kind of conversation that anyone can be a part of.
Good reminder Shandri! I wish there was a ‘like’ button I could press on the blogs, cause I like what you’ve said! Even on the weekend at youth councils, some of our youth were like ‘what??’ when the word ‘Officer’ was used from the platform (a word which is so commonplace for people growing up in the Salvos). It’s such good reminder for our words and conversations to be inclusive of those we are reaching out to…I love the idea of developing this kind of culture in the ministries we are a part of. Thanks Shandri.
There’s no ‘like’ button… but if you like something, you can tell everyone else by using that little share button and spreading the word on Facebook, Twitter, or whatever you choose!
I caught myself committing this atrocity too on the weekend at youth councils, went so far as to mention the home league!! Here’s praying for forgiveness.