We talked a little bit about being relevant in our last video blog - part of that is connected to the words we choose to use. We try to use language that everyone can understand...middle school to senior citizen...and more importantly...life-time follower of Christ to someone at church for their first time. We never assume where someone is in their relationship with God so we attempt to communicate on a level that reaches all aspects. It is not easy. We have these words and terms in our vocabulary that we have heard in church...sometimes we don't even truly understand what they mean. So we try to say everything is a way that everyone can understand. We do things like explain basic of who people in the Bible are or where exactly the passage is in the Bible (page # in your journey Bible). We try to avoid or break down terms that might go over peoples heads...like instead of saying "sanctification" we talk about being in a process of becoming more like Jesus - sanctification means to be set apart for God, to live for Him - so we use a language that is relevant.
Another aspect is about modern day parables or pictures, Jesus explained spiritual things by using seeds, trees, shepherds, etc...these were things that the common man understood - it was there cultural. So we use movie clips, current events, songs, and our current life situations to explain concepts of God. The apostle Paul once met with a group of people praying to the "unknown" god. I think our cultural - music, movie, and other musings - are often like that expression Paul encountered. People searching for truth. We can use their ideas to point people to the truth in God's word.
So, what do you think? How do you feel when we say things like..."turn to the book of Matthew, it is the first book of the New Testament. It is about half way through your Bible. It is written by Matthew who was on of the disciples who followed Jesus..." How does that make you feel?
How is your language? In groups or time your sharing concepts of God, do you end up using "churchy" words that might not make sense to everyone? (I know I do sometimes).
How is your language? Is it relevant?
