My wife and I took our grandchildren to a theme park for our
granddaughter’s birthday. Though we were exhausted by the end of the day, it
was a lot of fun and we were glad we went. It was fun to watch our
grandchildren ride the rides, meet the characters in costume and eat lots of
foods we might not normally eat at home.
Because we live in a very diverse part of the country, many
of the other families there spoke languages other than English. One family was
sitting next to us chatting away in another language but almost every sentence
had an English word or two mixed in. Apparently there is not a perfect
translation for “face paint” or “roller coaster” or “ferris wheel” in their
language. The children, who were bi-lingual, easily inserted English words when
needed into a sentence in their heart language, and the parents understood it
just fine. It was a great example of communication even when concepts do not quite fit the language we are used to speaking.
What does this have to do with the church?
Churches often speak a language that those outside the church cannot
understand. We think that our non-churched friends are uninterested in the things of God when in reality, they simply do not know what we are taking about. We need to learn how to blend ancient theological concepts with
modern language so our people can understand what we are talking about. If
we refuse to use words that make sense to those around us, we will continue to
see the church shrink and drift toward irrelevancy. Like the children at the theme park, we may
be surprised how easily we can insert one word for another so others can
understand the concepts more clearly.
Here is an idea, make a list of theology concepts important
to share with the non-churched people in our lives. Then think of at different ways to express the same thoughts, but using simpler words. Then do again and see if we can make it even simpler. We might
be able to speak more clearly than we realize, if we would just try!
Lord, help us learn to communicate Your truth in ways that others can
understand. Amen.
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Dr. Terry W. Dorsett has been a pastor, church planter,
denominational leader and author in New England for more than 20
years. He is a happy husband, a proud father and adoring grandfather.
He is a cancer survivor and believes that God
works powerfully through times of suffering. He writes extensively
and you can find all of his books at:
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