I Know What I Mean, Why Don't You Know What I Mean?

Being able to communicate clearly is incredibly important, particularly in this day and age. I doubt there has ever been a time when the meanings of words have been as fluid and open to "interpretation" as they are now.

This is something we have to be incredibly aware of when trying to communicate the gospel. Not everyone understands the terms or phrases we use in the same way we do. Not everyone will even understand them at all.

Terms like, "born again", "salvation", or even "saved" have definite theological and biblical meanings but they are also jargon terms that people who have not been a part of Christian circles (and in particular evangelical Christianity) will understand very differently to those who have. Here in Australia that means a large slice of the community are not going to understand what we have to say in the way we want them to if we continue to use these terms when interacting with them.

Here's a little clip I found a while ago that highlights the issue well!



I also received the following in an email today - which is actually what got me thinking about this topic again. Great examples of simple messages being misunderstood because one person wasn't in on the jargon being used by the other.

• Tech support: What's on your monitor now, ma'am?
  
  Customer: A teddy bear my boyfriend bought for me at K-Mart.

• A woman customer called the Canon help desk with a problem with her printer.
  
  Tech support: Are you running it under windows?

  Customer: "No, my desk is next to the door, but that is a good point. The man sitting in the cubicle next to me is under a window, and his printer is working fine."

• Tech support: "Okay Colin, let's press the control and escape keys at the same time. That brings up a task list in the middle of the screen. Now type the letter "P" to bring up the Program Manager."
  
  Customer: I don't have a "P".
  
  Tech support: On your keyboard, Colin.
  
  Customer: What do you mean?
  
  Tech support: "P".....on your keyboard, Colin.

  Customer: I'M NOT GOING TO DO THAT!!

Are you a "Christian" or "Jesus-Follower"?

Rick Meigs at Blind Beggar picks up the issue of labelling and, in particular, the way we label ourselves.

The argument goes something like this:

"Christian" is a biblical label, therefore we should call ourselves Christians. But, "Christian", at least in some circles - and certainly outside the bastion of the western world, in Asia, Middle East, China etc. - can and does have negative feelings attached to it. So how do we get around this and should we even be trying?

Rick had this to say:

From shortly after the Creation when Adam gave names to all the animals to the present time, humans like to label stuff. It helps us to put things in boxes we can understanding. Non-believers and believers in the years after the resurrection and during the expansion were no different. They needed a label for these disciples of Jesus. We find two that were coined mentioned in Acts: “The Way” and “Christian.” In fact, “The Way” is more common (Acts 9:2, Acts 19:9, Acts 19:23, Acts 24:14, and Acts 24:22). So, is “Christian” a biblical term? It is in the sense that its in the Bible as a man made label, but it is not biblical in the sense that we have been commanded in the scripture to use it as our identifier.

We should be sensitive and careful in the use of any term that create even more barriers to communicating the gospel which is already a stumbling block to many. Next time you are in dialog with a not-yet-Christian, try Jesus Follower instead of Christian and see what the reaction is.

You can read the whole of Rick's post HERE and he also links to another discussion taking place elsewhere.

Which do you prefer and why?

Symbols Without Words are Meaningless

Why Icons Cannot Preach the Gospel

Suppose that a person wants to become a missionary and bring the gospel to a tribe that had never heard it. But the person finds the process of preparation too long, difficult and expensive: years of language training, preparation to live in a primitive culture, raising financial support, etc. So the would-be missionary comes up with a brilliant idea�travel to a key place where the tribal members meet, sneak in at night, construct a huge cross, and leave the country without saying a word�and carries out the plan. The next day the entire tribe gathers to marvel at the cross and ponder where it came from and what it meant. Perhaps, in time, they would even come to relish the cross and see it as a sign from beyond their world. [...Read More]

Emerging Heresy

Well the title should get a few clicks!

Found THIS post on the EMERGING TULIP. Not sure where the author actually got this from. From the contents of it I think he made it up himself.

I posted a comment and asked where it came from but haven't received a reply as yet - somehow I don't think I will.

As an aside - this is representative of the kind of exposure I had to the emerging church early on in the piece.

http://www.sliceoflaodicea.com/archives/2006/11/the_emerging_tu.php

Emerging Jargon

I am currently reading an interesting book called "The Shaping of Things to Come: Innovation and Mission for the 21 Century Church" by Michael Frost and Alan Hirch.

I have just finished chapter 3 which deals with the incarnational approach to ministry over the traditional attractional approach. This is really good stuff - it is pretty much they way we have been approaching ministry in the Kick Start program (a youth drug and alcohol program I run for Mission Australia). The challenge is now going to be introducing it to the more traditional "church" setting in my local community. But one step at a time.

I titled this post "Emerging Jargon" for a purpose - the authors of this book are using some new terminology that I think, in one sense is infuriating (because jargon words bug me) but also helpful in a descriptive way.

So todays emerging jargon phrase is "proximity spaces". A proximity space is basically any place where Christian's are able to interact with yet-to-become Christian's (those we would have traditionally called "lost" or "unsaved") in a culturally relevant way. It involves entering into their communities and interacting with them on their terms in their environment. This is cross cultural ministry without getting on a plane! Exciting stuff.

Questions for discussion
How are you using "proximity spaces" effectively?

Can we mix something of the attractional and the incarnational in creating new proximity spaces? (My answer at this point would be "yes").

Can you come up with a better (less anal) phrase to describe this idea? :)

Personality Profiling and the Church

My denomination seems to have gone mad in the area of personality profiling. Most young ministers I know are running around 'casting' DISC and Myers-Briggs profiles like horoscopes. In fact, I think some may even be suffering from profile-addiction!

I have always been skeptical of the benefit of these tests. They seem to be overtly subjective, and prone to giving the kind of results a profilee of average intelligence and above would want them to give. I have had church leaders rattle off their "gifts" after completing a profile, as though they had just been the recipient of a theophany.

"I am a leader," quipped a collegue recently, "with a minor gift of prophecy".

"How do you know?" I replied.

"My 'spiritual gifts' profile told me so" said he.

Recently, wanting to put the process to the test, I undertook a DISC profile for myself. I was determined to answer the questions honestly and not just in a way that would give the result that I wanted ("Gifted and Humble Leader, Destined for Greatness"). After I had completed it I sent it off to be 'interpreted'.

When, a few days later, I received the report I was shocked. The detailed response actually quite accurately reflected my strengths and, to my disapointment, my weaknesses. Unfortunately the section titled " Gifted and Humble Leader, Destined for Greatness" seemed to be missing from my report.

While I am still insistent that personality profiles are not the be-all-and-end-all when it comes to ministry, I am willing to concede that perhaps there is a (small) benefit to be had in using them to help us understand ourselves and improve in those areas of our lives that are wanting.

What do you think?