Have you ever been in a room full of people where everyone gathered there knew what was going on, and (gulp) … you didn’t? How did this make you feel? I was recently reminded of this unpleasant horrible feeling from a person who attends our community group on Sunday nights. Though she is now over the trauma (I think) of that experience, and even better, now she is a Christian; she still marvels at the level of what she called, “Christianese” she experienced while attending a church for the first time.
Christianese it’s a real thing. Did you know that? People who attend church regularly often are bilingual, usually without realizing it. When they step foot on the church campus or attend a church function, they often resort to a specialized repertoire of words that are not easily understood by those outside the community of faith. If you’ve been a Christian for a long time, you might not be aware of how differently you speak from your non-Christian friends and neighbors. But it’s no secret that we speak in our own unique dialect commonly called: Christianese.
Don’t get me wrong, Christianese is necessary. In order to understand important theological and biblical truths, we often need to turn to words that have technical definitions—words such as sin, salvation, redemption, sanctification, and the like. As Christians we should talk and speak using the same words found in God’s Word. (Note: Not all Christianese is from the Bible. Over the years the church has adopted its own “extra-Christianese” vocabulary.) Yes, a church service is primarily a service of worship by Christians directed at Jesus, and therefore, a good place for Christianese to be at an above normal level. But what happens when a non-believer attends this kind of service? Read on.
When being considerate to outsiders, as much is possible, our Christianese language needs to include a translation and explanation. We don’t ditch the Christianese; we explain it. And why do we do that? Because one of the best ways to love people who don’t know God yet when they come to a church service is to lessen the confusion of what they are seeing and hearing. I hope that happens a lot here at Good News. What I really hope is it happens a lot at Good News and that it causes people who don’t know God yet to become people who do know God. And when that happens those people start becoming experts in Christianese. How cool is that! ?
P.S. Consider what Christianese word/phrase that you've found trips up your non-Christian friends. How have you tried to explain or translate it for them?
Christianese it’s a real thing. Did you know that? People who attend church regularly often are bilingual, usually without realizing it. When they step foot on the church campus or attend a church function, they often resort to a specialized repertoire of words that are not easily understood by those outside the community of faith. If you’ve been a Christian for a long time, you might not be aware of how differently you speak from your non-Christian friends and neighbors. But it’s no secret that we speak in our own unique dialect commonly called: Christianese.
Don’t get me wrong, Christianese is necessary. In order to understand important theological and biblical truths, we often need to turn to words that have technical definitions—words such as sin, salvation, redemption, sanctification, and the like. As Christians we should talk and speak using the same words found in God’s Word. (Note: Not all Christianese is from the Bible. Over the years the church has adopted its own “extra-Christianese” vocabulary.) Yes, a church service is primarily a service of worship by Christians directed at Jesus, and therefore, a good place for Christianese to be at an above normal level. But what happens when a non-believer attends this kind of service? Read on.
When being considerate to outsiders, as much is possible, our Christianese language needs to include a translation and explanation. We don’t ditch the Christianese; we explain it. And why do we do that? Because one of the best ways to love people who don’t know God yet when they come to a church service is to lessen the confusion of what they are seeing and hearing. I hope that happens a lot here at Good News. What I really hope is it happens a lot at Good News and that it causes people who don’t know God yet to become people who do know God. And when that happens those people start becoming experts in Christianese. How cool is that! ?
P.S. Consider what Christianese word/phrase that you've found trips up your non-Christian friends. How have you tried to explain or translate it for them?
