Keep It Simple!

1 Corinthians 14:9 It’s the same for you. If you speak to people in words they don’t understand, how will they know what you are saying? You might as well be talking into empty space.

See if you can understand this sentence: “I followed this guy for 1 mile because I thought he was deuce. So I light him up and find out he’s not deuce, but he does have a 10-36, so I took him 10-15!” If you work in law enforcement you understood right away that the officer followed a driver for a mile because he thought the guy was drunk driving. When he pulled him over, the driver wasn’t drunk, but he did have a warrant for his arrest, so the officer arrested him and took him to jail. That wasn’t so hard, was it?

If you are an outsider listening to people who are “insiders” talk, it is pretty easy to get lost. And it means trouble when it comes to church. People who are new to church shouldn’t feel like they are out of the loop when they come to our churches.

Here are is an example of Christianese that may sound perfectly normal to people who have been in church for fifty years, but may sound weird to folks who are new. And before you think I’m exaggerating, I have heard this phrase!

“Have you been born again and turned from the wide road of destruction to the narrow road that leads to our precious promised land?” Um, what? Oh, you mean do I have a relationship with Jesus, and has he turned my life from the habits and things that were killing me? Why didn’t you say that to begin with?

Here’s an idea: let’s drop all the holy mumbo-jumbo and just be genuine. Throw out all of the Christianese and catch phrases and just talk openly to each other. Keep it simple when you talk to folks about Jesus.

We come into contact with people every day who need to hear about what Christ has done in our lives. They need good news, not jargon. They need peace, not pomposity.

Today’s Readings:  Judges 6,7; Psalm 52; 1 Corinthians 14