Certain words and phrases are only used, or only used to mean a certain thing, in specific groups of people. This not only allows for precise and specified communication, but it opens the door for a plethora of inside jokes. And blog posts.
So, for today's tangent, we explore some of the lingo of American Christianity, circa 1990-2010. Here are some of the ones I most like to make fun of:
to bathe [something] in prayer
-verb
1. to pray earnestly and often for something (usually a person, place, or event)
The concert starts at 8:00, but please show up at 7:15; we really just want to bathe the whole night in prayer.
[Notes: People, places, and events must be inherently stained by sin, but a good dose of prayer can scrub that away. It takes about 45 minutes to prayer-bathe a night.]
traveling mercies
-noun
1. that divine act of God by which He graciously allows someone to be safely transported somewhere else
2. an expedient way to summarize a request for that divine act
Do you have any prayer requests?
Just traveling mercies for this weekend as we go to Indianapolis.
[Notes: I suppose there's nothing wrong with this phrase, per se. It does seem to nicely acknowledge God's sovereignty. But if you say it, you better be at least 45 years old and wearing a fanny pack.]
to lead [someone] to the throne
-verb
1. to help someone experience and worship God (typically through musical worship)
Let's thank Karen again for leading us in worship. She really does a great job of leading us to the throne, doesn't she?
[Notes: Many other people help us experience and worship God through teaching, preaching, prayer, and conversation, but only those with keyboards or guitars are given keys to the throne room.]
to covet [someone's] prayers
-verb
1. to eagerly desire that someone pray for you
(Body of letter)
I covet your prayers.
In Christ,
Jon
[Notes: This one, like many of these, has fallen largely into disuse. What a shame! Isn't it hilarious? We take a word with a strongly negative spiritual connotation -- covet -- and use it to express the innocent, pure desire for people to pray for us. How about "Let's lust after righteousness," or "My small group last night was spiritually debaucherous."]
Apart from the general subculture that is American Christianity, each church is its own sub-subculture. They not only inherit the lingo above (and much more), but they inevitably create their own. Here are a few of my favorites from my church (which I love, for the record):
lean in / lean into
-verb
1. to attempt to meditate on or experience a particular truth
We just heard Pastor X talk about joy. Right now we really want you to lean into that.
create a space / create some space
-verb
1. to intentionally set apart a time for some purpose (almost always leaning into something)
We just heard Pastor Y talk about God's forgiveness. Right now we really want to create some space for you to lean into that.
posture
-noun
1. an attitude of the heart
2. a physical position that reflects and communicates that attitude
We just heard Pastor Z talk about surrender. Right now we really want to create some space for you to lean into that. Sometimes a posture before God can help symbolize that, so if you're comfortable, maybe hold out your hands like this.
Just like a car runs on gasoline and the Serenity is powered by something called a radion accelerator core, my desire and energy to blog is powered by your interaction. So:
What classic Christian lingo have I forgotten?
What unique phrases does your church use?
Do you have any fun jargon from your job?
Jon
I've always enjoyed/hated when people talk about the Spirit of God "moving." As in, "I just really felt the Holy Spirit move in this place" or "God, we want your Spirit to move through this room." It's as if the Spirit was chillin' over in one corner of the room and when he relocated to the other side of the building, something cool happened.
ReplyDeleteAlso, your comments about coveting prayers and bathing in prayer made me think of another in the same category: "prayer warriors."
You have really outdone yourself with this one :D
ReplyDeleteWell done! I'm honored to have been a remote muse for a Tangent Spaces post. I especially liked the reference to "leading to the throne room" because, as a worship leader, I think I often take for granted this "set of keys" I possess. Other favorites of mine that were not mentioned here:
ReplyDelete- The aforediscussed (is this a word?) use of the verb "process". Example 1: Would you want to get coffee sometime this week and process through Sunday's sermon? Example 2: I'm always here if you need someone to "process life" with
- My youth pastor used to always use the word "contend". It was a reference to the story in the Bible where Jacob wrestles with God and refuses to let go until God blesses Him, which is actually a really cool story/lesson. Anyways, he took the "contend" theme and ran with it. Example 1: We need to contend for righteousness. Example 2: (The literal version) We need to contend for God's blessings. Those phrases sound really cool, and they got me really pumped until I realized I didn't actually get what they mean.
- Finally, I love when pastors or anyone who ends a really moving church service or meeting says something to the effect of "Don't leave this place until you've done some business with God". I'm a business major, so of course I have an added appreciation for the phrase. However, maybe it's not such a great thing to think of our relationship with God as a business transaction. Either way, I'm totally guilty of saying this phrase.
TS4LYF! (Tangent Spaces For Life!)
...I sometimes imagine what I would think as a non-Christian if someone said they were going to go have their "quiet time." :)
ReplyDeletesomething I hear from a lot of Christian families, when asked how they are raising their kids in the faith, is "we just do life together." My family lived together, and we did things together, but how do you 'do' life? just one such phrase I find interesting, great post JM!
ReplyDeleteJon--this was entertaining. You had me laughing out loud at "Let's lust after righteousness."
ReplyDeleteSara--great addition.
Might I suggest adding "unpack" to the list? ex: "Now, I'd like to unpack some of the main ideas in John 10." I'm not sure if this is church-specific lingo/jargon or if it applies to the whole sub-culture, but it always makes me chuckle a little bit.
And Allison, I was just reading something from The Compass and I came across the following line:
ReplyDelete"There is a good bit of data to process when discerning God’s will..."
Thanks to all the commenters (so far!). I'm sure there are plenty more fun phrases from all sorts of groups -- keep them coming!
ReplyDeleteSpecial props to the Allison and Tom, whose conversation was instrumental to this post. I.e., they gave me the idea.
@Seville: Great examples. The "Spirit moving" is so ubiquitous that it never even occurred to me.
@AL: Process is SOOOO the buzzword of the Pittsburgh Metro Cru staff team! It's like "the" to us. Loved your other two examples too, but nothing made me happier than TS4LYF.
@Leslye: Yeah, I'd imagine they'd picture us sitting on a log in the woods, silently pondering the deep things. At least that's what I'd imagine.
@TL: I can for some reason remember the first time I heard "unpack" used this way. I was a senior in high school; my pastor read the story of Jesus walking on the water, and then he said, "Let's unpack this a little." I remember thinking that was a cool use of that word. Just like I thought most Maroon 5 songs were cool the first time I heard them on the radio...
@Z: Your comment got lost in there. Yeah I hear that a lot. I think I usually hear it as a component of discipleship -- don't just study the Bible with the disciple or team him evangelistic skills, but also "do life together."
ReplyDeleteMy mom always talked about not being a "stumbling block" to other people. If you don't know what I'm talking about, her meaning behind the term was Christians don't want to do things in life to cause other Christians to "stumble" in their walk with Christ, or to deter a non-Christian from accepting Christ.
ReplyDelete1) I always thought this was funny because I remember my mom stumbling over "blocks" (or Legos/any other toy). Now that I think about it... it's almost as if she just wanted her kids to be clean and tidy inside and out.
2) If I have been a stumbling block to anyone in life, I'm sorry my mom did teach me better, but I don't always like to pick up after myself. :P
I work for FedEx. There is a funny term that is uses frequently, without batting an eye. That term is "butthead".
Meaning: the location at which two tractors "butt heads" and exchange trailers, then turn around and go back to their origin.
Usage: "Did you get the route to the butthead put in?" or "How many buttheads are in WV?" Answer = [# buttheads] -1. Jon is not a butthead.
Tom - Good one! Unpack was the first thing I thought of when I read this post!
ReplyDeleteAnother quick one to pop up was to 'cast vision'. As in, "I'm going to get up and cast vision for the new direction we're heading with our ministry".
Every time I hear the phrase, all I can think of is the speaker standing there with a fishing pole, casting into the audience. Is vision some sort of bait? Do they have fake little eyeballs with hooks through them?
I mean, it's perhaps pardonable if they're trying to continue with the fishers-of-men metaphor, but still. The mental image of that single phrase is ridiculous enough to more often repulse me than to draw me into the idea as originally intended. Surely I'm not the only one?!