The Christian vernacular has always consisted of unique words and phrases. We are supposed to be separate from the world and our shared theology has produced some barely understood phrases outside of our Christian circles. Some of these expressions are necessary. How else can you describe what Christ has done for us? There is no better tag than #salvation. Some of the verbiage, however, needs to go the way of the dinosaur. Here are my 10 Christian phrases I wish I never had to hear again.
- Connect: This one is popular among us millennials. I’ve never understood why this word is popular. Where I’m from in Texas, we used to say, “let’s get together”, or “let’s have lunch”. I guess my generation just has to be different.
- Bi-vocational Pastor: This phrase needs to go extinct. I know many “bi-vocational pastors”, They’re not bi-vocational. They’re pastors who have another job. They are heroes to me because they work another job and do just as much ministry as a full time pastor. I know many readers of this blog hold these men in high regard. We should just call them pastors.
- Our church is seeking a full time or bi-vocational pastor: I cringe every time I see this in a classified ad. Baptist paper editors should refuse to print ads with this phrase.
- Youth and Music Minister: Another job description from a bygone era. I once turned down a combination youth and music ministry position. I’m not a fan of combo ministry positions. The minister places emphasis on one of the ministry positions to the exclusion of the other. The youth and music minister combination is especially difficult. Do you really want a youth minister who has been at camp all week leading your worship on Sunday morning?
- Broken: I’ve heard this one abused. Few of us know what’s it’s like to be broken. We know struggle, but broken, and its cousin brokenness? I’ve seen it most abused when a speaker uses broken to refer to a spiritual experience. Perhaps surrender is a better word.
- Revival: This one is as abused as broken. Attend a Christian conference and you’re likely to hear a passionate appeal for a Holy Spirit revival. I’ve even written a post here titled “We Need Less Revival”. When revival and broken are used to promote experiences rather than consistent Christian living, they are being misused.
- Social gospel: This one has been discussed ad nauseum on this blog and other SBC sites. It refers to the liberal movement that seeks to enact social change while jettisoning the gospel. Those in the SBC who support social justice are not advocating the social gospel. This term needs to be relegated to those who support the social gospel.
- Next Gen Pastor: Seriously? When I was growing up, we called this guy the youth pastor. Nice try, but we all know it’s a shiny title for an old job description.
- Lost: These last two are going to generate some comments. We need to quit using this word to describe non-Christians. Why? Because non-Christians have no idea what we’re talking about and I’m finding it increasingly difficult to have a group conversation that does not include at least one non-Christian. I’ve had to stop using this word because it makes explaining salvation twice as difficult. No, I don’t have a replacement word, but I’ve been using the word non-Christian. Non-Christian defines itself.
- Invite Jesus into your heart: I know, I know, most of us grew up with this phrase as central to our soteriology. We were all encouraged to invite Jesus into our hearts. There’s something unsettling about this phrase for me. Two of my daughters have accepted Christ and during those times, we tried to avoid this terminology. Again, I don’t have a ready replacement, but I think we should at least be cautious with this phraseology.
Are there any other phrases, words, or Christian idioms that we should throw out? Which of mine do you disagree with? Which of mine do you have replacements for? If you’re in the Kansas City area, give me a call and we can connect with a bi-vocation or full time pastor and his youth or music minister who was broken and pleading for revival last Sunday because his church was promoting the social gospel, but he enlisted the help of his next gen pastor to lead the lost to invite Jesus into their heart.
Small group. What’s wrong with calling it what it’s been called for ages – Sunday school? And at what point does the group go from small to we don’t want anyone else in here?
Doing life together or do life together. Mostly mentioned as a description of what happens in small group. What does this even mean? Do life together as in we share a meal once in a while and fellowship while we have Bible study? Or do life together as in “y’all come over and help us clean out the garage and then tear down and haul off this broken fence.”
Jenny, I love our ‘Life Groups’ where we do indeed “Do Life Together.” I’m older than most of the contributors, but I’m pretty sure I’m not the oldest. I guess I am guilty as charged according to your somewhat sarcastic opinion.
Yes, we call our Sunday School Life Groups. If someone calls it Sunday School, we don’t correct them. And, in answer to your question about what “Doing Life Together” means, the answer is yes to all of your sarcastic questions. Actually, if someone doesn’t know what doing life together means, I wonder how one can be in ministry building community and connecting with one another. (I’ll hit as many of the no-no’s as possible). We teach our people what it means so no one has to be wondering as you seem to be. And yes, we still use “fellowship” and other prehistoric terms (yes, I know that one is biblical) from time to time.
I think this, like many of our discussions, falls into the category of you do what you think is best for your church/ministry, and let the other guy do what he thinks is best and let’s try not to critique and put people down because they do it differently.
Call things whatever you want if it doesn’t contradict Scripture and don’t worry about what the other guys call it.
You’re right about context. I don’t think any of us are trying to “put down” anyone. I stand by my opinion that these 10 phrases need to go away. Life groups or doing life together? I’m on the fence with those. I think the older generations don’t see the necessity for those terms because they were so much better than our generation at doing life together. It just sounds silly to them, but in the right context, those phrases can be beneficial. If I walked around my town saying “let’s do life together,” I’d get some weird looks. The question we shoiod ask with any Church phrase we use is: Is my vocabulary putting a stumbling block in front of non-Christians? See there, I didn’t use lost. Lol
“Youth & Music Minister”. Your beef is not with the phrase, it’s with the concept. Based on your own personal experience. So there is no need to discourage use of the phrase, if that’s what the church is seeking.
And neither of us is qualified to tell a church seeking a Youth & Music Minister that they’re wrong for doing so.
“Broken”. I agree.
“Revival”. I agree … my favorite church … Red Hills Baptist Church in Kingston, Jamaica, calls them “Evangelistic Services”, and they turn the loudspeakers inside around, facing out the open windows. And few things seem more ridiculous than asking God to send revival three weeks from this Sunday…..
I’m with Les on this one. If a church decides to use certain phrases or titles for activities or positions, what is that to me? It is the reality of my obedience, how I live and how I love that is important.
To the original poster, respectively. I’ll imagine that in 40 years there will be a marked reduction in your desire to even get mildly bothered about what words other folks use to communicate a message. The sooner you reach that point the better. Take it from someone who wishes they would have reached that point decades earlier.
Small Group and Sunday School are different animals. They serve a similar but different purpose in a local church, especially in a Southern Baptist church.
I agree, we have Sunday School on Sunday morning, but Wednesday night we call Bible Study or small group, though the group isn’t that small.
Cb and Tony, that’s great for your church. Mine prefers Life Group and Doing life Together. Is the purpose of the original post just to list our personal pet peeves? I have a bunch of those like everyone. My first is pastors/staff, whoever, who find it necessary to criticize and put down those who don’t do church just like them. Usually a sign of insecurity or a judgmental attitude. Take your pick.
No one was being critical. Get off your soap box. No judgement made and certainly no insecurity. It is just a fact that in Southern Baptist churches in general that Sunday School and Small Groups are two different things.
And please let me know who made that determination. They (you) forgot to tell a lot of the SBC. That would include my SBC Seminary, CP paid professor and doctoral degree (education ministry) sponsor, who, upon reading my doctoral project, specifically endorsed that aspect of using Life Group term for our Bible teaching ministry.
So, I suppose the director of the Doctor of Education program at NOBTS doesn’t know education ministry as well as some of you.
And then there is Jinny Draper, who led the change from the Sunday School Board to Lifeway, Hmm. Someone forgot to tell him too.
Interesting how some folks just can’t admit there is another way to do things beside their own.
I agree with Nathan. Eventually the day will come when you won’t worry about how others do it.
In the mean time, I hope and pray your Sunday School or whatever you choose to call it, makes and matures disciples of the the Lord Jesus through His glorious gospel.
It’s funny that the majority of comments on this post concern something I didn’t even write about. Lol
I apologize. I did not know that my comment and yours would garner such an immature and silly response. BTW, your post was refreshing and added a new subject matter to the posts here on Voices of late.
“So, I suppose the director of the Doctor of Education program at NOBTS doesn’t know education ministry as well as some of you.” Actually, no he does not. Nor did Jimmy Draper lead the change at LifeWay. I know this for I was there. I was part of the group that hired Jimmy. The history of the BSSB/LifeWay will not substantiate your statement about Jimmy Draper and the changes that were implemented at the Board in the 80’s and 90’s.
However, the sad thing here is that you do not understand the point here. I, along with others who actually understand the purpose of Sunday School and Small Groups in a Southern Baptist setting really don’t care what you call either in a local church. We are simply stating the purpose of Sunday School or whatever a church decides to call it and Small Groups or whatever a church decides to call it serve a similar but different purpose in a local church, especially in a Southern Baptist church.
No one cares what you call Sunday School or Small Groups in a Baptist church. Just use them both to fulfill the Great Commission.
Lastly, I am glad you are getting your terminal degree. However, keep this in mind. Getting that degree does not mean you have arrived, nor does it mean you are the final word on anything. BTW, teaching in a seminary or Baptist college does not mean you are the most knowledgable on any discipline. Frankly, there are members of local Baptist churches who have never walked through the doors of any seminary on earth who understand the principles of Sunday School and Small Groups better than any of us who have taught said disciplines in seminary or a Baptist College or anyone who served at LifeWay. If you had true knowledge and experience with this issue, you would know that. So stop being so swelled up with yourself. You’re really not that big of a deal. Pass a few mirrors in life without lingering with so much pride and get over your self.
I made no judgement of you and what how you describe what you do in the church you serve. I do not write this from a position of insecurity. For you to take offense was silly on your part and it was you who began to make judgmental statements, not me or Tony.
I see the difference being that Sunday school is mostly concerned with content. And small group is the bible processed through life. Sunday school is mostly lecture, while small group is more group discussion guided by a facilitator.
Mike Richardson,
You are right in what you say about many Sunday School models, especially outside Southern Baptist life. Southern Baptists approached the concept of Sunday School from a different perspective for the most part. The SBC originally dedicated the Sunday School as an evangelistic tool. The basic concept was that the more people we could gather in groups to study the Bible and its gospel revelation the greater the opportunity the Holy Spirit would have to bring them to recognize their need of Christ for the salvation of their souls.
The Small Group concept in Southern Baptist life was focused on strengthening believers in their daily walk with Christ and fellow Christ followers (Discipleship as many would identify it).
Again, it really does not matter what a local church calls their Sunday School or Small Group Ministries in my opinion. My original comment here was about the concepts and principles of each being similar but distinctively different in their primary purposes.
Here’s a list of short additions:
1. Lostness
I don’t mind “lost.” But “lostness” is really bad.
2. Woke
I get the idea. But why not use “awakened” which is grammatically correct?
Isn’t this an insult – sort of saying some are not able to speak correctly, so let’s patronize by using hip hop verbiage?
3. Flourishing
Growth in Christ, and questions about churches like “How many are you running’ now?” have given way to: “This dear sister is really flourishing.” “Our church is really flourishing.”
4. Mind’s eye
How about “imagine” or “imagination”? “Mind’s eye sounds great when someone like C.S. Lewis uses it, but not by most people I hear using it.
5. Imago Dei
Was great when used infrequently. Now the guy at the gas station says it. How about let’s use English – “Image of God.”
6. Beautiful
This a great word. But I hear it used a lot now by people to describe ethnicities other than “white” people. As in, “I met this beautiful African American woman who was flourishing, but in my mind’s eye I grieved because of her lostness.”
7. Great Commission Churches
Res Ipsa loquitor.
8. Racial Reconciliation
Yes. Yes. I know everyone will get bothered by this. People of all ethnicities need to love each other. But these words imply too much, and create un-voiced expectations in many cases. We just need to do what the NT says to do and we’ll be o.k. It’s the programming of the thing that will kill it.
9. Social Justice
This is the book end to Tony’s advocacy of getting rid of “Social Gospel”. Both are a thing. Both are misunderstood and abused by both proponents and detractors. We can’t lay one of them down successfully, and leave the other to romp around the park.
We can lay both of them down, and that will work.
But it usually takes evangelicals a full 5 years to punch themselves out over stuff like this. It’s hard to give up stuff that feels so good.
10. Christ Follower
So who started off thinking this was a cool way for a person to say they were a Christian without having to associate with Christians whom you don’t think are cool?
This kind of stuff never works.
11. Winsome
I agree with Tony and Louis except mainly on the lost…and I fully understand and agree in it’s over use.
Louis, I love #7. It’s right up there with the phrase “we are a welcoming church.” I didn’t know there was an option. 🙂
Tony, the problem is many churches that claim to be “welcoming” never try to establish relationships with new people! Trust me, I have been that new person. In fact, after two solid years I feel like a stranger to many at my church.
I am a fan of using follower of Christ. Mainly because the term Christian is so misused and misunderstood. They should mean the same thing, literally but one of them can be traced to Matthew 4. I’ll choose that one for this season.
“JUST”
+1
Yes and Amen. I hate the word “just” as in “I am “just” a sinner saved by grace.” It would take too long to communicate what makes saying that pathetic, but it is completely pathetic.
Winner winner chicken dinner!
I agree especially with #7, 9, and 10. By the way, I have been trying to call you. Left messages.
We are inviting the Holy Spirit into our heart. We are asking Jesus to forgive us of our sins and be our mediator with the Father. This actually is correct soteriology and Trinitarian.
We need to throw out the phrase “Social Justice”. It if it does not have the same meaning as the far left then we shouldn’t be using it. People just do not trust it.
I disagree. We have allowed the world to define ourselves for far too long. Social Justice is a Biblical concept and we should take it back.
Why try to unspill ink? Why try to put the toothpaste back in the tube? Move on to something better.
Except we never used it.
I agree for exactly the reason you stated. Those who favor social change and justice from a biblical perspective need a new word.
How about we go with justice? Seems to me God doesn’t differentiate or categorize justice.
That’s fine with me Tony.
Great idea!!!!!
Could we not make this another anti-justice screed?
Sorry, Dave. I believe in Social Justice. I won’t respond to anyone else.
Tony,
I’m not so sure about getting rid of bi-vocational pastor. That term is important to differentiate from a pastor who derives his entire salary from the church. They are heroes to be sure. But don’t expect them to be at your nephews 7am tonsillectomy! They have 40 hours committed somewhere else, and a family too! If you want the full package, pay for it.
Can someone please do an article on how messages on Church signs should be banned?
Thanks.
Ed Stetzer has that cornered
“I feel led” : translation = I want to
“God has laid something on my heart” : translation = I’ve had an idea
“Plead the blood” : translation = I have no idea
“Let go and let God” : translation = don’t worry. It is interesting that when Jesus conveyed this message, He said “don’t worry”
“learn to hear God’s voice” : translation = dunno, something vaguely mystical
“find God’s will for my life” : translation = God wants you to do His will but won’t tell you what it is but will hold you responsible if you don’t find it. Evidently this becomes easier if you learn to hear God’s voice so when something is laid on your heart you will let go and let God and do whatever you feel led to do.
I was in court as a young lawyer in 1989, and some defendant contractor in the dispute about whether he had painted someone’s house in accordance with the contractual terms kept saying “Judge, I told him we should just ‘put that under the blood”.
The judge was not impressed.
I’m going to select the best from this article (and comments) and make bingo cards for Sundays and conferences. That is all. Sorry, no drinking games— I’m one of those abstaining baptists.
…… but I don’t reaaaaaaallly care that much to be honest. I have noticed people used “do life together” as was mentioned, as well as “for a season” and “walk through life with” a WHOLE lot. I don’t remember them when I was younger.
I’ve found myself using them as well when I’m at church. But I do agree with someone above about the confusion on how people mean doing life together—— some people use it to sound good but in practice it’s something quite different than what I picture. That’s a whole other issue.
When I was younger I did hear “asking Jesus into your heart” a lot more but I can never hear it without picturing the “whiny face” my bible teacher used whenever he would say it so it makes me cringe for even that reason alone.
How about if we could just get people to stop using retired or outdated names, titles, phrases and descriptions you can still hear from time to time such as:
” Training Union
*Associational Missionary
*Foreign Mission Board / Home Mission Board
*Pulpit Committee
*Praise Chorus (used to describe any song written since the Jesus Movement days)
*Old Hymns (used to describe any song written before the Jesus Movement days).
*Extending the right hand of fellowship
*Visitor card
*Youth group
*Pizza blast (Ok, I haven’t actually heard this in a while, but it should be retired if anyone is actually still using it)
*Senior Saints (maybe not so outdated, but can’t we come up with an alternative name)
Youth group?
Yeah, I kinda like that one. Though I’ve noticed that youth group isn’t just for 7-12 grade anymore. Some churches let 5th and 6th graders in youth group, then there are always those who like to hang around after High School.
Lost is a Biblical word.
But I agree, we should quit using it to describe all non-Christians.
What is lost for God, who declares seek and you shall find, and who declares that the Son has come to seek and to save the lost, are those He will find. The lost are those who will be found, Those not found are nt of the lost.
Thus not all unsaved people are the lost.
Good article.
When I traveled and taught FAITH clinics for LifeWay we pushed the clinicians to not use “churchy” terms. Not always so easy for many baptists. As an adjunct for Liberty, in my EVAN class – I push the same principle. So many testimonies are given that would make no sense to an unchurched person.
Again… Good article.
“Hedge of protection” -didn’t realize God needed landscaping to carry out his plan.
So you would just say protection? No hedge? What about bocage of protection?
I believe that one is actually biblical. see Job 1:10
Man, another good one.
Several of these have a shelf life such as…”doing life together.” That’s not particularly a Christian phrase. “Friends” did life together too. “connect groups” Again, connect to who/what.
Ones I find puzzling…”Worship pastor” how do you shepherd worship? or “communications pastor” or “Administrative pastor” You don’t pastor a role; you pastor people. I think the term “minister” is more appropriate for these roles. I even struggle with the term “Lead pastor or teaching pastor” Imagine if the disciples had taken this approach. James and John once tried to call themselves “lead apostles.” Paul could have called himself a “teaching” apostle. Peter could have called himself the “preaching apostle.” Andrew the Evangelism Apostle. I can’t find where the Bible makes these distinctions while I acknowledge they might be helpful in clarifying the duties of a given pastor.
In the end, does it really matter? Before his own master each man stands or falls who am I?
I use the term for myself that I am a believer in Jesus as opposed to Christian. I am not ashamed of the word “Christian” but it has become a pejorative with Jewish people because of history, etc., that “believer in Jesus” says the same thing without putting an unnecessary reactionary barrier.
Is this something that we need to consider? Have our church words lost meaning to the world? If so, why? And what should be done about it?
FYI – there are syncretistic compromises I will not make (see earlier blog) but I do not see believer in Jesus as syncretism. For … we could all go back to followers of The Way if we wanted. 😉
Traveling mercies?? Where did that come from? I can’t think of an example in Scripture when people prayed for safety when traveling. Maybe I’m wrong?
That’s a good one, too.
First time I heard that, was in a prayer request.
Could have lots of different meanings.
#2 – Bi-vocational, or the new co-vocational, will never change. As long as bi-vocational pastors are treated like second class pastors, there will always be a term to describe them. As a pastor with another job it really bothers me with the lip service we get from SBC. They call us heros but there is little resources offered. All leadership is almost exclusively full time pastors and those held up as an example are always full time. Once I would lover to go to a training or conference and hear from more than just the one token bi-vocational speaker. What would happen if 60% of the speakers were bi-vocational?
The second class pastor idea filters down into churches. The churches don’t feel like real churches until they can pay a full time pastor. So by using categories we are breaking the spirit of a church to focus on an artificial goal, “having a real pastor”, and lose sight of the main goal.
I agreed they should just be called pastors. More needs to be done. More than banishing a term, we need to eliminate the ranking and favoritism. Just my 2 cents from a working pastor on his lunch break.
Hi Jonathan.. just wanted to say I hear you, and I respect you. I certainly don’t think less of pastors that hold other jobs. Will pray for you today when I get off this conference call. Blessings, brother.
Bible Stories: It is not a story, it is Bible History! History happened, but a story can be twisted as fiction that did not happen. Terrible phrase used in Sunday school and teachings.