What would preachers, politicians, and sports writers have to say without clichés? According to my American Heritage Dictionary, a cliche is “a trite or overused expression or idea.” Of course, there is truth in clichés. If there was no truth, we would not use them. Still, some are used so much that wise preachers would do well to avoid them. At least, you should. When I use them, that’s different.
I’ve compiled a short list of preacher clichés, and I hope our readers will add to my list. Here are some that I’ve heard (or used).
Every head bowed and every eye closed.
If no one responds on this verse, I’m going to close the invitation.
God bless you; I see that hand.
We seek not equal gifts, but equal sacrifice.
You can’t out-give God.
We need to return to the faith of our founding fathers. (Mark’s warning—be selective about which founding father you choose.)
In conclusion
If God does not punish the United States of America, He will owe Sodom and Gomorrah an apology. (terrible theology)
Can I get a testimony in the house of God?
I believe he’ll get to heaven if he doesn’t overshoot it.
That boy was so fired up he was ready to storm the gates of hell with a water pistol.
If God can speak through Balaam’s donkey, I guess he can speak through that guy. (often muttered by preaching students in seminary)
You can’t shack up with the devil and expect God to pay the rent. (You may want to use this.)
We’re more concerned to be biblically correct than politically correct. (I confess to using this one.)
In my humble but accurate opinion.
Turn over in your Bibles (physically difficult to do)
The ground is level at the foot of the cross.
Pointy-headed professors (I heard the pastor at my sister’s church rant for 15 minutes about pointy-headed professors. When we returned home, I checked my appearance in the mirror.)
So, preachers and hearers of preaching, can you add to my list?
I suppose some pastors would have to quit the ministry if forced to give up cliches.
My gripe with the “God’s man” stuff is that it is a hoary old cliche emptied of meaning. We’re about to add “for such a time of this” to the list, though it still retains some meaning in an appropriate context, e.g., JDG’s recent leadership.
How about cliches in our prayers? “Bless the food to our bodies and our bodies to Thy service.”
How about, “…in Jesus’ name, Amen”?
I will admit, I don’t always finish my prayers “in Jesus name” but it always feels incomplete if I don’t.
Bill,
It’s not essential to end every prayer with “In Jesus’ name”….as long as you feel guilty when you don’t. That’s the most important thing.
😉
“Just… Lord… Lord, just… just… just… Lord…”
“And all God’s people said…” (wait for an amen)
“If that (Which I just said) don’t let your fire your wood is wet.”
“So heavenly minded, that you are no earthly good.“
These are great; keep them coming. I had a friend in seminary who was making a list of the world’s worst sermon titles.
“If that doesn’t ring your bell your clapper’s busted”
Arent you just so glad to be here this morning through cheesy grinning teeth
Yes most Sundays but some are out of allegiance to God
I feel led… (translation: I want to)
God has laid something on my heart…. (translation: I’ve had an idea)
Let go and let God… (translation: no one know, but it sounds very spiritual)
Yes, I get frustrated when a pastor (or mission board leader) says, “I believe God is is leading us to ___________.” if you object to that action or oppose it, then you are opposing God. It seems manipulative to me.
Mark: I think we get so used to using churchspeak, it comes naturally. It certainly can be manipulative, but I don’t think most of the folks we hear it from are trying to be deliberately manipulative. I do think however that Christians think they need to flavor their language with spirituality. I feel led sounds much more spiritual than I’ve had an idea, as if simply having an idea is somehow worldly.
To be clear, I fully believe God leads. I just don’t know what feeling led feels like.
To be clear, I fully believe God leads. I just don’t know what feeling led feels like. I’m with you there. That’s why I love Kevin DeYoung’s “Just Do Something”… His formula is essentially: pray about it, make sure it’s not unbiblical, seek wise counsel (especially on big things), and then do what you want”–it’s trusting that if you follow Jesus and have the Holy Spirit, then he’s working to shape the desires of your heart. On the other hand, I think the “feel led” feeling is very real and very from God for some people. My wife and some… Read more »
I’m in no position to judge someone else’s experience. However when the language we are talking about becomes so ubiquitous in our circles, then “feeling led” becomes the de facto standard for decision making, and that’s wrong. I really think God is less concerned about our specific decisions than He is about the character of the people making the decisions.
I loathe, despise, abhor (and if I had a thesaurus handy I would add more) — let go and let God.
How about “plead the blood”? That’s even more obscure than let go and let God.
What if one person tells you”let go and let God,” and another says “hang on, brother (sister).”
I love (sarcasm) when the preacher or song leader declares your spiritual deficiency if you weren’t moved by a particular song or sermon.
“Testimony in song” to describe a solo.
Bill Mac, I agree that most are not being deliberately manipulative. Some however…. Mary Ann, that’s a good one. If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard that one, I could take my wife on a cruise.
Oh man. Not long ago someone on a leadership team I used to be on did the “If we would just have faith that God can …” card to act like they knew God’s will and shutdown disagreement, and somehow notsurprisingly it lined up with their own areas and positions of influence. As if somehow my disagreement was a deficiency in my faith.. That’s a quick way to get a sharp rebuke. If you want me to go away quietly, say I don’t think it’s a good idea right now. Calling out my faith will have the opposite effect. Thinking… Read more »
Years ago I had a wise deacon who advised me to say, “I have an idea. You all can help me determine if it is a good idea.” That was good advice, and that approach has worked great over the years.
Biblically correct and politically correct need to be reversed.
God will not give you more than you car handle …. LIE!!!
“You’re not a Christian because you come to church any more than you’re a car because you’re in a garage.”
After hearing it so much it’s not really that clever any more.
“God doesn’t call the equipped, he equips the called.” But isn’t knowing our gifting part of how we are called?
My personal favorite
It’s an old cliche, and I hate old cliches, but…
If I hear it’s Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve once more, I may snap.
Referring to the “impact” of everything:
“This kind of program really impacts the youth…”
“The thing that really impacted me…”
“It was an impactful message.”
Asking simply, “Amen?” after saying what you think should be a poignant point.
“Jesus knew that all they wanted was a free meal. Amen?”
“They were more afraid of the storm than they trusted Jesus. Amen?”
I once was asked to participate in a funeral in which a number or preachers were related to the deceased. The family asked ALL of them to speak, in addition to the pastor of the church the deceased attended. In all, I think there were 6 preachers involved. They asked me to sing to conclude the service. It became a running joke as each preacher would get up and say, “I’m preacher number 2, number 3, number 4, etc.” The fifth preacher was the main speaker and came from a Pentecostal background. Throughout his sermon, when he would say something… Read more »
Having worked for NAMB for 20 plus years these drove me crazy (or crazier as the case may be)
“Here we have a paradigm shift”
Right up there with “what does that look like” or “unpack that a little”
While a student at SWBTS i attended a church, when at benediction the pastor always said ,”let us go to the throne of grace.”
By that time I just wanted to go to the bathroom
OK Dave feel free to take this down…”the devil made me do it.”
“A church alive is worth the drive.” I actually said that a few times years ago.
“Bless the gift and the giver”.And I always want to add “lead them to give a lot.”
Perhhaps offetory prayers deserve their own post.
Even though God did not create Adam and Steve I would rather never hear that from a pulpit again…Hating the sin but loving the sinner is another.
______________________ is a Gospel Issue. (fill in the blank with your favorite cause) Also, its close cousin “Gospel Centered”. (this is the most recent trend, replacing former favorites like “Purpose Driven”, “Seeker Sensitive”, “Old Fashioned Preaching & Singing”, and other great descriptors) The old preacher said………. (said by the current preacher to quote what this mysterious old, witty parson used to say) “I’m just an old country boy” (said by the current preacher about himself for whatever reason) “Lets sing the first, second, and fourth stanzas” (what was in the 3rd verse of the hymn that we wanted to keep… Read more »
I think it’s usually that they only want to sing three stanzas, and they’re actually thinking “Let’s sing the first, second, and last stanzas”. Problem is, with some hymns, if you go back to the original, that would have to be “Let’s sing the first , second, and 17th stanzas”.
Whatever you do, though, no matter how pressed for time, don’t ever stop with the first verse of “A Mighty Fortress”.
“All truth is God’s truth.” Doesn’t that one put the cart before the horse? ?
Scott H you raise an interesting question. I’m puzzled about the use of the word “gospel.” In a visit to an SBC seminary I heard the word “gospel” over and over again: For the sake of the gospel, this is a gospel issue; we go out for the sake of the gospel. You get the idea. I asked a friend about that. I said, “We used to talk about Jesus; now we speak of the gospel.” I’ve taught generations of seminary students that the term gospel refers to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and salvation through belief… Read more »
Gospel is the new word of the day. We have our good friends at Gospel Coalition, etc.to thank for its elevation into all things related to the Bible, Christianity, church, whatever else. I too believe it is being overused and used in a much broader sense than the word actually means. Our president Dr. Greear, whom I admire and respect, also has added to the influence of the Goepel term. And I did indeed read and taught his Gospel book. Great book.
Fellowship meal prayer:
“Bless this food and thank you for (or bless) the hands that prepared it.”
You won’t catch me complaining about that one, ever.
“Hedge of protection”
This next one is one I heard numerous times from a deacon at the church I attended when I was a teen – but not since:
“Lord, place your protecting angels on the four corners of this church property…”
What if the building was in the round?
It is interesting that as Baptists we generally (and sometimes vehemently) eschew written prayers, but in reality our prayers can be pretty formulaic and repetitive (including mine). I think a lot of these cliches are humorous and right on the money, but I have to admit that I’ve used some of them myself, lest anyone get the idea that we’re just poking fun at everyone but ourselves. However I do have a real problem with some of our terminology that gives the impression that we are somehow tapped into God’s favor and receiving divine instructions. I think that is dangerous… Read more »
Everything is a “season.”
EVERYTHING.
Hahaha. Season– that one gets me every time.
At the end of the day I am weary of hearing journalists and politicians say, “at the end of the day.”
After the choir does a rousing version of one of the pastor’s favorites, he says (in a thick southern accent), “If that don’t ring your bell, your clapper’s broken.”
“Doctrines of grace”—don’t all Christians believe in grace? Does one theological stream have a trademark or copyright on grace?
Sandy, I’ve thoought about the phrase, “doctrines of grace,” also. Of course, Calvinists can call their theological system whatever they choose. I’m sure they don’t mean to suggest that Traditionalists/Non-Calvinists disbelieve grace. Perhaps, one of our readers can help us understand the phrase.
Though I am a dyed in the wool compatilist, I absolutely refuse to use or even acknowledge the phrase “doctrines of grace”.
Amen walls