Sunday, January 15, 2006

Words and phrases I think about

So, there are some words and phrases that are used in the church that make me think. I wonder why we use them and if they are still important or if they are becoming obsolete. They are, and in no particular order:

TEEN, I don't know why this word bothers me. But I hate how it's used...This is our "Teen Group", "Teen Night", etc. It sounds so late 80's, early 90's youth groupie to me.

MINISTER, I know this is probably a big no-no, but I just hate how we use it so much. "I am so tired from ministering so much", "Look at me, I am super minister"

PASTOR, Now don't get me wrong, I am not saying I do not like this word. It is just a pet peeve of mine how some people hide behind or use this word. I hate when I meet fellow youth pastors and they introduce themselves as "Hi, I am Pastor John". Really, even with a peer your Pastor John. Funniest story, once my worship team (Yes, the world famous No Longer Orphans) was leading worship at a church and the youth pastor introduced himself to our drummer as Pastor John, and our drummer said, "Hi, I am Drummer Jared". That was SO FUNNY!

PREACH, Now don't be a player hater! I know preach is used in scripture, in God's word and I am passionate about his word. I just hate how some youth pastors and pastors take the word preach as a way to SPEAK at PEOPLE. Tell them how awful they are, what sinners they are, how much they are inadequate, etc. Now, I know all pastors don't do this, but I have witnessed enough to just want to throw up. Why can't we use the word encourage, teach, motivate or better yet, Love. Because communicating is something that is very close to my heart, I believe as communicators of God's word we SHOUD SPEAK WITH STUDENTS, NOT AT THEM. Little known fact, I am actually writing a book on that.

So, those are some of the words I think about.

2 comments:

Jason Raitz said...

You are so right, I did!

Thanks for checking my blog!

Jason

Stephanie said...

did you know that the orginal Greek word translated as "preach" also means "publish"? :) it's not just a call to communicate through the spoken word, but the written word as well.

true story

can we add "over budget" to your list? ;-p