Changing the culture of Christians is difficult. they seem to get stuck in their ways and forget that the rest of the world has moved on. It’s the reason that the King James version of the Bible is still popular with die-hards, even though no one uses words like “thou,” “hither” and “verily” anymore in everyday language.
At Journey, I have included in our communications style guide a list of words and phrases that we try very hard not to use. For many of us, we grew up hearing the church referred to as the sanctuary, the teaching referred to as a sermon and those who were not members referred to as visitors. The problem is, a lot of times we end up alienating people because we use words that have radically different meanings or no meaning to those outside the church.
Here is my list and some of the rationale for the change. Anything I’m missing?
From the Journey Style Guide
| Old Phrase | New Phrase | Why it Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Sanctuary | Auditorium | Those unfamiliar with church may not know what to expect in a sanctuary, but an auditorium is less uncertain. |
| Recruit | Invite | Recruit is something that is done to me, Invite is done for me. |
| Need | Opportunity | A need sounds like something you want me to do. An opportunity is something I get to do. |
| Sermon | Message | Sermon sounds too preachy (pun intended) |
| Visitor | Guest | Visitor implys that you don't belong here and you're not going to stay. Everyone is a guest. |
| Intimacy | Connection | In the real world, intimacy usually carries a sexual connotation. |
| Go Deeper | Next Step | People say they want to go deeper but they have no idea what it looks like. I know what a next step looks like. |
| Attend | Experience | Attend is something you want me to do. Experience is what I want to do. |
| Fellowship | Community | What does fellowship mean to those outside the church? |
Here is a list I’ve complied from a few different websites. I don’t necessarily think they all need to be on the list, but it’s a good starting point for a discussion amongst church leaders. What is important is that everyone is on the same page – if we’re not consistent, people get confused and they use whatever term they feel like. If we consistently use terminology across the board, our people will pick it up much faster and be more likely to use it too.
Other Phrases to Consider
| Old Phrase | New Phrise |
|---|---|
| Scripture/Bible Verse | Place in the Bible where is says... |
| Believe | Trust/Accept |
| Born Again/Converted | Changed/Transformed |
| Christian | follower of Christ |
| Confess | Admit |
| Grace | God's totally unearned forgiveness |
| Gospel | God loves us and sent His Son so that we can find forgiveness and new life through Him |
| Preach | Talk about |
| Repent | To be sorry about wrongs and to try and turn from them |
| Salvation | forgiven of wrongs and given eternal life |
| Savior | Jesus, Gods Son, who forgave my wrongs and gave me eternal life |
| Share | discuss, explain |
| Sin | acting against God's plan |
| Testimony | Story |
| Witness | Share, tell |
| Worship | Give honor to God for who he is and what he's done |
Related posts:
- What Makes a Bad Word Bad? I’ve gotten a lot of requests for the notes from...
- Creation vs. Evolution Tonight at “God in the Garage”, Journey’s Bible study held...
Bonus Tracks: Giving When You Have No Money | beyond the noise
I have another phrase that really confuses people, especially non-Christians.
“Washed in the blood.”
If you don’t know what it means, it sounds disgusting!