If you are a frequent visitor here, you may have noticed that from time to time I go off on a rant about a word or word usage.  Now you must understand that when I do this, I usually have a smile on my face as I write.. sometimes a bit of a laugh is more like it, as when I wrote the post the other day about church “retreat.”  Yep, I knew I’d get some comments on that one!

Rants about words are not just a bit of fun, they are also kind of instructive, and I hope that anyone who reads them will get a smile, and be inspired to actually think, because words do have meanings and there are times when we use them more by habit then by deliberate choice, and this brings me to today’s episode of talking about words.  This post will probably not be a rant…

I was trained that when speaking of Biblical things, one should use Biblical terms.  For example, when speaking of the day on which we celebrate the Lord’s resurrection, we should not use the non-Biblical term “Easter,” we should use the more Biblical term “Resurrection Sunday.”  This has been my term of preference for this occasion for a quarter of a century now.  Of course, it isn’t quite entirely Biblical either, since it isn’t in the New Testament anywhere…

In recent years, this whole concept has been more of a struggle for me, because I have found that there are a great many Biblical terms the don’t work well in communication.  This is where my training conflicts with itself!  I have formal training in communication, and I also have formal training in the Bible; I’ve come to realize that these don’t always play nicely with each other!

For example, I have always used the term “Elder” when I am speaking about an Elder in the church.  Some might use similar Bible terms to describe this “office” such as shepherd, pastor, bishop or overseer.  I prefer the term “elder” because it describes a New Testament position with a New Testament term, but that term is used interchangeably with the other 4 in Scripture.  “Overseer” has historical/cultural connotations that render it inadvisable in American culture, so I would never use it.  “Pastor” is associated with a modern-day position that is different from the way it is used in Scripture and can be confusing, so I avoid it when speaking of the position of an elder. Bishop has the same problem.  Shepherd is used in some churches, but is being used in an unfamiliar way for most urban people, so I avoid that one too… and of course “elder” is also unfamiliar to people today who just associate it with the word “elderly” and pay it no mind.

See the conflict?

Effective communication requires a different term, but such a term isn’t Biblical; rather it would be secular.

I have decided to compromise!  I use the term “leader.” Everybody knows what that is, and it is sort of Biblical.  Well it is!  It is a spiritual gift, isn’t it?  (Romans 12:8) I also call the elders (plural) the “leadership team.”  Everybody understands that, too.

If you are a traditionalist or a purist, you will no doubt be scandalized by all of this compromise, but I hope you’ll think about it.  If you are neither of these, you can go ahead and welcome me to the fold… finally.  Oh there are many words to think about, and you know what?  I think we may have begun a whole new string of posts about the words we use!

This, of course will not keep me away the periodic rant! Ranting is just too much fun!

Hmmm… how many times did I just use the word “Biblical?”  outside of church and seminary, who uses that one?!