Communicating, unfortunately, is not always easy! What makes perfect sense to one group of people can sometimes completely baffle another. I came face to face with a prime example of this not too long ago.
After High School, I attended a ministry school in Northern California for 3 years. I had grown up in churches always somewhere on the spectrum between conservative and charismatic. This one however was really quite charismatic. One legitimate and unexpected hurdle I was faced with upon arriving was what appeared to be an entirely new christian vocabulary. We can leave the stories of my process of overcoming offense and recognizing the amazing heart and meaning behind it all for another day. Today, I will probably just pull out a handful of the terms that initially caught me off guard and required urgent clarity.
I remember the first time someone mentioned getting "drunk in the Holy Spirit". That was a new one for me. I understand the affects of alcohol and have experienced the Holy Spirit but have never made that connection! The terms "blasted", "wasted", and countless other seemingly out of place words were applied in a spiritual context that I would have never expected.
After spending 3 life changing years there, weird word choices and all, I have been faced on occasion with the dilemma of now having to describe to friends and family back home stories of what I experienced while avoiding the ready temptation to use language they would most certainly not understand. From phone calls to letters home, this was never especially easy. Slowly but surely, I grew more and more effective in my ability to describe things accurately with a more so mainstream vocabulary.
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Thank you, Pingry6 days ago
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Is there an actual Real "GOD?"4 years ago
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word choice and syntax can be revolutionary and possible be explosive, especially when one is not familiar with the terms or associate negative connotations with such words. It can be tiring trying to pick your words carefully as so not to offend or discourage others. It's good that you have learned to describe things accurately.
ReplyDeleteI can't relate completely to your experience but I get what you are explaining. It can be hard to change "languages" between certain groups of people that you hang out with, youth group versus your sports team, without offending or seeming weird or anything. Sometimes it can be stressful, but I think it's almost neat to have a specific "language" with a certain group, I think it almost brings a sense of unity, a closeness between everyone. Though it can be frustrating trying to describe that to others.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting post! That must have been a great experience,and definitely life changing. I thought this quote in particular was intriguing "I remember the first time someone mentioned getting 'drunk in the Holy Spirit'."
ReplyDeleteI definitely know what you mean Mark. I find it hard to describe to people what I am experiencing or what God is showing me if they haven't had certain revelations yet. I feel like this language barrier sometimes causes others to think that you aren't really growing in your relationship with Jesus because you can't describe what is really going on.
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