Speaking Christianese

The past few months I’ve been carrying on a conversation with a woman who I know to be searching for God’s truth. I’ve encouraged her to read her Bible and she’s had a ton of questions for me, which I’ve been thankful for — however, it’s helped me to realize that I speak Christianese. I was saved on July 7, 1996 and have had my share of spiritual highs and lows over the years. Most of the things that I have settled for myself (such as what I believe in and what the Bible says about x, y, and z) have been coming into question — not my belief in those things, but I’ve been trying to explain what it is I believe and why I believe it.

I truly value the conversations I’ve had with my friend, and I hope that I’ve made some sense to her. The conversations have helped me grow and really gotten me out of my comfort zone for sure. It’s easy when you go to church and speak the same language as the other Christians there, but when you are talking with someone about God’s grace and what He wants from us — well, it can be a little tricky getting the point across in a way that the other person understands, but also not changing the message at all.

I thank God that He’s been blessing my ramblings with my friend, and I pray that you will say a little prayer for her — and for me.

I came across this article entitled Does Your Church Speak “Chrisitanese”?

I know I do, but I’m working on ways to better explain what certain words mean but also turning it over to God.