One thing that was really driven home by this convention is that the terms and language we use need to be clearly defined. Bylaws and resolutions were amended and re-amended to clarify terms and languages. Some of the language that was passed is unclear and leaves room for much mischief. In promoting one viewpoint or another, language was used that was, intentionally or unintentionally, vague and misleading. There was much talk of our disunity and mistrust at the convention and I believe this stems largely from the intentional or unintentional use of terms that don’t have a clear definition.
My hot button term this week was ministry. There was much talk of youth ministry, singles ministry, ministry to Gen X, every “Red Chair” video started with the district president talking about how long he had been in ministry. I guess this stems from the notion of the priesthood of all believers which I don’t dispute, but when the word ministry is applied to just about every activity in the church then use of the term detracts from the true ministry of Word and Sacraments. It also leads to an understanding that since I’m in say youth ministry that it’s really not much of a stretch to publicly preach. The next convention needs to start with a proper explanation of the Office of the Keys. I know my pastor and a bunch of Fort Wayne pastors would be happy to do it.
Similarly, unity, confessional, harmony, mission, and more are terms used over and over in varying and sometimes seemingly conflicting ways. As we go forward, we better start using the same language or well just be walking together in isolation.
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Great post, Brian! You nailed it, brother. Language is so very, very important, and I pray, with you, that we will begin to be far more careful about our language, being careful to clearly define what we mean by the terms and words we use, as we move forward as a synod.
Oh, and thanks for your faithful service this loooooooong week! Well done, thou good and faithful servant.
In Christ,
Pr. Messer
Amen, brother!
Pr. Messer, I’ve still got a convention mindset and have been thinking about coming up with resolutions that might help clean up the language. Grassroots, bubbling up kind of stuff
Jim, great meeting you! And thanks again for the picture with the Harrisons.
Well said. I couldn’t agree more.
When we were doing congregational assessments as part of the pastoral call process, we were supposed to list the various ministries of the church. I couldn’t believe the things that were offered for the list. Good community-building activities were called “ministries,” even though they had almost nothing to do — even tangentially — with advancing the Gospel or proclaiming the forgiveness of sins. It was not easy to understand, build consensus, and sort these activities into the categories provided.
Our language is certainly a mess.
Eric,
Thanks for your concrete example of how this blurring of language gets us into trouble.
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