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by Dianne E. Butts"What a biff!'
"You are showin' off for that Shred Betty."
"I got so stoked I started flailin'. The next thing I knew, I was jibonkin' across the picnic tables!"
I wonder what they're talking about, I thought, eavesdropping on the conversation between two young men in line at a fast food restaurant.
"I almost hit that dinosaur," one continued.
Dinosaur?
"No way, dude. I saw that two-planker eat it," the other said.
Eat what? The dinosaur?
"It's duck soup out there," the first said.
Dinosaurs and duck soup? Whatever, I thought. Their bizarre conversation caught my curiosity, but their strange words proved more than I could figure out.
I wonder how often those outside the church feel that way when they hear Christians talk. If we hope to communicate with non-Christians about Christ, we must learn to speak to them in a language they can understand. Here are some ways we can weed Christian jargon out of our conversation:
Identify Jargon
1. Pray, asking God to make us sensitive to jargon terms.
2. Imagine we're foreigners. What words would baffle us? Which phrases might we not understand?
3. When we're grappling for a word, notice what term we "stick in": Bless? Grace? Mercy? I've learned I use jargon when I'm tired or in a hurry and don't have the energy or time to figure out what word I really want.
4. Notice if our listener "shuts down." If I lose my listener's eye contact and his or her mind seems to wander, then--if I consider what I just said--I often realize I've used a jargon term like "sin" or "saved." I've found many people will listen to Christian truths when I avoid using terms laden with religious connotations.
Find alternative words and phrases
1. Check a dictionary, Bible dictionary, or thesaurus for alternate terms.
2. Check word origins or meanings in the original language.
3. Study how Scripture communicates the term.
4. How did Jesus teach the concept?
Leaving jargon behind is hard, but if we practice communicating without it when we talk with God and with our Christian friends, then we will have alternate words and phrases in mind when we talk with others.
So what, you may ask, is "jibonking?" Why it's jargon, of course! The two young men in the restaurant were snowboarders..
Here's a lesson in their lingo:
To "biff", "slam", or "eat it" means to crash. "Loble-dee" refers to the stars you see after the biff. "Ride", of course, is snowboarding and "flailing" is doing so embarrassingly poorly. "Shred" or "shredding" refers to an aggressive rider and a "Shred Betty" is the female of the species. Snowboarders get "stoked" rather than excited. A "dinosaur", "duck", or "Two-planker" refers to a skier and "duck soup" means the slopes are crowded with them. "Jibonking" refers to riding a snowboard on any substance other than snow: decks, car tops, garage cans, and, of course, picnic tables.
Christian Jargon Thesaurus
Born spiritually, made spiritually alive
Christ, Messiah, Saviour Jesus; the person God promised to send to pay the penalty for what we do wrong Christian One committed to living the way God wants us to, one who trusts or relies on Jesus faith Knowledge of God, understanding that God is working; reliance on God glorify God, bring Him glory To honour God gospel, gospel message The good news about Jesus; the truth God wants us to know or teach; God's message to the world grace, the grace of God Unmerited favour, unearned love; God giving us what we don't deserve (see "mercy") invitation, alter call Opportunity to commit to Christ Jehovah, Yahweh, the great I AM God, the Lord lost, the lost Those people who have not yet determined to believe or follow Christ mercy God not giving us what we do deserve (see "grace") minister Tend to others on Jesus' behalf; teach about Jesus pray, prayer To talk or converse with God; conversation with God redeem, redeemed Ransom; to pay a price to regain possession regenerate Be born spiritually; reborn repent, repentance To turn away from a past action; to change one's mind about a former practice; to commit to not do it again sacrifice, redeeming sacrifice, Jesus died in our place, blood sacrifice, Christ's sacrifice Jesus died in our place sanctified, sanctification Set apart by God; set apart for God's use, pleasure, or purpose; purified, made holy save, saved, salvation Delivered from spiritual death, rescued, to keep from being lost; made right in God's eyes; made acceptable to God sin To act against or contrary to God's desire for us; to do what God doesn't want us to do; to break God's rules; to disobey God spiritual, spiritually Affecting the eternal part of a person testimony Telling what God has done in one's life washing in the blood Covered, made clean before God because of Jesus' sacrifice with the blood of Christ acceptable to God because Jesus paid God's required penalty for us witness To tell or give testimony to what God has done; to know by personal experience.-Dianne E. Butts is a freelance writer from Lamar, Colorado in the United States. Her credits include articles in Focus on the Family, Discipleship Journal's "DJ Plus," Virtue, Excellence, The Lookout, Standard, The Standard, Christian Single, Today's Christian Senior, Live, Evangel, Church of God Evangel, Purpose, Woman's Touch, Joyful Woman, and Women Alive! Other publications include two stories in Lynn Morrissey's Seasons of a Woman's Heart (Starburst) and inclusion in Linda Evans Shepherd's Encouraging Hands, Encouraging Hearts (Servant).
If you would like to learn how to clearly and effectively share your faith through your personal testimony, go to http://www.christianwomentoday.com/growth/yourstory.html
