The Danger of Christianese

How our church language can do more to exclude people than draw them to Jesus.

I spent my first few weeks as a college freshmen overwhelmed by the subculture of fraternity and sorority life. It seemed like the minute I stretched my sheets over my vinyl dorm-room mattress, sorority rush began. The whole system was literally Greek to me. I couldn't pronounce the letters and I had no idea what many of the terms meant.

I remember listening from my doorway as the many girls on the hall prepared to attend a rush event. Hearing their chat about words like Pan-Hellenic, legacies, and Ro-Chis only added to my confusion. As the rushing season progressed, my mood progressed from perplexed to annoyed to frustrated at my Greek language barrier. Naturally, this barrier was divisive and exclusive.

Now I often find myself on the other side of a language barrier: that of the churched and unchurched. This time, I am dismayed to find myself in the group that naturally divides and excludes. Yet this is the reality of what happens when I don't watch my words as a Christian. Beware the danger of Christianese! Read more