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Coors Field, Denver, Colorado
Baseball speak.
There is a reason people are confused when they attend baseball games but don't know anything about the sport. Baseball is a game of endless statistics.
I know baseball. My grandfather was a Major League Baseball scout in the Pacific Northwest. My father was a standout baseball player in high school and received a scholarship to play at the University of Oregon (along with basketball). My mom taught me to keep score. As a result, I can read this scoreboard at Coors Field and understand it in a second.
I know the vocabulary of baseball, but many people don't and as a result they could care less about the game.
The language that we use as Christians can be as confusing as baseball statistics. We understand what we're talking about. Words like redemption and sanctification have meaning to us, but to many people they are gibberish.
"And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light." Genesis 1:3 English Standard Version
The funny thing is that when God speaks he makes himself known. There is nothing confusing about speaking creation into existence. There is nothing confusing when Jesus says, "Father forgive them" (Luke 23:34).
Instead of expecting people to understand the language of the church maybe we ought to be more aware of speaking as God speaks, in language that everyone can understand. Will it take work? Yes, but it's worth the effort when someone hears God's Word and experiences transformation through that Word.
By the way, I couldn't lose the night I took this picture as I root for both the Mariners and the Rockies. It was good to see Ken Griffey, Jr. play in his last season with the M's, pinch hitting that night. Oops! Baseball speak.
Join the conversation at Praying With the Eyes on Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/groups/173881749421231/
There is a reason people are confused when they attend baseball games but don't know anything about the sport. Baseball is a game of endless statistics.
I know baseball. My grandfather was a Major League Baseball scout in the Pacific Northwest. My father was a standout baseball player in high school and received a scholarship to play at the University of Oregon (along with basketball). My mom taught me to keep score. As a result, I can read this scoreboard at Coors Field and understand it in a second.
I know the vocabulary of baseball, but many people don't and as a result they could care less about the game.
The language that we use as Christians can be as confusing as baseball statistics. We understand what we're talking about. Words like redemption and sanctification have meaning to us, but to many people they are gibberish.
"And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light." Genesis 1:3 English Standard Version
The funny thing is that when God speaks he makes himself known. There is nothing confusing about speaking creation into existence. There is nothing confusing when Jesus says, "Father forgive them" (Luke 23:34).
Instead of expecting people to understand the language of the church maybe we ought to be more aware of speaking as God speaks, in language that everyone can understand. Will it take work? Yes, but it's worth the effort when someone hears God's Word and experiences transformation through that Word.
By the way, I couldn't lose the night I took this picture as I root for both the Mariners and the Rockies. It was good to see Ken Griffey, Jr. play in his last season with the M's, pinch hitting that night. Oops! Baseball speak.
Join the conversation at Praying With the Eyes on Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/groups/173881749421231/
(Click on picture to enlarge.)
Text and Photographs ©Copyright 2013 Douglas P. Brauner. ARR.
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