Baptized and Bewildered
Tuesday, December 2, 2008 at 11:35PM The first church I joined as an adult happened to be Baptist. Considering the preponderance of Baptist churches in Nashville, the odds favored this occurrence.
Having been raised in the Episcopal Church and Reformed Judaism, I saw and heard my new church family through the eyes and ears of an alien. I knew none of the songs they sang, had not one Bible verse memorized, and I did not speak the Baptist lingo. Every Sunday, I heard foreign conversations such as the following:
"Praise the Lord, Saints."
"Hallelujah!"
"Sister, God is good all the time."
"Yes, I give Him the glory in spite of. But I’m going through."
"Let’s touch and agree in prayer.
"We’re blessed and highly favored in the Lord."
"Speak it, Sister. If it hadn’t been for God who was on my side…"
"I’m a witness."
"Amen."
Huh? I had just been baptized but I didn’t know an altar call from a repentance prayer, a deliverance from a slaying in the spirit, or the difference between an elder and the man in the moon. I'm still not sure what to make of praise dancers.
Congregations tend to become insulated in our individual church cultures and forget that not everyone grew up with our references. We don’t explain ourselves to newcomers and leave them floating in a sea of confusion. If you’re confused by Christian lingo you’re hearing for the first time, don’t let it get to you. Just ask your pastor or some other church leader to explain what you don’t understand.
I had many questions, like "what does it mean to be a witness for Christ?" My assistant pastor told me that a witness for Christ is like a witness in court, someone who attests to the truth that they know. I wanted to know, "Does that mean evangelizing?" Not necessarily. Evangelism involves preaching, invited or not, to everyone who will listen, for the purpose of winning converts. Witnessing also aims to convert—the aim of all Christian activity should be to win others to Christ. But, strictly speaking, a witness waits to be questioned and then answers the truth based on his or her knowledge and experience. A witness for Christ, obviously, has to have knowledge of and experience with Christ.
Answering questions from seekers is not all there is to witnessing, however. I am aware daily that every word that comes out of my mouth, every joke I laugh at, the way I dress, my use of courtesy, my smile, all represent Christ to the nonbelievers around me. Fortunately, it’s not so much a matter of keeping myself in check, but of allowing the Holy Spirit to have His way in me (Psalm 37:23). Take my word, I live freer when I live God’s way than I ever lived while doing it my way (Proverbs 29:6).
My bewilderment continued in relation to words, expressions, and church practices I encountered. Today I am part of a multidenominational church (pastored by my own husband), and still I run into new questions I need answered. I've learned to search out the answers I need, but to relax in the meanwhile and focus on the reason I am part of the church in the first place: Jesus.
Reader Comments (3)
Thank you for this post. It's a great reminder to be mindful of new believers who may not have become accustomed to the lingo of their particular style of Christianity. Also, it is always good to remember to try to discipline our behavior, words and thoughts to be Christlike so that our testimony can be used by the Lord. Beautiful post!
Thank you, Lori. It's funny that I now find myself sometimes using certain "churchy" language that I've become accustomed to because it's a convenient sort of shorthand-speak. I have to catch myself to be sure I make myself clear and not pretentious especially when speaking to people, like my own family, who don't share my particular Christian experience. Christianity should be the most inclusive "culture" in the world and Christians need to watch that we don't stand in God's way on this point.
Boy, can I relate. It's funny how I tried to distance myself from the church of my upbringing when I was in my twenties, but it never gets out of your blood! The hymns, the way people pray, the terms and lingo that gets used... when I hear it, it brings me right back home. The familiarity is just like..... family. And that's not such a bad thing, right?