Language Matters; Part 1 (Reading City Church Blog)

This is part 1 of a blog I wrote for Reading City Church. Stay tuned for the conclusion in part 2.

You can read the previous blog by Pastor Vince Donnachie at http://readingcitychurch.blogspot.com

In Vince’s recent blog, Vince very eloquently scraped the surface of a topic that is at the root of my personal Christian worldview and understanding of the Church in culture. So I asked Vince if I could elaborate a little further in this blog on the topic because it shapes not only my Christian worldview, but in so doing, shapes the way I worship, the decisions I make, and the way in which I seek to live my daily life as a disciple of Jesus. And as an Elder in RCC’s church body, you should know. This is Part 1 in a 2 part series.

In college I majored in Communication, studying both media and relational communications, and I minored in Cultural Anthropology and Leadership Studies. Suffice to say, I have a hard time not studying and over-analyzing how people communicate in and across cultures. Throughout my studies I began to compare what I was learning specifically about how individuals communicate with one another to how the Church communicates both internally and externally, verbally and non-verbally. I found some very interesting insights, one of which I am sharing here.

If you didn’t get a chance to read the last blog, it’s definitely worth taking the time. In short, Vince was asked by someone, “What kind of church will RCC be?” That’s a packed question and a potentially lethal one, because behind it lays assumptions/presuppositions and cultural insights, all acting as filters for how the answer will ultimately resonate. Why is this? Because contemporary American culture has an addiction to labels, something I refer to as Labelism. Don’t get me wrong, labels have the potential for good by facilitating the way we communicate and helping to define, organize, and compartmentalize culture, ideas, things, and people into nice, neat little groups that make the complexity of our cultural and people groups easier to manage. Labels, however, when relied upon too heavily, can be interpreted in a multitude of ways by each individual person. They can create meanings and symbolize realities that are either false, misunderstood, or are, at their worst, divisive. Labels are intended for good, but when not appreciated or used in a mature way, they have the potential for so much damage. Understand that the issue, though, is much deeper than labelism. The issue is at the very fundamental core of who we’ve become, not just as Christians, but also as a society.

Before I go on, we have to come to an agreement on one thing: words carry meaning. If I say “dog”, you immediately come up with an image in your head of a dog. Not everyone has the same image in his or her head. Depending on your life experiences and your preferences, you will think of a type of dog that I may not be thinking of and vice versa. Words symbolize not just tangible objects and intangible ideas, but they carry with them the weight of our life experiences, preferences, and presuppositions, and they can be interpreted in a diverse plethora of ways depending on the interpreter. So to say it simply: words matter!

Next, let’s define the word culture so we’re all on the same page. According to Meriam-Webster’s dictionary:

Culture

“a : the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations

b : the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group; also : the characteristic features of everyday existence (as diversions or a way of life} shared by people in a place or time

c : the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization

d : the set of values, conventions, or social practices associated with a particular field, activity, or societal characteristic

One of the foundational tenants to Cultural Anthropology is the understanding that Language and Culture go hand in hand. As a matter of fact, the two are so intimately intertwined, that when one begins to deteriorate and disappear, so goes the other. For instance, look at the different sects of the Amish community. Those that strictly carry on the traditions and values of the past also speak Pennsylvania Dutch more often in and outside of their communities in comparison to the less strict Mennonite sects. As different sects began to shift their values and beliefs, so went the language. Another example would be Native Americans who are currently experiencing the extinction of languages that trace back to even the beginning of civilization. As the language has died and has not been passed down through the generations, so haven’t the cultural traditions, values, and beliefs and they all have begun to disappear.

This relates to Christianity because the language and words we use to define ourselves, our faith, our worship, and our God has a deep and lasting impact on how those things are perceived by the world and passed down through generations. When our ability to communicate our cultural values and beliefs diminishes, so does our ability to communicate the eternal and boundless nature of who God is and what he’s done in and throughout history and our lives. The more finite our language becomes, the more finite our ability to share and pass on the Good News becomes; thus hindering our ability to be effective disciples.