Category Archives: Language and Vocabulary

AGING AND LANGUAGE

In my early fifties (I am now 64), I started to keep a designated journal on aging. It has random reflections of mine and books I’ve read.

American pastors talk very little about aging, even though the Bible has much to say about it. And aging is an important subject not only for us older folks, but those much younger are wise to think about the body’s decline (see Ecc. 12).

I picked up Changing Minds at the Harvard bookstore, one of my happy places. It was in a stack of copies at a significant discount.

Changing Minds is not long (166 pages), but that does not limit its brilliance. It is a careful work, but the writing is lucid along with many fascinating studies that hold the reader’s attention.

These fascinating studies and insights demonstrate as the subtitle says, “how aging language and language affects aging.”

Highly recommended!

WHY I HATE LOL AND OTHER MODERN ABBREVIATIONS

I’m sure most of us know that LOL stands for Laugh Out Load. When this abbreviation was first being used a friend used it in an email to me. I thought it meant Love O’ Lots!

There are now many of these abbreviations like TMI, Too Much Information or IDNK, I Did Not Know. 

I hate all of them.

They remind me of the pathetic and phrenetic world we now inhabit. Speed and the attendant loss of attention spans is now the accepted, even lauded norm.

We have lost much by such verbal shortcuts.

Christians should joyfully stand against the dismantling of language.

IMO, of course!

DEAR PASTOR JOHN MACARTHUR

I imagine many of you are aware of the recent unpleasantries (yes, a mild word!) between Beth Moore and John MacArthur.  I thought you might find my letter to Pastor MacArthur of interest:

Dear Pastor MacArthur,

I heard you preach in person right after Christmas 1977. I was with fifteen friends. We were on our way to a Campus Crusade for Christ conference in southern California. I was a young convert to Christianity. Your message clarified that my faith in Christ was real. Thank you!

In my twenties and early thirties, I was the director of Campus Crusade for Christ at Stanford University. I went through some deep waters of doubt during that time. During one of my lowest moments I heard you deliver a message over the airwaves. It was a great encouragement to me. I wrote you a letter saying so. To my surprise, you wrote back…a personal letter. I still have that letter. Thank you!

In my late thirties and early forties, I had a radio show here in Austin. Most of the time I interviewed authors and leaders of various backgrounds. You were one of my guests and stayed for the entire hour. That alone is quite a commitment, but my show was on Saturday afternoons. Since Sunday is a big day of ministry for you, I was impressed you would give me the entire hour. Thank you!

Most recently, I met one of your sons. Business brought him to Austin. We had breakfast together. I couldn’t believe how much he looks like you! I thought I was looking at the man I heard preach when I was that three-month old Christian. Your son said you are the real deal: a great dad who is uncomfortable with the praise of men. I was tremendously encouraged to hear all that. Thank you!

My own convictions about men and women in the home fall roughly in the complementarian camp, though I might be one of the “softer” types that seems to be a non-category for you. I won’t get into the hermeneutical weeds on that issue because this a short letter not a theological treatise.

I humbly ask you to reconsider the tone of what you said about Beth Moore. For the record, I’ve had my own concerns about her teaching as well. However, your tone came across dismissive and condescending. At the very least, it seems one of you should have mentioned to the chortles of the crowd that this was no laughing matter. Instead, it seemed that you, Todd Friel, and Phil Johnson had no problem with the loud laughter of those gathered that day.

I am now sixty-one and the beneficiary of over forty years of your ministry. From listening to you over the years, I have every confidence that you will seriously consider what I say in light of Scripture. Thank you!

In Christ,

David (George) Moore

MARTIN LUTHER KING

Want a riveting read?  Well, this book certainly qualifies.

As a young Christian, I read a collection of King’s sermons titled Strength to Love.  In college, I took a rhetoric class where our professor regularly reminded us that King was the “greatest speaker he ever heard.”

Rosenbloom’s book chronicles the final 31 hours of King’s life.  And what a life it is.  The author does not paper over King’s adultery, but clearly thinks King was a great man.

King challenges us to live focused life with courage and compassion.

The publisher is to be thanked for making a beautiful book at a reasonable cost…a rarity in our day!

CARING FOR WORDS IN A CULTURE OF LIES

I recently read McEntyre’s Make a List which was terrific.  I have been wanting to read Caring for Words in a Culture of Lies for some time and finally got around to it.  It did not disappoint.

This book will inspire you to see the beauty and power of well-crafted words.

Not that this was the author’s explicit purpose, but it helps us read Scripture more carefully.

STUPID THINGS PEOPLE SAY

Yesterday, I preached a sermon to the wonderful folks at Brenham Bible Church.  The sermon was titled “What’s in a Word.”  My sermon focused on the three words: faith, hope, and love.  I showed from God’s Word how these three are commonly misunderstood…even by many of us Christians.

During my preparation I pondered how the popular saying “I am a person of faith” bothers me.  My musings during the recent preparations surfaced a new twist to my dislike of that saying. 

Think about it for a minute.  Every human being, whether they are religious or not, is a “person of faith.”  Non-religious folks gladly place their faith daily in everything from elevators to cars.  And, of course, they place their faith in themselves! 

Saying you are a “person of faith” is about as meaningful as saying you are a person. 

Christians believe that they place their faith IN God.  It is the object of our faith that makes all the difference in the world.