So what we do is missional in nature. it is, in fact our core purpose, the context is recovery, but the mission is making disciples. Which brings me to and interesting experience from last week.

One of the guys I was mentoring showed me a short paper on prayer he recieved from another mentor. He told me about it and made the comment "fluffy god-language."

This was a term I used when I began our time of mentoring. I told every one of them (who had a background in some kind of church) that I do not tolerate, nor accept "fluffy god-language" as any substitute for genuine spirituality. In fact, I told them, it is usually phony.

When this young man held this paper saying this, I thought he was using my words to condemn and dismiss it. I jumped on it right there, telling him that I meant his relationship with me and with others will not be manipulated with language made to make us appear "spiritual." But he said, "no, I need to clarify this with you."

he gave me the document, and I read it. It was about prayer...or character...or actions...It was difficult to tell. It was an exerpt of a well known, classical Christian writer. And it was total, incomprensible jargon.

This thing was so awash with "fluffy god-language" that my student could not understand it. I barely could myself. It was so full of religious jargon that it was very difficult to tell where his point was, or if he was even making one.

I finally brought it up on my notebook and began to edit the document into plain contemporary English. After rephrasing in every-day English, the message began to appear. After I re-worded it, hammered the outline into a usefull progression of ideas, and hacked off all of the useless, fluffy church-speak (about 30 percent). I had a tight useful teaching with something you can take and practice.

Context, Context, Context

Christianese is far less than useless when you are trying to communicate to not-yet-Christians. Even if they want to hear you, they can't. In this case I have three guys who recieved this document on prayer. None of them understood much of it. Only one was honest enough to speak up.

We spend so much time and money producing contemporary English translations of scripture for ourselves. Then we spew "christianese" at unreconciled people who desparately need to understand us. It's insane. We try to read the Bible in the clearest contemporary language, then spew religious gibberish to each other and outsiders. 

Christianese, or  "fluffy-god-language" is the product of an isolated church culture. It is a habit born out of a need to isolate from the world rather than engage it. Think of it as a kind of dialect...A form of "pidgin" so-to-speak. It's a way to identify ourselves as different from outsiders. It is also, in our church culture, a way of speaking which glosses over sin and makes us look more  "holy" than we truly are.

This language cut my guys off from understanding some important things about prayer. In normal life, this language brands you as an untrustworthy "religious type." This language is not only useless, it is non-missional and destructive. 

Over 20 years ago I gave up "church-speak" I stopped attracting church-people, and started communicating with people who needed reconciliation. The results have been amazing. Non-christians understand and respect me, and listen to what I have to say about Jesus. Church-people generally marganalize me as "carnal." It is wildly fulfilling to experience open communication with the not-yet-Christians, and highly amusing to see church people trip over plain speech.

All in all, it is far better for our mission to be heard. Making disciples is all about being heard and understood. Nothing, however acceptable it sounds, should ever be allowed to damage that. 

I teach discipleship to men who are in the final phase of the program. But I have learned a lot in recent years. Too much to think that I can hand over the idea of discipleship in a series of lectures, fold-tab-A-into-slot-B, and expect disciples to appear. Discipleship is not achedemic. It is a matter of what we do, not what we think.

My latest batch of guys is a fine product of evangelical church culture...Lost without a map! So, what am I going to do? Should lecture them into the "right idea?" Should I drill "principle A" into their heads, make them fill in little words to complete my sentences on pre-printed lecture notes? Should I then hand them discussion guides where the first question reads "so, how have you failed at 'principle 'A' this week?" I think not.

Alan Hirsch says in his latest book "The Forgotten Ways" that we have sold out to an "achedemic and Helenistic" approach to biblical principles. We don't "think our way into a new way of acting, we act our way into a new way of thinking." In the case of my guys, they have been lectured to death over the preceeding nine months. I don't think any more lecture from me will do much good, no matter what the content. I could show them Nooma videos until they bleed from their ears and it won't change anything.

The end of Hebrews 5 says that the mature got that way by practice. The idea is not enough. When I re-wrote this section (you would not believe the original material...trailer park theology 101). I took the most critical section "Walk" and summed it up in a physical mnemonic exercise...We take a walk. 

I think I need to expand this into the entire three month encounter. Restoration, transformation, good works, these are not abstracts. They are matters of action. Something actually happens and something actually changes.

This week, I'm trying something different. I am going to meet the guys and have them follow me around the campus. I am going to go to each of the wood fired boilers fix some neglected things. As I do this, I will talk to them about discipleship and restoration.

"Who is fixing the boiler gages?" 

"You are."

"Who taught me to seek to restore things"

"Jesus did."

"So who is responsible for this restoration" 

"Jesus is."

"Exactly!"

"How about restoring people, community, environment?" 

From mere boiler gages, we expand into the act of being the body of Christ and what that looks like. Then we will begin to understand how to do discipleship rather than just "believe" in it.

Then we get to see some Noomas. Rob says it so much better than I do ;)