The Language of Salvation
Megan and I were out to dinner with some friends and enjoyed a lot of great conversation about all kinds of issues from the church to salvation to budgeting.
On the drive home Megan and I were talking more and one thought I had is that sometimes I don’t think what my generation or “emerging” Christians think is all that different from the generation before us. The difference is more in the language we use to talk about our faith. This isn’t always the case I realize, but I think that sometimes my generation should be a little slower to throw stones at the generations before and vice versa. If we really had a dialogue about our faith I think we would find that we have more things in common than not.
For example, when we talk about sharing our story (a.k.a. testimony for older generations). The way I was brought up taught that when you share your story it all kind of centers around when you “prayed the prayer to accept Jesus into your heart.” That was the moment you “got saved.” Now, for previous generations where the value of making a commitment was held high, it would probably be assumed that because you prayed the prayer it would affect the way you live. At that moment you committed to following Jesus for the rest of your life. And so the story centers around that because that is when you committed to live differently.
For my generation, commitment doesn’t mean much. So a story that centers around a commitment that I made leaves people with a “so what?” response. We see people break promises all the time and as a result we tend to not believe you until we see it. A more effective way of telling my story might be to talk about what Jesus is saving me from right now. How is being a Christian influencing that way I live in this moment? Because if my story is all about how I prayed a prayer when I was in second grade and joined the Christian club it doesn’t really mean much.
Megan and I saw this happen that night at dinner with our friends. She pulled out her coupon folder/book thing which holds the envelopes that we budget out our cash in and people started asking questions. Pretty soon my wife had over half the table captivated by talking about how we do our budget and why we believe that living with debt is not good. She really is brilliant when it comes to this stuff.
But for us Jesus is saving us right now from being enslaved to money. And people are drawn to that much more than the story of the prayer that we prayed when we were kids.
Another example is the story of how we are “going green.” There was a day when Megan and I had a conversation and decided that we were going to buy organic and local foods and try to make lifestyle changes that would be better for the environment. But when we talk about that we don’t tell people about that day. We talk more about the process. It’s not something that happened overnight but rather something that we continue to learn and improve in. It’s all about the process, not the decision.
These aren’t ideas or beliefs that are completely new or different. The difference is more in the language and style of communication. I think that if we took more time to listen and dialogue we may find that we agree on things more than it appears on the surface.
Dave,
I’m a longtime lurker, but wanted to say this post has gotten me thinking. I was amening through the whole post, but afterward I got thinking that if we never talk about the “prayer” and the actual conversion experience then how will people know that’s the only way to Jesus. I know a lot of people who will talk my ear off about their relgious or spiritual journey or experience or process but that doesn’t make them followers of Christ. If we don’t tell people about the decision, then what good is the process?
Not sure if I’m make any sense, but you’ve gotten me thinking.
Smart post, Dave. This is really good stuff.
In response to Natalie: people are scared of commitment. I sell cell phones and I’ve learned that A LOT of people are simply scared to sign a 2-year contract. It’s silly I think because you are going to need a phone for the next two years and to get the better price on any phone, you have to sign a 2-year contract. But all the time I hear, “No man, show me the prepaid phones.”
I think it’s safe to say (and I’m open to being corrected) that you should almost never mention “the decision” until the other person brings it up. It seems smarter to let them be attracted to your lifestyle and attitude. Eventually they will want to know the secret.