Indeed!
One of my biggest frustration with church life now days is the use of "church speak." By this, I mean words that are used in a church/congregation setting that are not usually used in our daily life.
One such term is "fellowship." When church people get together, they don't get together, the "have fellowship." Really? I can't even think of that phrase without saying it in some kind of nouveau riche, condescending, intonation. When I read, "We are having fellowship," I hear, "We are going to the club." It always strikes me as some way to be exclusive as opposed to inclusive.
When I get together with friends, we "get together" or "hang out" or whatever. The one thing we don't do is "Have Fellowship!" I think if I were to say to my cronies, "Let's have fellowship!" I would probably be laughed out of the group!
But the one that REALLY drives me crazy at this time of year is the word, "Indeed." What is so wrong with the word, "indeed?" Well, nothing in and of itself. It is a perfectly fine word. But, admit it, unless you are looking for a job on the website, "indeed" does not generally enter our conversations. And yet, every Easter, multitudes of people, in congregations all over (at last to my limited knowledge) America, are shouting "Christ is risen, INDEED!" To me that just sounds so contrived; to me it smacks of insider speak.
For those not "in the know..." how this usually works is, on Easter Sunday morning, the Priest/Pastor stands in front of the congregation and says (usually with some level of contrived excitement) "CHRIST IS RISEN!" And then the congregation responds (with varied levels of energy; possibly related to the amount of coffee consumed and the time the children woke up) with "CHRIST IS RISEN, INDEED!" This may occur only once or it may occur multiple times with the Pastor encouraging the congregation (or even chiding them) to get louder each time.
As for me, when I am leading a congregation on Easter morning, I do this as little as possible. I have found if I don't do it, people in the congregation will let me know that I missed part of the routine. So we do it on Easter Sunday morning, and never do it again until next year. (Perhaps I should try doing it at other times in the year to see how people react??)
Actually, when I hear, "Christ is Risen!" I want to reply with "Yah, Sure! You betcha!" To me, that feels like a more real response. When I hear some some great news, I get excited! However, I do not EVER remember my excitement being punctuated with the word, "indeed." ("I got a new job!" "You got a new job, INDEED!")
One such term is "fellowship." When church people get together, they don't get together, the "have fellowship." Really? I can't even think of that phrase without saying it in some kind of nouveau riche, condescending, intonation. When I read, "We are having fellowship," I hear, "We are going to the club." It always strikes me as some way to be exclusive as opposed to inclusive.
When I get together with friends, we "get together" or "hang out" or whatever. The one thing we don't do is "Have Fellowship!" I think if I were to say to my cronies, "Let's have fellowship!" I would probably be laughed out of the group!
But the one that REALLY drives me crazy at this time of year is the word, "Indeed." What is so wrong with the word, "indeed?" Well, nothing in and of itself. It is a perfectly fine word. But, admit it, unless you are looking for a job on the website, "indeed" does not generally enter our conversations. And yet, every Easter, multitudes of people, in congregations all over (at last to my limited knowledge) America, are shouting "Christ is risen, INDEED!" To me that just sounds so contrived; to me it smacks of insider speak.
For those not "in the know..." how this usually works is, on Easter Sunday morning, the Priest/Pastor stands in front of the congregation and says (usually with some level of contrived excitement) "CHRIST IS RISEN!" And then the congregation responds (with varied levels of energy; possibly related to the amount of coffee consumed and the time the children woke up) with "CHRIST IS RISEN, INDEED!" This may occur only once or it may occur multiple times with the Pastor encouraging the congregation (or even chiding them) to get louder each time.
As for me, when I am leading a congregation on Easter morning, I do this as little as possible. I have found if I don't do it, people in the congregation will let me know that I missed part of the routine. So we do it on Easter Sunday morning, and never do it again until next year. (Perhaps I should try doing it at other times in the year to see how people react??)
Actually, when I hear, "Christ is Risen!" I want to reply with "Yah, Sure! You betcha!" To me, that feels like a more real response. When I hear some some great news, I get excited! However, I do not EVER remember my excitement being punctuated with the word, "indeed." ("I got a new job!" "You got a new job, INDEED!")
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