Words Matter... plain and simple. It seems to me that words are taken for granted more and more, but yet the weight they carry is increasing. In the North American, United States, context, words are thrown around like bird shot out of a shotgun. We don't necessarily think we'll hit the target right on, we don't even think we'll get super close, we just hope that we're pointed in the general direction and it works out. Words are easy to come by (blogs alone are multiplying daily) but our abuse of it is rampant.

Words are important. I think many that have grown up in evangelicalism have realized this in our gut for many years and have reacted strongly to those places and cases where the language has been misused or in some cases not used. We are very good at diagnosing this problem.

I think we are in a new place. A place where we must be able to put some words - well thought out and prayed over words - to where we are and what we are experiencing and this faith journey that we are on and inviting others to. I will agree here with a friend that these words and language must come out of relationships, rather than into relationships. It seems to me though that as we "harvest" this langauge and these words out of relationships, we need to be sharing them with others, to be telling these stories.

These are generative and very important conversations. There are many who are desperate for the poets to emerge to chart the course for what they are feeling, experiencing and intuitavely knowing about the changes in culture and the shortcomings of the language in explaining the gospel.

So what's your story? What language do you use? Your words matter.