Speak Human Please

I’ve got to say a big thanks to my friend Eric Bryant for pointing out this excellent post from Charles Lee, creator of the Idea Camp.

Charles in turn is quoting something from Erwin McManus when he was talking about the inability of many faith leaders to “speak human.”

Charles goes to pose some important questions for those who are involved in communities of faith, or in fact any tribe or people group:

• Would someone outside of our organization or business really understand our language and mission?
• Do you spend intentional time developing and choosing words that build bridges and creates access to those on the “outside”?
• Why do you use the words you do and who is it intended for? Think layers and context.

I’ve been asking myself similar questions in the context of my own tribe for a few years now, as I increasing struggle with our tendency to talk in riddles, acronyms and language that was birthed in Victorian times. We Salvationists are so prone to speak in the exclusive language of the insider.
It reminds me of a previous post where I was riffing on a similar theme.