Thread: Bad Terminology

I wish we could get rid of the term "unchurched". To me, an unchurched person is someone who is a Christian who happens to be "between churches"; that is, for example, he has just moved to a new city and is looking around for a new church to transfer his membership to from his old church.

It's the seeker-sensitive movement that started using this term as a more polite term for "unbeliever". I just think it's confusing.

And, while we're at it, let's get rid of "seeker", too - since there's no such thing as a "seeker" after the true God, according to Paul (None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. [Romans 3:10-11, quoting Psalm 14:1-3; 53:1-3]).

AND, one of my pet peeves is when sermons are referred to as "messages". A message can be anything from a phone number written on a cocktail napkin in smoky bar to something delivered by Western Union, and everything in between. But a sermon is a very specific kind of message: delivered in public, one that is spiritual - convicting the unbeliever and comforting and challenging the believer.

First of all,

Great Dabney quote in your sig line.

About seekers. I get what you are saying but...I know I have been a seeker but the seeking wasn't for God.
God has always been there dealing patiently with my wicked self.
Sometimes you move to a town or just leave a church in search of brotherhood.
I always was seeking brothers who were tuned in to the same frequency.
I was seeking fellowship or maybe I should say...fellow sheep in a goat herd.

I was looking for what C. S. Lewis was talking about when he said..."Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one'. "

It has been quite a search.
but I have found a few.

We could call them the faithless, but that wouldn't be quite right, either. After all, every one worships something, so they must have some faith in what they are worshiping. If you go to this thesaurus site and enter the word unchurched, it says there are no results for the word - did you mean untouched?

I agree about seeker. I used to wear a button that said "Wise Men Still Seek Him" back when. As you said, we are neither wise nor do we seek.

Never thought about the word message versus sermon, but now you've just place this meme in my mind forever. Thanks. I'll try it out some day and see what kind of reaction I get.

I have always enjoyed reading William Safire's books on language. He definitely has A Way With Words.

Originally Posted by Richard King

First of all, Great Dabney quote in your sig line.

It's from an unpublished manuscript that only I know about.