On Communicating Clearly

I know. Another post pointing to Jesus Creed. I'm really not trying to be "all Scot, all the time."

It's just that his recent talk to that bastion of Reformed Theology - Westminster Theological Seminary - has precipitated a burst of comment, much of it his! (And I just ordered all the Horton, Franke and Mcknight talks given @ WTS' Emerging Church Forum).

Scot posts some important thoughts today about the importance of communicating effectively to people who don't know theological nomenclature.

It took me a looooong time to come to the same conclusion.

I enjoy multi-syllabic words. I really thrill to be reading along, find a word I don't know, and check AHD online or grab the closest dictionary. (As evidence of my wonkish ways: just a couple of days ago, I bought a compact dictionary to put in my backpack because I'm finding Barbara Tuchman uses lots of words in her Guns of August - also, of course, in my backpack - that I don't know ). I take great joy in writing extended, complicated sentences cascading down the page with endless dependent clauses.

But just in the last couple of years, I've realized that - for me at least - a lot of this was pride, some of it was thoughtlessness, and perhaps even a bit of laziness. And so I've tried to communicate more clearly in my writing, though I know I still have much room for improvement.

Thanks Scot.

Words fueled by love will always find their mark.