Words matter

The other Sunday I heard one of our youth refer to the platform as the stage.  Does it matter what we call it?  I think it does.  A stage is where people preform but a platform is used so that people are visible.  In the church we don't have performers but we do have leaders.  Leaders need to be seen so they can lead.  If we think of the platform as a stage then we think of a performance rather than being led in worship.

It was A. W. Tozer who corrected a young pastor who said that he was going to his office.  It is not an office but a study.  Once again I think the name makes a difference.  An office makes it sound like the Pastor is a CEO but a study implies that he is in the Word of God to lead his people as a shepherd.  There is a trend among some young pastors to refer to themselves as a CEO and maybe they are but that is not the Biblical model of the church.

Another word switch which I think has implications in how we view the church is calling the sanctuary the auditorium.  An auditorium is where people go to be entertained while a sanctuary is where people go to meet God.  Now I know that the place is not important but I think that the name is.

Those are a few of my concerns in how we follow the world's leading even in doing church.