This one is going to seem abstract (because it is)! So humor me!
We live in an age of manufactured texts, contrived messages, blocks of discourse, unread downloads, and unreadable metadiscourses. (Robert Inchausti, Subversive Orthodoxy, 164)
Jargon, spin-doctoring, rhetoric, innuendo, outright deception, sloganeering, insipid and tired conversations . . . are all too often the norm.
Much ado about nothing . . .
Too much trivia and banalities . . .
Slogans and soundbytes...
Twits who tweet nonstop...
"Uniquack" and "Newspeak" are the official language of today (pp. 165).
The Tower of Babel, or is it the Tower of Babble?
We see this in all aspects of life, but perhaps in the realm of politics it is overwhelming....
I think we have too much of this in certain spheres of the church as well. Too much Christianeze that says little that is meaningful.
Into this context, we are called to speak words of life, words of light, words of truth, words of beauty.
We are summoned to speak prophetic and poetic words.
Words that illumine, heal and bless; and words that confront and disturb (and sometimes, words that just plain mystify).
I have some of my favorite "wordsmiths," those Voices who are creative and daring in the juxtaposition of the words they speak and write. Eugene Peterson is surely one of the best. Leonard Sweet is another favorite. And Robert Inchausti has been added to that list.
Read their books.
Read novels.
Read poetry.
Read the subversive Holy Scriptures.
Read the classics of great literature.
Listen to the great speeches of past and present.
Be moved by good resources and you can find some here.
Write...
Listen...
Enjoy slow conversations...
Another site to check out.
And check out this website for great images of words. It is the source of the image below.
Christians have always been enthralled with the Word made flesh and with the power of words. It is the work of leaders to think and pray about words and then to speak the most powerful words we can. Leaders are called to be Wordsmiths.
And that means we need to have enough silence around us so we can sort out the words that are needed in the moment.
May you have the silence you need and the Wordsmithing gift as you live and lead in the Tower of Babble.
Speak some real good words today...
Tomorrow - when God stretches your soul through suffering - how will you respond?
Brian K. Rice
Leadership ConneXtions International
www.lci.typepad.com
