Soap box time! This particular post has nothing to do with preaching, evangelism, or theology per se. However, I do believe that pursuing excellence in everything comes from a God-centered worldview. Most of us strive for excellence in our preaching. We spend time being careful to exegete; we are careful to present the gospel clearly; we seek to understand the whole of scripture and not just one isolated text. We pursue excellence in these areas. But what about the small things? Do you pursue excellence in your speech? I am not talking about profanity, but grammar. Do you speak correctly, or do you perpetuate the stereotype of a southern preacher (Ain't God good!)? Why is it important to edit your bulletins and handouts to make sure there are as few mistakes as possible? It is important because those things reflect upon you. They are also an extension of your church to your community. It is important because if you are a believer then you believe there is a right and wrong, a correct and incorrect way. Two plus two always equals four; it is not left up to a group consensus as is being subtly taught in schools. Correct spelling is important because communication is important. I wonder if Edwards would be appalled at the way we talk, write, and teach. Let us learn from the ones who have gone before us who believed that God was a God of precision, and sought Him out in science, math, and english. You will probably never receieve a compliment for speaking correctly or having faultless bulletins, but people will definitely notice if you do not. Pursue excellence for the glory of God!
8 comments:
Has Scott been talking to you about my bulletin articles?
You are correct. This is something I definitely need to work on. I have considered purchasing a high school English textbook to review Basic English principles. I have even thought about auditing a college English class. That’s pretty sad for a Masters Graduate, but it might be necessary to pursue excellence in this area.
I have probably at some point in this comment made a grammatical error. One of you guys are probably thinking about taking a cheap shot here. Please know that if you do, retribution will be swift and sure.
Amen! Speling, punctuation: and grammar is always a concern of mine. Won of my pet peeves is two sea misuses of synonyms, especially when their are dictionaries out they're!
HAR HAR
How do you fix this problem? We have talked "southern" for 25+ years. How do you go about changing deep rooted habitual bad grammer? Ideas?
The answer to your question, Adam, is school. However, school has failed you. Grammar has been taught to you ever since 2nd grade. Perhaps the approach to teaching it should change. Instead of just teaching it so that students can pass a test, we should also emphasize that proper grammar helps you communicate and be successful. I think you are on the right track to bettering yourself by keeping an English book close by. But this is not the only area that we need to mind. What about pursuing excellence in time management, the way we eat, the hiring process. These are only a few of my own personal ones!
Jack, Sr.,
You know how I feel about these matters, as we have discussed them before. One of the things I try to watch out for is posting my blogs with typing errors in them. Sometimes spell check does not catch everything.
Have you seen the cell phone commercial where the mom is upset with her daughter because the bill is so high from all the daughter's text messages? The commercial is cute in that the daughter answers the mom's questions in text lingo (i.e., idk= "I don't know" and tsnf= "that's so not fair").
Also notice how internet message boards also have their own lingo and abbreviations: lol, laugh out loud, or btw: by the way. I'm afraid some people use this style of communication so often that they may not even know the correct way to spell many words that they commonly shorten (ex: you are, "u r." They probably do not know the difference between you are, you're and your (and it is pronounced "your" not "yer," "yorn," or "yah"). Shorthand and lingo have their place, but when you don't know when to turn off the slang and speak with precision, then that is where the problem lies.
It almost seems as if we are going backward in our language skills and usage. Words are shortened in text messages, chat rooms, message bords, etc. (get it). Pretty soon we will have cave paintings and grunting sounds as we just point or nod to what we want or to whom we are talking.
One misnomer about grammar is that it is not a regional issue. Northerners and Southerners as well as all the other geographical areas of the country face this. Have you ever watched "Goodwill Hunting?" Well, has ya? Ever took a tuah dohwn to Fenway Pahk?" It is also prevalent among racial and ethnic lines. Have you ever watched an interview with Karl Malone? "Karl Malone do what Karl Malone wanna do" or Cheech Marin, "You know what I'm saying man?"
I have a funny story about grammar. As you know I can be a smart alleck, or a truth teller as I choose to see it.
One of my friends died in plane crash a few years ago. I was at his house visiting his parents. After I visited with them I went outside and was talking with two guys from our home church. They were both much older then me, at the time probably early fifties and I was 20 years old. As we talked, one of the guys made a comment and in it he used bad grammar. He said something to the effect of "that ain't the way we done before." He then came back and said, "Well you know how we talk, we were raised in a cotton patch even though we were educated. I then said to him, "Well that was the purpose of your education, to overcome those bad habits."
He stopped and said, "Well you know your right."
What makes the story that much funnier, is that not only was he older than me, but he was also one of the main deacons in our home church, a respected leader in the community and oh yeah, the president of First National Bank.
I say, tell it like it should be no matter what.
Good post, my brother.
Hey Clifford,
Quick question. Are there any plans to update this blog or has it gone the way of all the other attempts by us to find a place to share our thoughts and dreams about ministry? Just curious. Hope all is well and that parenting is going good for you.
JG
It will be updated. Things have just been too hectic for me right now to give this the attention it deserves. Hopefully be summer's end there will be a more concerted, strategic effort to make this thing work.
Hey Clif,
Thanks for the quick response. I also wanted to tell you that 9marks started a new blog yesterday. I know you will want to add that to the recommended blogs.
JG
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