I received an email from a Christian who will be present at tonight's Pigfest. Her son was interested in coming until he got wind of her proposition tonight. She was thinking of presenting an idea related to Christian behavior as it relates to civil disobedience. Her son is not attending a church and seems to be turned off by Christianity at the moment.
Sensing a set up, he responded with, "You told me the Pigfest wasn't going to be a Christian meeting."
Here are Mr. Dawntreader's thoughts about that.
In one sense, her son was right. The Pigfest is not a Bible study. No one comes with their Bibles in hand ready to study verses. No one comes ready to share prayer requests or circle up for prayer. However, it is an event attended heavily by Christians.
The Pigfest is gathering around a hosted table where ideas are discussed openly and participants are encouraged to put their worldviews to work for them. Most Pigfests will have a majority of Christians present. It stands to reason, therefore, that you will hear the name Jesus Christ mentioned often. You will hear the Bible referred to. You will hear about God. That is a given.
People who are invited to the Pigfest must be told this.
I invited a non-Christian friend to one of our Pigfests and he told me afterward it felt like a Bible study. Now, I am confident that he has never been to a Bible study. I have. Believe me, it was not a Bible study. However, the Christians who were there shared about how Christ affected their thinking. Unfortunately, they used Christian-speak way too much. Words like "glorify" and "redemptive" were flying around the room. No wonder my non-Christian friend thought he was at a Bible study.
Friends, we need to be open and honest about setting expectations for the Pigfest. No one likes walking into an ambush.
To my Christian brothers and sisters, we need to be better at talking without using Christian buzzwords. Our Christian-speak kills our communication with our non-Christian friends and family. They hear it and walls go up.
So, when organizing a Pigfest where non-Christians are coming, be sure to set expectations ahead of time.
My standard description is ...
"It is not a Bible study. It is a worldview discussion about ideas. While there will be a lot of Christians present, you don't have to be a Christian to come. In fact, the more diversity present, the more interesting the discussion. Everyone is encouraged to bring their worldview with them to the Pigfest and put it to work and above all, to treat others as you want to be treated. The goal is to have charitable conversation, not a debate or argument."
UPDATE:
Prophet suggests that the final sentence needs help and I think he is right.
The goal is to have conversation that benefits those at the Pigfest and leads to the improvement of society as a whole.
What do you think? Better? Worse?
Do you think a non-Christian would bring the same understanding to the term "charitable conversation" that you do? I'm thinking 'no'. . . .
Posted by: prophet | November 30, 2007 at 09:35
I'm thinking you are right. Please suggest something better.
Posted by: Mr. Dawntreader | November 30, 2007 at 10:49
One thing that might help is for the moderator (do you have a moderator?) to ask participants to define their terms whenever he/she detects "Christian speak" or any other kind of specialized jargon. I think it's useful for the speaker as well, because defining terms helps you to clarify your thinking.
I know that some people have a visceral response to "Christian speak" that they would have to a biologist or lawyer's technical jargon, but perhaps pausing to discuss definitions/etymology might help to get past the instant emotional reaction?
Posted by: Nick | November 30, 2007 at 11:03
Nick,
Brilliant suggestion. Yes, there is a moderator (you are talking to him). It is the job of the moderator to be on alert to jargon. You are spot on.
Posted by: Mr. Dawntreader | November 30, 2007 at 11:12
One of these days you're going to have to give me more lead time on a Pigfest...
Posted by: tgirsch | November 30, 2007 at 12:59