New Church Life July/Aug 2014 | Page 89

  our new church vocabulary I am glad we’re reprinting the Rev. Cairns Henderson’s series on Our New Church Vocabulary. Our distinctive vocabulary is a big part of the Church’s self-identity, and should be preserved. Every field of discipline has its own distinctive terms. Most Christians speak often of “grace” and “fellowship” and even such obscure theological concepts as “vicarious atonement.” Why shouldn’t the New Church have its own vocabulary? Think how many new terms associated with electronic devices have entered into common speech in recent years. Whatever a “hashtag” is I don’t know, but it seems to be a brand new term that became universally underst