Smarkner

Now there’s a word for you! One of my facebook pals used it in reference to her new Smart Meter recently installed to increase her intelligence and decrease her electricity usage. Says she now feels a whole lot smarkner!

It’s a “kid language” phrase from her family history. A once-little brother once said it and it passed into the family lexicon. How many of those words and phrases do we use every day? They are one of the markers of an “insider.” And it’s great to be an “insider.”

Unless you’re an “outsider.” How many special words and phrases do we use in our congregation, in our denomination, that say to others “we’re just so special in here” even as we talk about inviting and witnessing and evangelizing?

Do you have any of those smarkner words that only your family or your church family understands?

As we began to dig deeper into the We Share document with some "faithful saints" recently, we discovered our preference for certain terms and phrases that have always felt right to us, but that have apparently been recast for easier access, translation, etc. Are we going to be able to spend the time in conversation to ensure we know what we mean? Or will some of us continue to insist on the old terminology? Will we insist on using our comfortable insider language, even if it means someone else gets cast in the "outsider" role?