I really can't say it any better that James Emery White, pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church, says it:
The Words of the Year
Read it.
Ponder it.
Get out and listen to the language of the culture you are trying to reach and impact.
Showing posts with label words. Show all posts
Showing posts with label words. Show all posts
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Is Your World Chaordic?
It's funny how a word comes to mind in a conversation, and then comes up again in several more conversations throughout the day. Take chaordic, for instance.
In one of my regular mealtime meetings with a good friend of mine who is pastoring a large church, we were talking about church stuff and I tossed out the word "chaordic" as a solution to a question my friend posed. The word was new to him, though my explanation wasn't.
Wikipedia has the following description of chaordic: The mix of chaos and order is often described as a harmonious coexistence displaying characteristics of both, with neither chaotic nor ordered behavior dominating. Some hold that nature is largely organized in such a manner; in particular, living organisms and the evolutionary process by which they arose are often described as chaordic in nature. The chaordic principles have also been used as guidelines for creating human organizations -- business, nonprofit, government and hybrids -- that would be neither hierarchical nor anarchic.
You know - it's one of those things that you can't describe, but you know it when you see it.
Chaordic popped up in no less than three more conversations yesterday: between my wife and I driving to supper; with our small group over our meal; and with the small group in a different use after the meal. It was great conversation, and everyone understands, at least in a little way, more about the times we live in.
I don't do a word of the day, but if I did, chaordic would be it. It's a handy word to toss out in your next conversation. If your listener is over 30, he will have a puzzled look on his face; if she is under 30, it's a synonym for her life.
Are you unsettled by chaordic times - or do you thrive in them?
In one of my regular mealtime meetings with a good friend of mine who is pastoring a large church, we were talking about church stuff and I tossed out the word "chaordic" as a solution to a question my friend posed. The word was new to him, though my explanation wasn't.
Wikipedia has the following description of chaordic: The mix of chaos and order is often described as a harmonious coexistence displaying characteristics of both, with neither chaotic nor ordered behavior dominating. Some hold that nature is largely organized in such a manner; in particular, living organisms and the evolutionary process by which they arose are often described as chaordic in nature. The chaordic principles have also been used as guidelines for creating human organizations -- business, nonprofit, government and hybrids -- that would be neither hierarchical nor anarchic.
You know - it's one of those things that you can't describe, but you know it when you see it.
Chaordic popped up in no less than three more conversations yesterday: between my wife and I driving to supper; with our small group over our meal; and with the small group in a different use after the meal. It was great conversation, and everyone understands, at least in a little way, more about the times we live in.
I don't do a word of the day, but if I did, chaordic would be it. It's a handy word to toss out in your next conversation. If your listener is over 30, he will have a puzzled look on his face; if she is under 30, it's a synonym for her life.
Are you unsettled by chaordic times - or do you thrive in them?
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