I love making up words. Always have.

If I had to summarize my writing and preaching in a sentence it’d probably be this: I try to say old things in new ways.

Words get old. They get stale. They lose meaning over time.

We need new ways of talking about old experiences.

Seth Godin says, “Organizations change when you give something a name.”

Here are some of the words we’ve made up.

I think we coined the word “dechurched.” We did it to describe the 50% of NCCers who grew up in church but checked out for a while and end up finding NCC on the rebound. That word adds an important category to our thinking. It helps define our mission.

Evotional is devotional minus the “d.” It’s a devotional via email.

A few years ago I did my dissertation on a concept I call “soulprint.” It’s a play off of fingerprint, eye print, and voice print. It is our unique spiritual DNA. It is the place where our gifts, passions, history, and destiny intersect.

Churchprint is a similar concept.

I’m not sure who coined the phrase “Godcasting.” But I love it. It redeems podcasting and puts it in spiritual terms.

I love new words. They give new meaning.

By the way, one of the greatest responsibilities given to humankind was the invitation to name the animals. Genesis 1:19 says, “So the Lord God formed from the soil every kind of animal and bird. He brought them to Adam to see what he would call them and Adam chose a name for each one.”

It’s almost like God is bursting with anticipation to see what Adam would name these animals. I’m sure God laughed and smiled and raised His “eyebrows” at some of the names. Rhinoceros? Hippopatomus? Porcupine? Those are hilarious names!

One of the most precious responsibilities of parents is to name their children. The Jewish people took naming seriously. Naming was prophesying. It was a sacred responsibility.

The ability to name and rename is a gift from God.

Is there something you need to name or rename?