On ‘doing life together’, and other clichés
“Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves.” — Matthew 10:16
‘The church…is not meant to call men and women out of the world into a safe religious enclave but to call them out in order to send them back as agents of God’s kingship.’ — Lesslie Newbigin
Have you ever been in the middle of a conversation with another Christian, and all of a sudden one of the following phrases (or something like them) just slips out without thinking:
‘Doing life together…’
‘Season of life…’
‘I just feel led to…’
‘Not religion, it’s a relationship…’
‘Step out in faith…’
‘Being intentional…’
They’re all examples of what you might call ‘Christianese’—or Christian clichés—and I’m as guilty as anyone for using this kind of language (sometimes ironically—sometimes not).
It’s a kind of shorthand way of talking that, if you’ve been around church long enough, you come to know and understand—and sometimes cringe at.
Not that there’s anything necessarily wrong in saying these things. More often than not, these phrases roughly correspond to Biblical ideas—‘Doing community’, for example, is just our way of talking about the Biblical concept of ‘fellowship’.
What interests me, however, is what our language says about the kind of culture—or, more accurately, the kind of sub-culture—we can live in as Christians.
What do I mean by that?
Regaining our evangelistic edge
If you’re reading this email, you’re likely a Christian living in the UK who has had at least some exposure to evangelical and/or charismatic church life.
The music. The events. The books. The clothing. The TV shows. The podcasts. The clichés.
We speak and behave a certain way. Our churches have certain codes and patterns of behaviour that, to an outsider, can feel weird and sometimes intimidating.
But for Christians, the Christian sub-culture is comfortable. It’s familiar. It’s safe.
(And no, the irony of saying this isn’t lost on me—as someone who writes for a Christian company that produces Christian books, clothing, podcasts and events.)
Of course, the Christian sub-culture has produced a lot of good things—God-honouring art, music and literature that glorifies Jesus and draws people to Him.
And we should be seeking to fill our minds and hearts with things that reflect and honour Jesus: ‘…whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things...’, says Paul in Philippians 4:8.
The problem is that we can get so comfortable in the Christian sub-culture that we forget the thing Jesus has called us to— proclaiming Him to the world around us.
We say the Christian things, listen to the Christian music, read the Christian books, follow the Christian influencers, attend the Christian events.
But, over time, we can find it more difficult to relate to our non-believing friends, family and neighbours—because we simply don’t understand (or haven’t taken time to understand) the world they’re living in.
Or, even worse, we stop sharing the gospel altogether.
We need to regain our evangelistic edge.
Shrewd as snakes
Jesus said to His disciples: “Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16).
“I am sending you out.” It sounds obvious, but we often need reminding that our purpose isn’t just to remain in our safe, cosy Christian enclave—it’s to be sent out into a wolf-like world that is often hostile to His ways.
How are we to do that?
We can understand why Jesus would tell His disciples to be “harmless as doves”—a dove is a symbol of purity, innocence and peace.
But what about snakes?
In Scripture, the snake is associated with craftiness—the serpent in Genesis 3:1 is described as ‘crafty’ (NIV, ESV), ‘shrewd’ (NLT) or ‘cunning’ (NKJV).
Of course, Jesus didn’t mean that we should be deceitful or deceptive like the serpent of Genesis 3. But He does call us to be discerning, alert, wise.
Does that mean we should stop listening to Christian music and instead fill our playlists with expletive-laden tracks?
Or that we should start watching 18-rated films so that we can better understand the mission field Jesus is sending us into?
Not necessarily. But Jesus didn’t expect His disciples to be naive or ignorant of the world He was sending them into, either.
They were to live lives of radical purity—like a dove—but they were also to engage wisely and shrewdly with the culture around them.
Get out your (metaphorical) boat
Consider Paul’s sermon to the Athenians in Acts 17:16–34. During his sermon, he quotes secular literature and philosophy as he seeks to engage his audience (Acts 17:28).
Paul was perhaps the greatest evangelist of all time—and he was deeply familiar with the culture around him, because it gave him an evangelistic edge and plausibility to those God had sent him to reach.
Paul never diluted the gospel. He spoke the truth with boldness and without fear—sometimes in a way that offended people.
But he was also shrewd—he spoke the truth in a way that resonated with the Gentile audiences God had called him to serve.
He doesn’t change the content of the gospel—but he contextualises it to help them understand it.
So, let’s return to the question that opened this email. Is it wrong to use Christian clichés?
Not at all. But ask yourself—if that question struck a nerve, does it mean you are more comfortable in the Christian sub-culture than you are out in the world that God has called you to reach?
Can you relate to your non-Christian friends in a way that feels natural and authentic?
Do you know what they watch, what they listen to, how they speak?
Do you understand what they hope for, what they fear, what gets them up in the morning?
If not, perhaps it’s time—to coin a cliché (or three)—to get out of your boat. Be in the world, not of the world. Burst the comfortable Christian bubble, and preach Christ.
Because Jesus hasn’t called you simply to consume Christian content and build the Christian sub-culture.
He has called you, like the early disciples, to “fish for people” (Matthew 4:19).
And most of those people don’t know who Forrest Frank, John Mark Comer or Hillsong are.
Neither do they need to—but they do need Jesus.
So how are you going to reach them with the gospel today?
Love,
Mike