Conference Minister's Corner 8.12.26

Conference Minister’s Corner

Acting Associate Conference Minister, Linda Hirst, 8.12.26

I learned some new slang/phrases while hanging out with a bunch of middle school kids at Horton Center. “Low key," "strat," and "trust." 

While I sort of got the gist of them, it did take me a while. “Low key” seemed to mean "seriously," though AI says it means “admitting a true feeling without a lot of emotion," like…I low-key like him (I guess). I heard “strat” while playing 9 square. One of the campers said to me, “Nice strat, Linda." “Thank you," I said, hoping I got the meaning correct. And “trust” was used just as a shortened version of “trust me," I think.

All this is to say there are always going to be new words, phrases, and slang to be aware of if we want to keep up in today’s world. This is true in the church too.

One church I served used to have a “Fellowship Tent” set up on their lawn with chairs and water during a town fair. Except non-church folks didn’t know what a “Fellowship Tent” was, so the church changed the name…it became a “Come and Hang Out!” tent, which people understood and did. Over time words sometimes change for worship, and new things and new ministries are being tried, like being the church outside the building or having meetings at the local ice cream place or even…having the pastor’s office hours out of the office!

It’s a whole new world out there, even for the church, and sometimes the church is playing catch-up, and sometimes we are right there keeping up…as we should be with good strat. I low-key mean it. You got this. Trust.

See you in church, Linda