Do you have hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia? If that word caused you any stress or discomfort, then you might, since that word means “a fear of big words.” Perhaps kids don’t have hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia, but when we use big words in our teaching, there is a momentary disconnect…because in that moment, their concentration is broken as they are forced to try and figure out what we mean from the context of what we are saying.
We can find ourselves using unnecessarily big words when teaching our kids — and not only words like propitiation, transgression, sanctification, justification, or atonement. Even if we don’t actually use big, theological words, if we use small words that aren’t explained, we might as well use long, confusing words. Sin might only be three letters, but if not explained, it’s meaningless to a child who has never read a Bible or been to church. Maybe some of your regular attenders could use a refresher course on what sin means, too.
Original: When we sin, we need to ask for forgiveness. Revised: When we sin — that means to do things that disobey God — we need to ask Him for forgiveness — that’s saying that we are sorry and that we’ll try to do better.
Original: Jesus is the atonement for our sins. Revised: Jesus is the atonement — or covering — for our sins. When we ask Jesus to be our Savior, Jesus covers our sins so that God can’t see them. Of course, God knows they are there, but instead of seeing them, He sees Jesus who is covering them up. That’s what atonement means.
This way of explaining a big word helps create a visual picture that makes it easier to understand. At other times we can provide a fun definition. Justification is defined as being “made right” before a judge. That’s a pretty lofty concept for a child to understand. Instead, telling a child “Justified means just-as-if-I’d-never-sinned” makes it pretty easy to understand and remember.
When we are teaching, we need to be aware of what words we are using, and when we use words that kids may not understand, we need to explain them — even if briefly. You can even encourage your kids and co-leaders to alert you when you use a big word. My puppet Gus will often interrupt me to say, “BIG WORD ALERT!” when I use a big word that he doesn’t understand. I’ll laugh, thank him, and explain the big word I just used. This lets the kids know I don’t mind when they ask me what a word means. During my teaching, leaders will sometimes ask me questions like, “Pastor Karl, what do mean by reconcile with a friend?” If I slip and use a grown-up word, I want to know, so that I can rephrase it so that everyone can understand.
You don’t have to eliminate or avoid big words — it’s good to teach them! I love teaching kids big words! For example, at the end of a lesson on atonement I might say, “I bet your parents don’t know what atonement means. At lunch today, ask your parents if they know what it means, and if they don’t, explain it to them.” Kids LOVE being able to go home and explain a big word to their parents. And the parents actually love it too as they see that their kids are really learning in your children’s ministry.
Kids can learn big words and love doing so! The key is making sure that for every BIG word you teach, you teach the little words that mean the same thing.
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