Words 1.15.2026

     I want to begin with an analogy. Unfortunately, I cannot provide an accurate citation for this information. I think it comes from James McPherson’s magistral Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era, which is I believe the best single-volume history of the Civil War to be found. Be that as it may, consider the following factoid. By late 1863 or early 1864 the United States could have provided every soldier in her field armies with some form of a repeating rifle. Whether a Henry model or Spencer model in either long-rifle or carbine, the Union had the industrial capacity to produce enough of these new firearms to all but end the war with superior firepower. Except there were other intervening issues. While the Union could have produced the rifles it could not have provided the logistic infrastructure necessary to keep each of those soldiers adequately supplied with ammunition. 

    The logistics of the time—water, rail, or wagon was adequate to the level of firepower produced by Union armies, provided that virtually every private soldier fired no more than three rounds a minute. Double or even triple that rate of fire and the armies would run out of ammunition—possibly while battles were still being fought. So, the average soldier still carried his Springfield rifled musket, secure in the knowledge that he would generally (other than in specific battle situations) not run out of ammunition. 

    As armies adapted first repeating rifles, then semi-automatic, and eventually select-fire automatic rifles one of the defining characteristics of basic rifleman and marksmanship training was fire-discipline. The individual solider needed to be able to hit a target with a single aimed shot. That achieved the needed outcome and preserved ammunition. There would be times to use short bursts or even fully automatic fire. The trade-off —the soldier might run out of ammunition before he ran out of targets. 

    This moth we are talking about our use of the language arts to communicate God’s Word. Last week we talked about language as a general system of communication. This week we are focusing on a much smaller component of that system. The ammunition, if you will, of all our communication acts. The very words we choose and use to get attention, make an argument, drive home a point, or flesh out a truth. Like a soldier and his most basic weapons preachers must learn fire discipline in using this precious ammunition. 

Fire-discipline

    More words do not substitute for the right word. There are many ways to choose proper vocabulary. It begins with a lot of reading. Different authors bring different perspectives to their craft. You will learn structure from some writers. Some will teach you about style. Still others will help you to summarize lots of information. Other writers provide instruction in word choice. 

    Reading the work of a wide variety of authors will give you a breadth of training in the accumulation and deployment of vocabulary. Last week I said something about the limitation of “professional” reading or “domain knowledge”, recommending genre’s which do not seem to specifically relate to preaching and teaching. Let me expand on that thought just a bit. Most Pastor-Theologians—at least those of us who benefitted from a traditional theological education have a “professional patois”. Which is a fancy way of saying that we often sound the same. Many books read the same, not because the author isn’t clever but because she has become desensitized to the commonality of her vocabulary to that of her professional peers. 

    The best writers to read—the most enjoyable are those who take a familiar topic and reframe or refocus it by a broader vocabulary. Not by swarming the task with more of the same words but by using good fire-disciple to choose the right word, write the right word and then stop. 

Inventory

    Because our primary task is constructing and preaching sermons, our inventory of “ammunition”, our vocabulary must be tuned to the ear more than the eye. We must learn to accumulate, store, and deploy  punchy verbs and accurate nouns. We don’t want to be vague in the pulpit—this leads to misunderstanding. Consequently, in addition to good discipline, we want to work with a proper inventory. 

    A little confession. Even when young, I read a lot. And though I knew at a very young age I wanted to be a preacher, I crated up a lot of linguistic ammunition unsuited for the task. On entering college, I thought that any situation calling for 3 simple words would be improved by deploying 12 complicated words. I was wrong. 

    What I needed to learn—and hopefully have after 45 years is that the words on the page are a first step—a necessary step towards a public declaration. I learned many years ago that the Dictionary, Thesaurus, and other basic language tools are my friend. And much of the time I turn to the dictionary not because I lack a word, but because the one I do know is too complex and unsuited to the context of preaching. Let me be clear--I look up words I know to find simpler terms for what I already intend to say. 

    You’ll want to read old things and contemporary things. You’ll want to recycle and upgrade your inventory of words throughout your ministry. If you are in the same place for many years, you will find that the slang and jargon of a decade or more becomes the boring commonplaces of we old folk and that the kids are trotting out new words all the time—some suitable others unsuitable. Broad reading and a wide conversational environment will help us to turn our inventory, to make sure that the words we use—our ammunition—to continue with our analogy—is always fresh. Let me end this section with a quotation from scripture:

“When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.” (Proverbs 10:19 ESV) 

Accuracy

    If you are going to use fewer words, make sure they are the right ones. Choose words that are contextually fitting and appropriate.  To sum up this section let me quote Mark Twain. First the more famous quote: 

“The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter. ’tis the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.” ― Mark Twain, The Wit and Wisdom of Mark Twain: A Book of Quotations

That is an obvious quote considering our subject. It is advice which is too often ignored. A second quotation is a list excerpted from Twain’s hilarious essay Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offenses. You would do well to read this essay (and as much Twain as possible) on a regular basis. I like this little slice because it drives home the essential point of about word choice.

In addition to these large rules there are some little ones. These require that the author shall:

1. Say what he is proposing to say, not merely come near it.
2.  Use the right word, not its second cousin.
3.  Eschew surplusage.

These two gems say the same thing. Accuracy in word choice is the whole ball game, quality over quantity if you will. 

Conclusions

    The risk we face is less running out of words, than choosing and using inappropriate or insufficient words. We labor over what we write, we wrestle over how we will speak because we understand that these words matter. The most efficient way to stockpile words is to be a voracious, curious reader. Broad reading of numerous genres with an easily accessible and promiscuously used dictionary and thesaurus helps you to not only find the terminological information you need but to truly make it your own by incorporating it in formal and informal discourse. Let me rewrite that last sentence to reflect the point of this essay. Read a lot, look things up so that you can choose the simplest, most familiar term that will say what you intend to say. Same content. Different execution. And it raises a final, important point. 

    This entire conversation assumes that you know what you intend to say. This is all second and third draft work. It comes after the study, after understanding the text. The preliminary work is done and now you are structuring, outlining, phrasing, sequencing, working out transitions. After you get that first draft finished then it is time to read it aloud or have your computer do it for you. They you start editing, cutting, emending, adding, cutting, and expanding your message into the right thing said at precisely the right time.