In last week’s post, I wrote about two examples of pastors trying to keep theology “relevant” for their congregations. Leslie mentioned in the comments how much she dislikes the word “relevant”and even the word “practical.”

There are several buzzwords that I think have outlived their usefulness (if they were actually ever useful) and need to be put in front of the buzzword firing squad:

Relevant — This word seems to be a way to dismiss any theology or teaching that requires more than five minutes of thought. If a theological premise requires nuance and discernment and deep discussion than it’s not relevant and thus bad.

Practical — Why does everything have to be practical? Practical seems to be code word for denying mystery.

Missional — oh how I hate this word. It’s just a way to try to make a ministry cool, and nobody seems to know what it means anymore as it seems to apply to anything and everything.

Authentic — authentic as compare to inauthentic? Who decides if something is authentic or inauthentic?

What other words need to die a painful death? And on the opposite end, are there any words that we should use more? (I know that I’d like to see more Whedonisms enter the lexicon. Shiny!)