The English language is so… so… preschool.

Do a few word studies in Greek, and you’ll find yourself pocketing a motherlode of gold nuggets. Greek has words that eat up entire paragraphs while describing them in English.

Spend an afternoon with an elderly German grandmother, and you’ll watch her pull her last remaining hairs out with her arthritic hands ’cause she can’t find the blasted words in English to express what she can say so passionately in her mother tongue.

She can’t find the words… because they don’t exist. Ah, English. The language where a house can burn down, up, and out—all at the same time. So here’s what I’m looking for today: A word that describes what happened in church this morning. A word that captures what God and I did together.

Synergy? No, synergy talks about something produced greater than the sum of the parts, and there’s nothing greater than God.

Cooperation? No, cooperation just refers to the process of getting things done together.

Teamwork? The combined effort of a group of people, especially when effective or efficient. Not bad. But not even half way there, either. It implies the inherent equality of the contributors.

Kwan? Wasn’t that the word Cuba Gooding, Jr.’s character invented to describe “the whole package” in Jerry Maguire? Nah. Too Cheesy.

What about a word that describes how fun it was? The collective sense of movement it caused? See, I want a word that defines what you’ve got when God is being God and I’m being Brad, when melody and harmony create a song that’s actually moving people and changing lives.

Oh, I know. Maybe it’s not a word. Maybe it could be a phrase.

While I’m looking at Jesus.

Then it’s easy.

“Thank you.”

Sweet.

(But if you can think of a word, even in another language, that even starts to do what I’m looking for, I’m all ears).

😉