Let's speak Gibberish

My wife and I recently went to the beach, and saw a strange sight.

There were four ladies standing in a circle, obviously together and doing something. We, not being nosey, passed on by.

It’s blurred…don’t judge me for taking a “curious” pic

But I couldn’t help overhearing them talking. And I couldn’t help noticing that it was another language, one that I didn’t understand. I didn’t think anything about it. My wife and I moseyed on, looking for sea glass as the sun rose. But then I heard a little English.

Oh, look who’s here! It’s _____. Yeaaaaaaaah! (*said very loudly)

So apparently _____ is a popular person. Then I heard this little diddy drop:

You guys ready? Let’s speak some gibberish!

So…I figured out what that “foreign” language was that the ladies were speaking. Gibberish. Nonsense. Unintelligible words. They would speak this gibberish, and, from a distance, appeared to be having a perfectly normal conversation. Then they would force laughter (it wasn’t natural…just trust me on that) that was heard all the way across the beach.

And you know when you hear people laughing, and it makes you want to laugh, too? Yeah, this wasn’t that kind of laughter. It was just weird.

Confession: I don’t know what they were doing. They may have been practicing for improv. They may have been just purely being silly. They may be a strange cult. I don’t know. But as an outsider, it was strange. Borderline creepy.

And I think that this is how many people view our local churches. And when we don’t keep them in mind when we structure our Sunday morning experiences, we keep them at the edge. Here’s what I was thinking when I saw the women, and what I believe outsiders think of our local churches.

Local Churches & The Gibberish People

The closer I get the weirder they’ll be.

I heard enough to know that I didn’t want to get any closer to this group. Offer new folks the chance to see your church at a snapshot. Make it easy for them to try community out. Easy to serve. Easy to test the waters. You know that if they experience community, they’ll want more. So make it easier to get close.

They’re really speaking another language I don’t understand.

In our churches, we have to be careful with the language we use. Loading our services with “churchy” talk just makes people feel like we’re speaking another language. Using normal, everyday language communicates that we value “outsiders.”

They don’t want me or need me.

This group was completely self-sufficient and satisfied without me. Don’t let your church convey the same thing. Having a system in place for them to plug into healthy community and service is huge. Expose the holes you have on Sunday mornings. Expose the holes you have in accomplishing your vision to reach your community. And ask people to help plug in. Most people want to know that they bring something to the table and can contribute.

I don’t have a need for that silliness.

Churches should be careful to articulate why we do what we do. Cast the vision regularly for why you do small groups, take up the offering, serve your community, and sing songs. Don’t leave it up to people’s imagination. Help them understand why you do what you do.

They just care about themselves.

May this never be an attitude of our churches. Ever. We don’t exist for ourselves. (Philippians 2:4)

It’s not wrong for these women to do what they were doing. But it may be wrong for churches to adopt some of their practices.

Do you consciously think about “outsiders” when you enter the building on Sunday mornings?

How are you intentionally structuring things so that everyone feels welcomed?

Noel Bagwell

The ladies about whom you wrote may have been preparing for a “laughter yoga” practice session. “[Clapping your hands is] how every session of laughter yoga gets started. Whether they start off happy or not, people begin a laughter yoga practice by rhythmically clapping their hands together. No golf claps, please — laughter yoga requires full finger-on-finger and palm-on-palm contact, which is believed to increase energy levels by stimulating pressure points. While clapping, participants chant “Ho, ho, ha, ha, ha!” This activates the diaphragm and prepares the body to breathe deeply throughout the practice.”

“During the clapping and chanting warm-up, people may begin dancing or speaking in gibberish. No words are allowed during laughter yoga, except by the instructor. Rather, gibberish is used to lower inhibitions and to bring participants back to a more childlike state. Since children often laugh for no reason at all, they’re a good model for laughter yoga technique.” http://bit.ly/iW8UY1

Based on your description, it seems likely that you were witness to a group of ladies preparing to practice “laughter yoga.” It may seem silly to you, but if it works for them, I can’t say I oppose their choice of exercise / meditation technique. I can say, however, that I don’t think that sort of thing is for me. I prefer a an approach to meditation that more closely resembles that of a Zen Buddhist.

Also, I whole-heartedly agree with your observations and assertions regarding the dynamic between the local church and “outsiders,” or the “unchurched” as they are sometimes called.
- Ben Reed
  
  Ahh…makes more sense now. Thanks for the explanation, Noel!
  
  I wasn’t criticizing them, just saying that from an “outsider’s” perspective, it was strange. And, unfortunately, in our churches, we don’t do much to overcome that same perception.
Ryan Tate

“They just care about themselves.” – That point reminds me of one of my favorite lines about the Church, “the Church is the only group that exists for the benefit of it’s non-members.”

Also, comparing that group of ladies to a church community goes awry in your second sentence. “There were four ladies standing in a circle” – when a church gives the image of a group of peole standing in a circle, it ceases to become inviting and open to those “outside” the circle. We should be walking together in a line, letting others join in as we go to them.

Great post Ben.
- Ben Reed
  
  Great add, Ryan! “We should be walking together in a line, letting others join in as we to to them.” I like it!
Sundi Jo Graham

Wow! Great post. Never thought of it that way.

I will have to admit I don’t consciously think about newcomers on a consistent basis. Something I need to do better at. I try to make new people feel welcome, but I could probably do better.

Thanks for the reminder.

Let’s speak Gibberish

It’s blurred…don’t judge me for taking a “curious” pic

Local Churches & The Gibberish People

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Let’s speak Gibberish

It’s blurred…don’t judge me for taking a “curious” pic

Local Churches & The Gibberish People

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