Greetings, CCSN Community. As the year comes to a close, we wish you a very blessed Christmas celebration, and that you and yours enter 2026 with joy! We want to thank you for your support of the CCSN community and invite you to continue to support our efforts moving forward. As you know, like any non-profit, everything we are able …
Quote of the week, A Call to Integrity of Speech, by Bede the Venerable, 8th Century
“If you would be perfect, strive to have no word in your mouth which is not in your heart.” — Bede the Venerable (c. 672 – 735) Source: Bede the Venerable, Homilies on the Gospels, trans. Lawrence T. Martin and David Hurst, C.S.B., Cistercian Studies 110 (Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications, 1991), 2:14. Reflection: Where might I be tempted to let …
A Prayer for Guarded Speech, John of Damascus, 8th Century
“Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth, and a door of enclosure round about my lips. Bend not my heart to words of evil.” — John of Damascus (c. 675 – 749) Source: John of Damascus, On the Virtues and the Vices, in St. John Damascene: Writings, trans. Frederic H. Chase, Jr., Fathers of the Church 37 (Washington, DC: …
Quote of the Week, Calmness in Communication, by John Wesley, 18th Century
*“Though I am always in haste, I am never in a hurry, because I never undertake more work than I can go through with perfect calmness of spirit.” –John Wesley (1703-1791) Source: John Wesley, The Letters of the Rev. John Wesley, A.M., ed. John Telford, vol. 6 (London: Epworth Press, 1931), 127. Reflection: How might cultivating calmness of spirit in our …
A Prayer for Words of Witness, by Evelyn Underhill, 20th Century
“Lord, let my words carry Your reality. May my speech not be empty or self‑serving, but a witness to Your living presence. Teach me to communicate with humility, clarity, and love, so that others may encounter You through what I say and how I listen. Amen.” –Evelyn Underhill (1875 – 1941) Source: Evelyn Underhill, quoted in Jane Williams, “Theologians of …
Thank you for a great 2025, and a year-end invitation
Greetings, CCSN Community. As the year comes to a close, we want to thank you for your support of the CCSN community and invite you to continue to support our efforts moving forward. As you know, like any non-profit, everything we are able to do and our long-term impact runs off the generosity of financial partners and donors who are …
A Year-end Invitation and Thank You
Greetings, CCSN Community. As the year comes to a close, we want to thank you for your support of the CCSN community and invite you to continue to support our efforts moving forward. As you know, like any non-profit, everything we are able to do and our long-term impact runs off the generosity of financial partners and donors who are …
Last Webinar of 2025, Dec. 17, Charting, Coding, and Curating the Christianese Lexicon
Title of Presentation: A Living Dialect of Faith: Charting, Coding, and Curating the Christianese Lexicon Presenter: David Enns, PhD, GateWay Bible Church, Santa Cruz, CA Date/Time: Wednesday, Dec. 17, 6-7 pm EST Description: From prayer warrior to quiet time, the insider language of faith—Christianese—is a powerful dialect that both unites believers and confuses outsiders. This webinar explores the first systematic, data-driven analysis …
Quote of the week, A Consecrated Tongue, by Irenaeus, 2nd Century
“For the tongue, which is our instrument of speech, should be consecrated to truth, not to error.” —Irenaeus of Lyons (c. 120/140 – c. 203) Source: Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies, in Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1, ed. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1885), 455. Reflective Question: How does Irenaeus’s insistence that speech be “consecrated …
A Prayer for True and Gentle Speech, by Athenagoras of Athens, 2nd Century
“Grant, O Lord, that our words may be seasoned with truth and gentleness, that in speaking we may neither wound nor deceive, but bear witness to Your wisdom. May our tongues be instruments of peace, and our speech a mirror of the Word made flesh, so that in all discourse we glorify You.” –Athenagoras of Athens (c. 133 – 190) …
