Verbing, per the dictionary, is using a noun as a verb. It's fairly common in the English language especially on the internet and in business, despite the protests of formal writers. As Simon Taylor says, "The internet is amazing. It turned "Friend" into a verb and "Like" into a noun." For some time, Christians have wrestled with verbing our faith vocabulary.
DC Talk, bastion of 90s Christian rock, reminded us that "Love is a verb." They used the phrase to remind us that love was more that an emotion or possession, but an action directed towards our neighbors, our enemies, and the world. Verbing "Love" is a good start, but we can go further. What if we thought of more of our Christian lexicon as active components rather than static concepts?
What if we are not just filled with hope, but actually hope for all things?
When should we ask for a blessing to be able to bless someone else?
Should we spend so much energy defending our beliefs, or believing in God?
How can we honor the Resurrection by living as resurrected people?
This active stance is part of our DNA as disciples of Jesus. Dr. Larry Stookey pointed out in his book Let the Whole Church Say Amen, that Jesus taught us to pray using "vigorous verbs," - give, forgive, save, deliver. The life of faith modeled by Jesus was full of action and movement, not static concepts. In the first century, we weren't know as Christians. We were followers of the way. We didn't adhere to a belief structure, we lived a way of life patterned after the teachings of Jesus.
What if faith wasn't just something you had, but the way you lived?
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