Author MARILYN CHANDLER-McENTYRE
Publisher WM B. EERDMANS
ISBN 0802848648
The author is both a committed Christian and a Professor of English at an American University. The title of the book says it all. The theme is the stewardship of words and language in the context of the ‘media impaired’ generation of our day. Anyone willing to face what has been transpiring especially in USA and, indeed, every western country to a degree will take on board her wise advice and encouragement. However, I tend to wonder how much we care about such matters, even pastors and leaders in the churches who themselves have often allowed their language to be degraded. I encourage the would-be Christian songwriters of today to get a copy of this as well as those who teach in various capacities in the churches. There are twelve chapters each presenting what she calls a ‘stewardship strategy’. By this she means, various means by which vocabulary, writing, poetry and language in general can be both preserved and enhanced against the depradation that is taking place. Here are some of the strategies; perhaps they will whet your appetite to read this book. Love words, Tell the truth, Read well, Share stories. Attend to translation and Play. These are half of the subject matter. As you would expect, she writes well herself, gives us plenty of helpful anecdotes from her own teaching career (by the way she is not a novice but has more than thirty years experience). When she quotes another author the origin of the statement is footnoted and is leading me to further reading although some sources she uses I have already had the good fortune to read. It is a thoroughly useful book. Of course, some will not be very partial towards it, preferring the easy slide to degeneration in words so much evident today. However, one thing to bear in mind is the thought that the tongue is to be a fountain of life and if there be a paucity of words and those spoken are uttered cheaply it will be mean that our churches do not bring forth a well watered garden but a rather dried out affair instead, not a paradise but more a wilderness with the occasion green plant. Well, we have to say that it is more of the latter that the former that we witness in many places. Surely the church has a responsibility to preserve language, and not only in English for God is not English speaking! How richly endowed are many other languages and perhaps are not so subject to the declension taking place in the places where English is the first language.
