One of my favorite books is James Lipton’s An Exaltation of Larks. Lipton, who is better known as the host of Inside the Actor’s Studio (“We end, as always with the famous questionnaire by Bernard Pivot…), is a collector of collective nouns. We all know that a group of cows is a herd, and that a group of lions is a pride. Mr. Lipton’s research has revealed that cats gather in a clutter, turkeys in a rafter, and elk in a gang. Mr. Lipton also explains that fish gather in schools because in Middle English that was a variant spelling of shoals.

People have appropriate group names as well. Judges grouped are a bench, clerics are a school (because of their training, not because they hang out in shoals), trustees are a board, cardinals are a college, and voters are a constituency.

I’ve invented two group names and sent them to Mr. Lipton. Since I do a lot of weddings, I find it helpful to have a group name for bridesmaids and groomsmen. The collective name for bridesmaids is coif, short for coiffure or “hairdo.” This is appropriate since all bridesmaids have hair appointments to get enough starch sprayed on their heads to shellac a corner cabinet. A group of groomsmen is a quaff. “Quaff” means to drink heartily, which is what most groomsmen do (not the ones from our congregation). Since the words are homonyms, I thought them clever as well as accurate (hooray for me). For four years I have (over)used them whenever I do a wedding. “Do we have our full coif of bridesmaids here, or is someone missing?” I will say, or “The full quaff of groomsmen need to be at the church by 1 pm.”

When children of God gather we are a congregation – a word that is the English (by way of Latin) equivalent of the Greek word –ekklesia - “those called to assemble.”

But what are we a congregation of? What is the proper noun to use for a saved person, who, with other saved persons, gather together in congregations?

The easy, most natural answer would be “Christian.” But that would not hold the most weight in the New Testament. The word “Christian” is only used twice in the New Testament (Acts 11.26, and I Peter 4.16). Both times it is a word outsiders use for us, not the word we have used to describe ourselves.

In the first instance (Acts 11.26), that name, which means “Christ-like” is the name the community finds a convenient moniker for members of God’s family – the way we use “Canadian” or “Alabaman.” Although there is a clear sense of pride in the name in Acts 11.26, we are not told that Barnabas went and stenciled the name on the side of the Antioch Church of Christ Joy Bus. In the second reference (I Peter4.16), “Christian” is a legal charge brought against the believer, putting “Christian” in the same category as “thief,” or “arsonist.”

In the New Testament, believers call each other “brother,” and “sister,” or if the one speaking is significantly older, the ones addressed are “little children.” We are a family, and those filial nouns are most frequently used. When the New Testament talks about believers collectively, two words predominate. The first is found in Acts 11.26 itself: And the disciples were called “Christians” first at Antioch. Jesus told the apostles to go into all the world and “make disciples” (Matthew 28.19). A “disciple” is a student who devotes his entire life to following the example and teachings of his rabbi. The second word frequently used is “saint” (Acts 26.10, Romans 8.27, and Ephesians2.19 are just a few examples). A saint is one ritually cleansed, set apart by God for service.

The reason all this is important, I believe, is that in our culture the word “Christian” is about as precise in its meaning as is the word “love” or the phrase “reduced calorie.” “Christian” can precede words like “rap,” “militia,” “dating service,” and “cruise line.” Remembering the nouns the New Testament chooses to describe us will help us remember that we are a family, set apart by God for service, always learning and growing to be more like Jesus. When these things are true of us, we will be Christian.