Should He Stop Talking About the Church at Work?

Peter and Molly,
I'm in kind of a weird situation. I grew up without a lot of members of the church, and so whenever I would talk about the church it was almost a missionary situation. Then I went to school at a church school, and so whenever I'd talk about the church, everyone was a member. Well, a bunch of us at school all got internships at the same company in a different state. We're all in the same single's ward, and while we're at work, we enjoy spending time together, and we talk about stuff like the BYU game, but also the ward, bishops, callings, general conference. It really is amazing how much of our conversations others wouldn't get. There are some other interns, and we've been friendly to them, but they never really fit in. I'd like to include them, but I also don't want to have to feel like I can't talk about the church anymore. Is there a happy middle ground?

Sincerely,
All Greek to Them

Molly: Greek, I'm glad that you can see outside of your bubble to how others are perceiving you. Invite them to participate with you guys in specific things, and you'll be surprised how fast they catch on. In fact often times, this is an important step in missionary work. If they were to ever come to church, they wouldn't feel so confused by our lingo. It kind of reminds me of the show Lost. I had some friends who loved the show, and so when they started talking about it I checked out, but eventually I demanded they tell me what the heck they were talking about, and after a surprisingly short amount of time, I was totally caught up, and a huge fan.

Peter: For the most part I agree with Molly, but if you want them to feel comfortable joining you for lunch or after work basketball or whatever, you do have to learn some translations. Ward=Congregation. Sacrament Meeting=The Services. So on, you can get the clue. By speaking in a language everyone can understand, you can talk about the church without leaving them out.

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