Whatever happened to “plain talk”? For generations, our culture was served well by leaders, teachers, pastors and parents who knew the value of “plain talk”. It wasn’t mean-spirited or hateful (at least most of the time), it was the pursuit of getting to the heart of things and embracing “common sense”. However, in the presence of political correctness many leaders now avoid connecting consequences to choices, grades to effort, corruption to greed, and cultural decline to sin.

And for those of us in ministry, we especially need be fluent in the language of plain talk; both inside and outside of the church. I believe our country is starving for it. We need to address the obvious things that are happening on our watch. Consider what Peter wrote to the church as persecution was increasing:

“…gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.’” – 2 Peter 1:13-16 NKJV

He didn’t pull punches, he said to get serious and live holy lives in the light of God’s grace. People aren’t always going to like us, but if we compromise, they aren’t going to respect us or our message either. So as the culture around us continues to change, may we commit to speak the simple truths of God’s word to our kids and those we have influence on. It’s not going to be an easy path, but then again, real leadership never is.