Terms starting with C

The opening words of a service — usually a psalm or scripture passage, often read responsively — that gather the congregation and begin worship.

A strong, lasting sense that God wants you to do something specific — a job, a place, a form of service — and that your life is meant for it.

A weekend or week away at a camp or conference center for worship, teaching, and community — for youth in summer, for adults on retreat — where a lot of Christians say their faith became real.

A summary of Christian teaching in question-and-answer form, used to instruct new believers and the young (catechism); and a person being instructed in preparation for baptism (catechumen).

"Universal" — as in the creeds' "holy catholic church," meaning the whole church of all times and places. Not the same as the Roman Catholic Church.

A required worship service at a Christian school or college — usually a few times a week — and also a small church or worship room inside a larger building (a hospital, a university, a mansion).

Living entirely inside Christian culture — Christian school, church, Christian friends, Christian music and media — with little contact with anyone else.

The evening service on December 24 — the best-attended of the year in many churches — with carols, the Christmas story from Luke 2, and, traditionally, "Silent Night" sung by candlelight at the end.

A church's formal process for confronting a member in serious, unrepentant sin — private conversation, then wider involvement, and, if it fails, removal from membership — with the aim of restoring them.

A brand-new church started from scratch — usually by a small team sent out by an established church, meeting in a school, storefront, or home until it grows.

Visiting different churches to find one that fits (shopping); or, moving from church to church without ever settling (hopping) — the second said with a slight frown.

The ritual of sharing bread and wine (or juice) in memory of Jesus' last meal with His disciples. The name, the meaning, and who may take it vary by tradition.

Telling one's sins to a priest and receiving God's forgiveness through him — a sacrament in Catholic and Orthodox practice, also available in Anglican and Lutheran churches.

The people who belong to and attend a particular church — the local community of believers, as distinct from the building or the denomination.

Two styles of worship service — contemporary (band, screens, modern songs, casual) and traditional (organ, hymns, liturgy, formal) — and the long, mostly friendly argument between them.

The uncomfortable inner sense that you're in the wrong and need to change — attributed by Christians to the Holy Spirit. Nothing to do with a courtroom.

Dating with marriage explicitly in view — often with families involved, boundaries agreed up front, and casual dating avoided — a practice revived in some evangelical circles in the 1990s.

A binding promise between God and people — with commitments on both sides — that structures the whole Bible: God's covenants with Noah, Abraham, Israel, David, and the "new covenant" in Christ.

A short, formal summary of Christian belief, recited in worship — the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds are the oldest and are shared by nearly all Christians.