Donna Barrett

Some people equate meekness with weakness. That’s not the biblical portrait, however. As Christians, we experience two worlds: the one we’re in and the one we’re of. Shortly before His crucifixion, Jesus prayed for His disciples, saying, “I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one” (John 17:14–15).

When AG General Secretary Donna Barrett was surprised by a fast-moving cancer, she came face to face with her own mortality and grew to have a fuller understanding of what it means to say, "My life is in God's hands." (This article by AG General Secretary Donna Barrett originally appeared in Called to Serve, a newsletter for AG ministers.

Words matter and the Bible has some clear guidelines on how followers of Christ should use them, whether verbally or written. Words are powerful. They have the ability to change people. That is why Scripture exhorts us to use them carefully, especially if we’re preachers and teachers of the gospel ( James 3:1).