Interesting blog article by Jeff Goins on what Mumford & Sons have taught him about writing (Great blog for writers, read the full article here: http://goinswriter.com/mumford-and-sons-writing/)

I resonate with several of his points: Everyone loves stories, transparency is essential, people are fascinated with the divine. These are some key ingredients of good preaching, too. Wasn't so sure about his first point, though: Never underestimate the power of a well-placed expletive. There seems to be a bit of a renaissance of using expletives in hip Christian circles, rather than just sanitised, bland, clichéd language. 

How does that go with the Bible's advice? "Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." (Paul's letter to the Colossians, chapter 4, verse 6). Quite a challenge to be full of grace and 'salty' at the same time...

I know that in a private, safe setting I sometimes enjoy using 'strong' words -simply because they make an impact, and it feels a little bit naughty (naughty boy syndrome). I also remember having to clean up my act when first coming to England, because middle-class people here (and especially the Christian variety) were much more squeamish - especially about the S*** word which was quite common in Germany (and often said in English by younger people!).

Some years ago (while still living in Germany) I wrote a song that (I think) tells a story and is transparent about human struggles. And it actually ends with a couple of pretty strong word, not expletives, but it certainly ends the song with a bang. An English minister of a church, where I sang this song (not in the service, but an after-service concert) still remembers the song today - because of the second-last word! (And I do think that the other word before that was horribly overdone, by the way)...

So, maybe I have become a little bit too tame and well-adjusted. Jesus was good at telling stories and rattling people's preconceptions ("It has been said ... but I tell you..."). Telling a story with a big "aha" effect at the end is still one of the most effective ways of communicating.

So - what was that word at the end of my song? You'll have to listen to it, mate! (And don't skip to the end - do give the story a chance...)