Just the right words.

Translation please

Immigrants always have a problem learning the new language of their chosen place of abode. Like me and most of the other people in the immense boomer cohort. Speaking the current cultural dialect requires familiarity with the Urban Dictionary, GeekWise, and other primers and language tutorials of native speak. 

For example, I'm trying to figure out the "no problem" thing, you know, the native response to the "thank you" that customarily follows good service. This happens all the time and I'm trying to fine-tune my own personal dictionary to accommodate "no problem" when a member of the younger millennial cohort tosses it my way. One epic occasion marks my memory. It was a turning point in language development, the cross-roads where the geezer in me came face to face with the missionary in my heart.  Picture this. The check out line at a large retail store, an organization that used to dismiss employees if they didn't say TYFSAK. Anyway, I'm checking out with my Geritol, Depends, and soft foods. I rendered the cash and just stood there for a minute or two, waiting for some kind of response from the slacker taking my money. After about fifteen minutes (translation: 30 seconds), I finally said, "thank you", in a loud and obnoxious tone. He said, "no problem." I almost ripped his tongue out. After showing off, we finally got the the car and I said something like, "dumb, stupid kid. Immature all the way." Harriet said, "look at you. You're the one acting like a child." Ouch. 

She was right. Here I was out in the native's world expecting him to know or learn immigrant talk. Of course, "no problem" isn't a smarty-pants, in-your-face, stick-it-in-you-ear retort. It's actually native language for "you're welcome". He was being nice. I was too busy being a ticked off geezer to notice. Anyway, if this particular language shift bothers you, check out the GeekWise explanation here. 

This is just another layer in the communication onion that connects or dis-connects the church from the culture around us, especially the younger cohorts. My response to the young man was typical of the way we deal with that particular generation: critical, dismissive, and judgmental. Most often we have them profiled according to our own rigid biases, thereby writing them off as Kingdom partners. When I was a state convention employee I sat with many older church leaders trying to develop a strategy for reaching the younger people around them. At some point I would ask, "Have you asked them?" "No", they would usually reply, "they don't understand church and they're immature anyway." Yeah, right! They just may understand church more than you're willing to admit. And, the gatekeepers may be confusing the virtue of child-likeness with the kiddie game of childishness. Takes one to know one---

True. The Good News is timeless, always preaches, never returns void, and all the other biblical truth about the Word of God. Faithfulness in declaring the full counsel of God is the challenge always before God's people. Yet, even the Apostle Paul knew the value of being all things to all people for the sake of communicating truth. He wasn't two-faced or inauthentic or fake in his inner belief system. He was passionate enough about his faith to translate it to Romans, Greeks, Epicureans, Stoics, and the other people living in the Greco-Roman world. Hmmm? A lesson perhaps?

No problem.

Take it to the next level

The personal strengths movement has been notched up a level or two in the past couple of months with the release of several new strength assessment tools. Using inventories developed through millions of interviews, the folks at Gallup and Simply Strengths have moved the discipline of positive psychology to a practical level that you can take to work every day. If you're unfamiliar with this stuff, pause here and here for a look around. These sites provide the basic understanding of the strength development work of Donald Clifton and Marcus Buckingham, formerly heads of the Gallup organizations research work. Over several decades these folks have been cranking out business best-seller after best-seller as they have broadened the basic premise of positive psychology.

This underlying theory is basically simple. Yet, when first published in Now, Discover Your Strengths (Free Press, New York: 2001) it introduced a totally new concept into business management: the idea that a person's best opportunity for excellence on the job is in the area of how fully the person's personal strengths are engaged in the assignment.  In short, the Gallup research challenged established business and educational models which presume that our best opportunity for improvement is found in our areas of weakness, that is, as workers improve the shortcomings in their personal talent array. 

Buckingham, who succeeded Clifton as head of the Gallup work, and eventually established the Simply Strengths organization, has now developed a personal inventory to measure the degree to which one's personal strengths are engaged in their work assignment, and the promise of using the strength mix in the future of that same work. It is both brilliant and practical, revealing in many cases the need for strategic partnering in fulfilling job expectations and perhaps why so many people are unhappy in their work today. Making the progression through the inventories and applying the findings to leadership, and now to increased performance, may be essential in helping to define a prime workplace and bring total satisfaction to the work force in America.

Personally, I have found all of the strengths material to be very consistent with what the Bible teaches about personal talent and leadership. Factoring spiritual giftedness into the process leads to some very powerful conclusions about spiritual leadership. At the same time, strength assessment and evaluation is also useful in marriage counseling, and assisting church members with career issues, calling, and finding the right fit in congregational assignments. Already, Go, Put Your Strengths to Work by Buckingham has been helpful in guiding several church members in making important career decisions, a way to actually measure what some of them have been sensing in their response to this troubled job market and even more, confirmation regarding important career moves. It is good to have something practical, while being also theologically sound, when these work related crises occur.

Leadership continues to be a significant issue in congregational and denominational experience. As the world steps back from the institutional church, and as church people deal with the nuances of a fickle job market, church leaders must discover these means of connecting our spiritual belief systems to practical avenues to pursue our own Kingdom assignments, and the work to which our congregants are called to each day. Serving God in our own times is often the simple wisdom of bringing these practical realities into our faith experience, and learning how to take it to the next level.

Faith is substantive, real, tangible. Here is another tool that I believe God has authored and blessed to help His people become salt and light in an ever darkening world. Work is often our mission field. Let's learn to engage it properly.

There's no place like home---

Pictured at left is the first 11:00 a.m. service in what we still call the new worship center. That was almost a year ago, but to us it is still new.

Since then we've added the Saturday Night Worship @ Northwood service and continually see more and more people in our other two services. "Build it and they will come" may be more than a cool line from a movie.

Today Harriet and I will be worshiping with our children in Columbia. It will be a joy to attend church with them again and for our family to share something of our spiritual lives once more. Of course, when the children were at home with us in Greenville, we shared this part of our lives every week. Now, with them in Columbia and us in North Charleston, we can only worship with them with they are in town. So, being together today is a very good, though rare, experience. 

With that being acknowledged, let me add that, aside from being with the children and JL, we'd rather be in church with our spiritual family in North Charleston today. There is a special comfort in the fellowship of people who share so much. Living in the embrace of the Northwood family every day brings a personal security that constantly guards us in life, a protective circle of spiritual relations that covers us with joy and peace. I don't enjoy sitting and listening all that much, so accustomed I am to teaching each week. Today, however, I will participate in worship at another level.

And, I will think of my dear friends and family @ Northwood. You see, there really is no place like home. Ooooh! Geezer stuff. Gooey.

True.

John Lewis Carpenter

He no longer thinks his name is "You", he has mastered the potty thing, and he now speaks in full sentences. Oh yes, and today he is three years old.

The pictures at left are for comparison, the right side being the toddler in 2009, the left shot being the little boy in 2010. Both depict a gregarious, happy child, growing in confidence, and loving the camera.

On the occasion of his birthday we are taking a long weekend to celebrate! We'll be spending the nights with Brain and Katie, and as much time as possible with Liz, Scott, and JL. Maybe we'll bounce and climb a little at his party. Fun!

Jesus put a lot of value on little children. So do we. We are thankful for the blessing of being parents to Liz and Brian, in-laws to Scott and Katherine, and grand-parents to John Lewis. Looking back we can only estimate the joy we may have brought to our parents and grands, even when we terrorized their houses and made havoc of their lives.  

So, today we're in Columbia with family. It will be fun. And, we'll all be asking what happened to the last three years---

Adverbs 8:12

Cleanliness is next to godliness, right? Well, our mothers told us that. Pressed for a Biblical reference someone said Adverbs 8:12 (ate, one too). Nyuk! Nyuk! Just goes to show how some people try to club you with truth they attribute to the Good Book that is actually, extra-biblical, not in Scripture at all. So, we have become the culture of poor cite, that is, not doing our research sufficiently to properly credit quotes, axioms, proverbs, and other information useful for making a point. 

Go simple with me. Sometimes people use this misquote malaprop thing to (1) give a little more credence to their point, (2) impress others with their knowledge, (3) establish authority for their position, however tenuous (4) test your knowledge, or, (5) just to have a little fun. I'll have to admit a certain humor to a room full of eager learners thumbing through their texts looking for the Book of Hezekiah, or trying to find the Wisdom of Hesitations somewhere between Genesis and Revelation. Biblical literacy is not our long suit.

Complicating the issue further are the new age versions, apocryphal books and gospels, writings attributed to the ancients but not considered canonical by the church. Few of us are learned in these volumes. As a result, you can ascribe about anything to ben Sirach and no one would be the wiser. Shoot, look at the confusion created by the fictional da Vinci code. The long and short of it is,  you could attribute "the early bird gets the worm" to the World According to Garp and some people wouldn't know the difference. Garp was one of the republicans Jesus shared a meal with on occasion, wasn't he?

Just to set the record straight, the Bible doesn't say---

• Beggars cannot be choosers.
• God helps those who help themselves.
• Charity begins at home.
• Everything that glitters is not gold.
• You can't tell a book by it's cover.
• Money is the root of all evil.
• The squeaky wheel gets the grease.
• To thine own self be true.
• Love is a many splendored thing.
• No man is an island.
• Play it again, Sam.
• Anything about 'round John virgin.

It's true, some of the concepts and ideals relating to the above quotes are scriptural. Most of these popular adages contain some measure of truth, in some ways attributable to the Word. Wasn't it Bill Cosby who said he learned his basic theology from his mother and father, like, "the Lord help you if your father finds out,", or, "I brought you into this world, I can take you out." Not exactly verbatim texts from the pages of the Holy Bible. Solid spiritual thoughts nonetheless.

Get to the point. Here it is! We have become people of the truism rather than the truth. Pop culture has a special affection for self-evident catch-phrases, tag lines, and idioms. The more these word games mimic Biblical truth the more clout and depth they ascribe to the user. Cocktail party spirituality will place Eckhart Tolle right along side of Jesus of Nazareth. Verily I say unto you, people will quote Kahlil Gibran with the same hushed-tone reverence as they would apply to the voice of Jehovah from the flaming bush at Mt. Horeb. No wonder the world is in a mess. Most people can't differentiate between  Ben Franklin and Jeremiah the Prophet, the wisdom of Poor Richard from King Solomon. Just a shrug of the shoulder---whatever?

So, what's wrong with that? Well, nothing, if  you can stake your life on a colloquialism. If the coffee mug test (something that can be printed on a coffee mug) is the final arbiter of what really matters to you then go with the truisms and don't bother with who said or penned it. If you're looking for something more substantial, go to the truth, and know it is the truth, and let it guide you.

Right on! Hear, hear! Shut my mouth wide open!

Amen!

Dealing with toxic people

OK, this is the language of human conflict. Face it, many people live on the ragged edge and therefore understand the new dialectic of in your face! This may explain, at least in part, why our culture is so familiar with the likes of road rage, going postal, the famous one finger salute, serial killings, hate crimes, spousal abuse, playground and internet bullies, identity theft, stalking, computer hacking, anger management, glass ceilings, and a whole new vocabulary that defines the darker side of human behavior. Throw toxic people into the mix and you have an evil brew capable of poisoning everyone who tastes it.

This is an ancient science, human toxicity. Since the Garden of Eden us mortals have learned just about everything possible about the chemistry of badness. I mean, ours is the saga of the good guys versus the bad guys, white hats against black, the Christians and the infidels, left and right, liberal and conservative, Chevy, Ford, or Dodge, and just about any other polarity that could pit us against each other. You used to be able to tell them apart,  mild mannered folk from the toxic. Society just kind of segregated them, you know, the cloister as opposed to the wretched, saloon people not quite fitting into the social hall, Hell's Angels not mixing with the Sunday School crowd. The real toxic people were usually in prison or something.

Of course, these little distinctions were never infallible. Today, they are non-existent. You see, even the church is full of toxic people, folks who whine, complain, gripe, irritate, aggravate, take advantage, lie, cheat, steal, use, abuse, confuse, or, just for fun, stand on your last nerve. Sure, some of them don't mean it, and a good many don't know it. But, toxic people are everywhere. The question is: how do you deal with them?

One system says to avoid them. You know, cross the street, screen your calls, hit the delete button, look the other way, take another route, go to another room, cancel the appointment, put them on a shelf, feign busy-ness. We all know life is too short, we don't have time for their games, it's not worth it, give me a break, you got to be kidding me, and fughedaboudit. We've got plenty of protective shield from the vile stuff that these troubled people spread around.

Another system says engage them. Cover them with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.  Greet, serve, pray, encourage, speak, show compassion, be hospitable, instruct, and accept them. Yes, you can tell them the truth in love, model a servant spirit to them. This system says that you possess something that will enable you to handle their poison. It is a world-view that affirms a redemptive attitude toward them. This system is about bridges.

How do you deal with toxic people? Depends on your world-view, doesn't it?

TMI

Information overload! Sophisticated moderns think of this as a totally contemporary phenom, the result of our digital world. It is, however, an ancient reality, an idea scientists began to formally develop back in the old world, you know, in the 1950's. They spoke of it as "sensory overload" back then, describing the loss of organization when all the synapses and brain waves are processing too much data. Today, our hieroglyphic is a simple, TMI, "too much information".

Alvin Toffler spoke of information overload in Future Shock, a must read from the 1970's. He and other futurists predicted a deluge of data in the opening days of the information age, a societal shift where information would move from blessing to curse as it became more prevalent. Recently, some folks at Xerox diagnosed an information overload syndrome, a tongue-in-cheek reminder of how much deciphering and assimilating all this information impacts work, the economy, and daily life. The long and short of it: TMI is regressive. Maybe not satire at all!

Presenting at the Web 2.0 Expo, internet consultant Clay Shirky observed that the problem is no longer information or sensory overload, but filter failure, an inability to manage the information flow, you know, hit the delete button, ignore useless data, jettison trash that clogs the system. Technology has enabled the transmission of enormous quantities of data. The same innovators, however,  have created the stuff to manage the stuff, systems to regulate filing and reviewing and absorbing all the data.

Here's a new's flash from the brain people. A few months ago I read John Medina's Brain Rules (Pear Press, Seattle: 2008), a very readable approach to over-my-head scientific ideas about the human brain. Evidently, much of the TMI distraction and negative influence of information overload occurs because multitasking is a myth. He says, "The brain naturally focuses on concepts sequentially, one at a time " (see page 84). Now, I've made this simple and it really is complex. I can walk and talk at the same time and do this here writing and drink a cup of coffee too. What he means is that the human brain can only pay attention to one thing at a time. So, information overload crashes the brain.

Get to the point. OK, here it is. The information overload thing is exactly why effective preachers have always practiced the K.I.S.S. principle, why some of the best presenters these days are people with one central point, and the reason many organizations are simplifying their printed data, communication pieces, etc. People can only absorb so much. As a result, we have to stop throwing too much at them. 

Jesus taught in parables. These were homespun stories that the people could easily decipher, those with a heart for the message. One or two were multi-layered and complex. He explained them in detail. The predominance were the Kingdom Parables. They had usually one point. Jesus was a master teacher, at least in part, because he knew about information overload.

Really, though, TMI is something else indeed, our tendency to pull back the veil of privacy and expose more about a situation than most people want to know. Information overload is what makes our mind explode, what reduces productivity, and why radio guy Glenn Beck carries duct tape with him every where. Here's a good site. Check it out.

Socialnomics 101

Pay attention kids! A revolution is happening. No, that's not right. A revolution has happened. It's really a done deal. Sadly, many people don't understand it. So, what do we do? Yes, let's criticize it, laugh @ it, overlook it, minimize it, or scratch our head over it. Still, like it or not, the social media revolution is changing the face of just about everything we know, from social contacts, to dating, to reading a book. And, as usual, churches are on the back end of this cultural shift, doing raspberries and making faces at just another cultural trend.

So, there. Take a look at this. My friend Frank Reeder sent me this You Tube clip that he had seen while attending a denominational trustee session a while back. If that isn't enough, go here also. It's another compilation of staggering statistics. All of it builds to a dynamic information crescendo: this social media stuff isn't merely another passing trend. It is the revolution. And, it ramps up to another level every few seconds. 

My friend Reggie McNeal used to talk about waves. Watching surfers one day he made a couple of momentous observations. One, surfers don't make waves. God started the motion of the seas at creation and waves are part of it. Two, surfers ride waves. If they don't they get pummeled and pounded, and may eventually drown. So, here is a good picture of the social media thing. It is not just a trend. It is a tsunami, a wave of immense proportions, touching just about every area of human experience. Those who learn to ride this and other cultural waves will be successful. Others will drown.

Being a part of the times is essential for people of faith. The stuff of our faith is eternal, unchanging. Often these truths have accumulated some barnacles. We feel the need to preserve the truth and protect it from the assault of the times. Sometimes we end up protecting all of the barnacles too, many of them unnecessary for the preservation or sustenance of what we believe. Crusted with old sediment and things that cling, we may settle and leave no room for the fresh things of right now. Then we wonder why there is such a cultural disconnect, why our children and grand children yawn when they hear the word "church" or look elsewhere for satisfy their spiritual yearnings.

Go head, dare me to find some Biblical connections to the social networking revolution! You're right, anything will be a stretch and, far be it for most of us preacher types to make the stretch once in a while, maybe most of the time. Yes, haul out 1 Chronicles 12:32. While you're at it, take a gander at Acts 13:36. I mean, these verses do talk about our connection to the world around us, serving God in our own times, understanding the times and knowing what to do. Even more pointedly, Jesus talked about new wine and old wineskins. You can certainly stretch the social media revolution around that framework without much trouble. There is also the "in the world" and "of the world" dichotomy, the warning to keep the water out of the boat but the boat in the water sort of thing.not matter how you cut it, though, people of faith cannot read the Book without a conviction to encounter the world, to connect with it, to live out our faith out there in the mean streets of it.

The revolution is about connections, relationships, community, contact, and other graces that enhance the human element of life. And, the truth is, while many are connecting to Face Book many others are dis-connecting from church. The revolution has happened and many of us are bragging that it didn't get on us. 

Maybe we should join the revolution and see how this techno stuff can help us be what Jesus intended us to be---a movement that engages the world, serves it, and influences it. 

Yes.