When to unplug?

A recent Religion News Service article explored the challenges of living in the well-connected world of instant communication. No one denies the benefits, but new challenges must be faced as well.

Trying to find the right balance between constant, easy access and near-obsession is an issue of consideration for me, both personally and as a parent. When do you simply turn off the phone and shut down the computer? (Or insist that all of the communication devices used by your offspring be put in a common holding place until the next day?)

According to the article, Margot Starbuck, a Presbyterian minister and mother of three, confessed: “If I'm not at my computer, I'm wondering what I'm missing." So she is taking Sundays off now, what she calls an “Unplugged Sabbath." The benefits are numerous, she said.

As with so many aspects of life, Peggy Kendall, associate professor of communication studies at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minn., who has researched the impact of technology on society, said balance is the key. Having scheduled "fasts" from constant connections can serve us well.

To that end, I'm unplugging for much of the week of Thanksgiving — and doing so with gratitude for my online readers and friends, and for Tony Cartledge who will continue to blog in my absence.

Right on time

The late D. Eugene Briscoe, my supervisor of long ago, taught me the values of time management and punctuality. Some would say it was an obsession with him.

However, those good lessons learned have served me well throughout my career. So I am very grateful.

Using time wisely, efficiently and effectively is a stewardship issue, Gene insisted. He taught me how to do so through calendaring and other ways of organizing. With his good help, I learned to "multitask" before that became a common term.

Punctuality was one of his strongest emphases. An appointment with someone should be considered as a "contract," he often said. So being late is an unacceptable violation of a contract. To waste the time of someone else was stealing something of great value.

So only on rare occasions have I ever been late to anything. I just show up on-time if not early.

However, it important to find the proper exceptions to the rule. For example, I hurried to an out-of-town event recently (where I was an observer, not a participant) and arrived just in time. I should have slowed down as the meeting was much longer than necessary. (Managing the amount of time one's rear can endure sitting is another matter for consideration.)

A couple of years ago, I took my older daughter to see the Plain White T's in concert at Mercer University. We made the mistake of showing up at the time printed on the tickets.

It would be nearly three hours before the first note of "Hey There Delilah" was struck. Only a handful of other fools were in the vast arena when we arrived.

Not being a frequent concert-goer, I was unaware that even the announced warm-up acts were nowhere around when the show was scheduled to start. But the worst piece of missing information was the quality of entertainment that would precede the announced acts.

Suffice it say that there is a word combination that I now know to avoid at all cost: "local rapper." Otherwise, I'll be right on time.

[A photo of the famous Old Town Hall Tower and Astronomical Clock in Prague — in part dating back to the 15th century — that I shot in 2007.]

Going into hyphenation

Years of daily writing and editing can be damaging to the brain. One tends to notice things others might ignore.

While helping my youngest brother buy a new cell phone at the Walmart in Fort Oglethorpe, Ga., recently, I asked the electronics clerk when the company removed the hyphen from its name. He gave me a blank stare.

Pointing to the sign above his head, I said: “There is no hyphen in Walmart now.”

He shrugged his shoulders and replied: “I haven’t noticed."

In an ongoing effort to keep my accuracy-in-writing rate teetering around 50 percent, I checked a forum on the topic and discovered that the Associated Press style gurus have bifurcated the usage to meet the company’s current names. Oddly, it is proper to write "Walmart" when referring to a store and "Wal-Mart Stores, Inc." when referring to the parent company.

There was no explanation for the extracted hyphen. But I have a suggestion for the heirs of Sam Walton.

Perhaps they will donate it to another retail company and, in doing so, solve one of the great mysteries of life. Is it PET-SMART or PETS-MART?

'Rights and privileges' supplant cooperation

Pastor Julie Pennington-Russell told me she found a FedEx package from the Georgia Baptist Convention (GBC) when she arrived at the First Baptist Church of Decatur, Ga., yesterday. It contained a letter from GBC Executive Director J. Robert White, the mouthpiece of the fundamentalist-controlled network of churches, informing her that the congregation's relationship with the convention has been terminated.

She read the letter to the Decatur congregation at the conclusion of both morning services. She noted that her doctoral work is not yet complete, but she appreciates the confidence.

The letter read:


Dear Dr. Pennington-Russell-

The following recommendation from the Executive committee of the Georgia Baptist Convention was approved by messengers of the Georgia Baptist Convention in annual Session on November 10, 2009:

"That First Baptist Church of Decatur is not a cooperating church as defined in Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution because a woman is serving as senior pastor and that First Baptist Church of Decatur be excluded from the convention and all rights and privileges thereof."

As indicated in my letter of November 2, 2009, funds received by the Convention from First Baptist Church of Decatur during 2009 will be returned.

I would be remiss if I did not say on behalf of the Convention how grateful we have been across many years of partnership with First Baptist of Decatur for our service and ministry together. You and the church family are in my thoughts and prayers today as you move forward to continue your ministry in the name of the Lord. We recognize and appreciate the faithfulness of First Baptist Church of Decatur throughout the years.

Sincerely,

J. Robert White

No, White and other GBC leaders are remiss in their profound failure to understand and appreciate the long-held Baptist principle of local church autonomy and the long-term consequences of their onward march toward irrelevance.

The Decatur church is doing just fine — perhaps better — outside the unhealthy relationship with such a systemically ill organization. One could only hope that more congregations could make that discovery on their own.

Bob's comment that the Decatur congregation — that considers Julie's call a clear leading of the Spirit — is "excluded from the convention and all rights and privileges thereof" reveals just how the Boy's Clubhouse continues to misunderstand the very reason for the convention's existence.

The purpose of such Baptist organizations is to provide a means by which congregations can work together effectively in missions and ministry. It is about cooperation, not who has "rights and privileges."

Well, it should be.

Shut up, Bing; it's early

Martina McBride is wrapping up "Do you see what I see?" when my car radio comes on early this morning. Then Bing Crosby starts to proclaim: "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas."

No it's not, Bing. It's Nov. 14 with temperatures expected in the high 70s. The only hints of Christmas are the store displays that went up right after the Fourth of July.

I hit the button that moved the dial from premature Christmas jingles on 102.5 to the pleasant light rock sounds of 93.7. That suits me well until know-it-all John Tesh comes on. Then the CD goes in.

A week ago I overheard someone tell of visiting Santa at a mall already. Think the old elf can remember those lists for seven weeks?

Order is important: Thanksgiving, Advent then Christmas. Don't push it.

These songs may not be out of tune, but they are out of rhythm.

Tom's tidbits for church leaders

Constant efforts by church leaders to meet their members' personal tastes for worship styles and times can be exhausting. Tom Long, professor of preaching at Emory's Candler School of Theology and author of Beyond the Worship Wars, has some good insights on this matter.

The book by Long, who spoke to a Baptist Heritage Council of Georgia breakfast in Dalton last Monday, resulted from a grant-supported study of widely diverse congregations that have found a "third way" between the divisive labeling of "traditional" and "contemporary" worship.

Here are two of those insights I picked up from him on Monday morning:

First, most church leaders define acceptable worship music by drawing vertical lines according to style. They say: “We only do this type of music at our church.”

Dr. Long suggested drawing a horizontal line with “excellence” above and "trivial” below. He gave a couple of examples, but the one I remember is that "Shine, Jesus, Shine" is below the line while other newer songs fit above.

Churches can be eclectic musically while still insisting on excellence, he said. Good point.

Second, churches that develop and define separate worship services as “contemporary” or “traditional” are beginning to have “buyer’s remorse,” he said. Often the result is a congregation that is separted by generations.

I agree. It is hard to have a “church family” when the children and older adults never share worship time and space.

There is much more to be mined here, but these two observations could go a long way in helping church leaders who seek to make congregational life both relevant and reverent in a fast and significantly changing culture. However, there are no easy answers.

Thanks, Vineville

The name on the sign at the busy intersection of Vineville and Pierce Avenues in Macon, Ga., will change this week as Tripp Martin, a gifted young minister, assumes the pastorate of historic Vineville Baptist Church.

For most of the year it has been my great pleasure to fill the pulpit in that beautiful sanctuary occupied by warm and caring people. Only a small slice of the Baptist world would be so courageous (to invite me in) as this congregation has been.

Your responsiveness, caring and affirmation are wonderful gifts I will take with me from our good time together. Your marvelous blend of commitment, kindness and humor made me feel at home right from the start.

You were most gracious on Sunday with your hugs, departing words and an armload of cards and letters that I am enjoying still. And my family and I are deeply grateful for the spring break trip we will enjoy.

It was enough that you named the street that runs by the church for us.:)

THANKS!!