Reverend Mother of the Revgalblogpals says:
Whoops! I have been in a family-induced haze these few days, with the July 4 holiday and taking time off while relatives are visiting. So I literally lost track of what day it was!
So rather than make you guys wait even one minute longer for the five, I'll dig up an oldie:
Today, what are you:
1. Wearing
My day off favorites - denim skirt and tee shirt with sandals
2. Reading
A member of the congregation lent me a bagful of mystery novels by Steven Saylor whose stories are set in Rome during last century before Christ.
Also, Being Disciples of Jesus in a Dot.com World by Foot and Thornberg
3. Eating
I'm really trying to eat less as I prepare for vacation so I'll look good in my summer clothes, doncha know. Luckily there are lots of fresh fruits and veggies available to go with the chicken and fish. Now if I could get my congregation to send fruit home with the pastor instead of cakes!
4. Doing
Day off or no, I have to go up to the office for a few minutes as my secretary is on vacation. Somebody has to let the Developmentally Challenged cleaning crew in. After that shopping for a room airconditoner (it's REALLY hot in So Cal and the bedrooms aren't airconditioned!) then settling down on the couch to return to ancient Rome in the pages of one of the books above.
5. Pondering
In large part because I'm preaching on Hearing and Doing the Word (James 1:17-27) this week, I'm seriously pondering why it is so difficult for us (me included) to really listen to anything for more than about 15 minutes. Once upon a time Christians could sit and listen to stories about Jesus, letters from Paul, sermons, etc. for hours on end. Now anything that lasts more than 15 minutes is too long. I even choose scripture readings for worship that will fit on 1/2 a sheet of paper so the reading doesn't last too long! Is it the dot.com-ness of our world where everything comes in bytes? Are we conditioned by the length of time between commercials in TV programs? Which, incidentally, keeps getting shorter. . . Hmm
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10 comments:
Very very interesting ponderings. I wonder that too.
Interesting pondering questions --- I have noticed the same thing - and with children it's especially noticeable.
We were talking about just the same "pondering" at dinner last night. I hesitate at the long readings or preaching "too" long.
I like your ponderings. I once heard that the average kindgergartner has a 5 min attention span and the adult attention span is 11 1/2 minutes... all that time and we only add 6 1/2 minutes? yikes.
hmm, I'll take your cakes off your hands!!
:-)
I love denim skirts- those ponderings are very topical and challenging for our communication methods.
Enjoy your day off :-)
why not fresh fruits and veggies? Don't think of them as diet food. think of them as summer luxuries.
I like to use the call to worship, children's sermon, prayer of confession, and prayers of people liturgy to set up, reiterate and reinforce the message of the sermon (that way a 12 minute homily can be in actuality an 18-minute teaching ... sneaky, no?)
I actually use the whole service to do that, choosing hymns, call to worship, prayers and communion meditation that speak the same message.
My pondering is not so much about sermon length, as the length of time we are willing to concentrate on listening to anything at all, but perhaps especially to the Bible.
The books sound interresting. I am so sorry about the lack of AC. It is stffling down here too. I run my ceiling fans all the time.
I am with you on the commercial link attetnion span.
Learned lots from a prof in seminary about the post-modern generations and the challenges of preaching and pastoring to people raised in a much faster paced and techy world.
I ponder this one a lot.
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