After the District Convention in June, our circuit brothers won't see each other again until the Fall. This, combined with the loss of many email addresses and favorites, meant my forced isolation from the internet was also an unwelcome and discontented absence from many friends and acquaintenances. I miss the contact of churchs and pastors the blogosphere and internet provides us. I rather enjoy the stories, ruminations, random thoughts, and family updates from my net circle of friends, colleagues, and their families.
When you live in a small Southern city, these friends through the web often connect us and make it seem as if we were actually closer to the Lutheran heartland than we (at least me) are. It occurs to me that this just might be one of the greater blessings and benefits of our technological connections. They provide bridges across the distance of geography and even idology. I connect not only with like minded folks but with people across the theological spectrum. So when it is all back up and running, I will need to manage my free time well to catch up, reconnect, and converse with friends again....
Get a real life....talk to real
ReplyDeletepeople face to face.
And exactly how do you do that when the people are far away? Your answer is both naive and did not reflect his point.
ReplyDeleteI recently deleted my Facebook. The site is a great way to reconnect with friends and family, especially since I live in a foreign country... but as the years have gone by, I have found myself taken over by it. Why do I care what other people are currently doing? Why should I think they care what I'm currently doing? Its nice to share photos of a recent trip, but it feels like Facebook provides a false image of your life. Im not going to post any bad pictures, or thoughts, etc... It seems like people try to one up another as well... who has gone to the most exotic place... who can post the most witty quotes... I feel unburdened and free now that I have been Facebook free. Perhaps I can use this time to reflect on what truly matters. Pastor's post made me want to share so I thought I'd get this off my chest. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteEveryone has real people in
ReplyDeletetheir neighborhood, job site,
community, church. If all
your friends are on the
internet, then make some new
friends.
Gadfry some of you are hard as nails. Yes I have tons of friends and acquaintences locally. I do not do Facebook. I do not do social networking. I spend 20-30 minutes a day connecting, reading blogs, etc. Gee whiz, I also have many friends far removed from Tennessee. Am I supposed to live cut off from them because the internet can and does (for some) take over their lives? We do not do small talk. We talk about matters of substance for the faith and the church.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, sometimes I think I must be a terrible communicator when people read what I wrote and then speak to me as if I wrote something entirely different.
Balance is the key. Use the technology but do not let it take over your lives. It is bane or blessing only because of how we use it. I am not generally in favor of life on the web but when it was unceremoniously taken from me, I did miss it. That is what I said.
I have had my rant and now am turning my comments off and leaving it to the rest of you.
I think we can have a "consolation of the Brethren" with friends you meet on the internet. Then, you sometimes meet them in real life face to face when attending a convention or conference. I enjoy reading blog posts and learn sometimes by reading them. So, thank you, Pr Peters, your blog is one of the best of them. I am on Facebook, and the Wittenberg Trail, too. I think the internet can be like anything else in this world. A blessing, or when abused, a curse. Yet, many people are able to get connected through it. People from all around the world. People living in countries that have hardly any Christians, can learn and grow through it. To know they/we are not alone.
ReplyDeletePastor, I live smack in the middle of the "Lutheran heartland", but I am a newcomer to confessional Lutheranism. Your blog has been of tremendous value to me as I navigate the waters of my new church home, and desire to better understand Lutheran doctrines and practices. I don't know how I found your blog, but I am a regular visitor who simply wishes to thank you.
ReplyDelete