Just wanted to let you know I have updated my “CHALLENGES” page – drawn directly from my posts on Twitter (to Facebook).  May you be blessed by the questions, challenges, and ponderings you discover here.  I would be grateful for your prayers as I consider taking steps toward publishing this work in a book.

With Hope in Him,

Roger

I know.  For those of you who have been following me on Twitter and/or Facebook, you realize this statement comes near apostasy for me.  But what you may not realize is that I grew up in Little Rock, AR, home of Jennings Osborne and family.  Click here to get a visual tour of the world record home Christmas lights display (year after year after year) that truly makes Clark’s efforts look about as bright as a matchstick at dusk.

Reading the account on the Osborne website paints the neighbors as Grinches and themselves as altruistic. I’ll take the middle ground.  It was truly something breathtaking to behold, but the traffic was an absolute nightmare, and I don’t even want to imagine being a next-door neighbor to the Osborne compound on Cantrell.

Between viewing Christmas Vacation last night, reflecting on the otherworldly light spectacle that grew exponentially for years on end at the Jennings Osborne compound, and reading Trey Morgan’s post this morning, I have been thinking about how over the top we can go about things that have such little eternal value.  Can you imagine a world in which followers of Christ were as passionate about living in the Way of the Kingdom of Heaven as we can be about decorating for Christmas, or cheering for our favorite athletics team, or watching entertaining movies, or posting stuff on Facebook that gets lots of comments, or generally eating, drinking, and being merry?  Sorry, John Lennon – that’s the world I want to imagine!

Here’s to the prophets of living on fire for Christ today – Shane Claiborne and Francis Chan and John Eldredge and Dallas Willard and Richard Foster and Eugene Peterson and…  Who else would you put on this list?

The term “tween” was once a clever Tolkien linguistic creation that refered to the adolescent period from ages 20 – 32 in the life span of a hobbit.  It has taken on a much more popular usage in recent years, being applied to the period of “pre-adolescence” or pre-teen years from about 9 or 10  to 12.

Keep in mind that adolescence is a cultural construct, and not a biological or emotional dictate.  In other words, puberty is an inevitable part of normal human development, typically happening somewhere between the ages of 9 and 14.  But “adolescence” encompasses far more than that, and has grown in definition and cultural practice from its initial span of two or three years (ages 14-16 ish) to well over a decade (ages 12-25+).

And since you value my two cents enough to read my blog post today, I will tell you how I see this emerging cultural construct of “tweens.”  It seems to be a way to make it culturally acceptable, even cute, to market goods and services to children and to dress them up and put them in adult situations and pressures for which we have only barely equipped them, if at all.

For example, while I am glad to see this particular fashion trend seems to have waned, it didn’t strike me as the least bit cute to print big, bold words across the backside of short shorts and then market them to pre-teen girls.  How do you prepare your little girl for the fact that guys of all ages will now be looking at her rear because of the slogan stamped across it, whether out of innocent curiousity or marketing-induced sexual interest?

I’ll not go on with more examples, as I think this one fairly well represents my concern with the “Tween” phenomena.  Well, okay, one more quick one.  If you are looking at your 8 year old, and wondering when is the right time to buy him or her an i-phone, I recommend first asking at what age you got your first cell phone.  Then ask what fundamental change has occurred that has you thinking of buying an instant internet multi-media text-messaging portal for your youngster in the foreseeable future.  The group-force of culture can be very powerful and difficult to resist.  However, as parents we have the inherent responsibility to provide both the boundaries and the training that allow our children to be children, while equipping and preparing them to face life fully when they emerge into adulthood.

I appreciate the wisdom in the saying, “It takes a village to raise a child.”  But it sure can be tough when a parent has to stand against the village so that the child can really be raised well.  God bless you, folks!

My friend was very gracious about it, and explained it without giving me a hard time.  Whew!  Turns out, “FTW!” means “For The Win!” and is used to signify that someone basically sank the winning basket by doing or saying whatever you just referenced in the post.  The example he used was, “George Lucas remade ROTJ without Ewoks, FTW!!!”  To which I replied, “Thanks for the tangible example, (friend). Like, Lucas remade Ep. 1 with light-saber duel btn Jar-Jar & Darth Maul, FTW!”  To which (friend) replied, “Great job, Roger! But, to complete it, it must be clear that Darth Maul emerges as the victor!  FTW!!!”  To which I replied, “Well, (friend) – I think anyone who needs that reassurance would fail to appreciate the beauty of the comment in the 1st place!”

I hope you enjoyed that little stroll down a Star Wars inspired Twitter tangent.

My ultimate point is this: I’m wondering how often I approach life “For The Win!!!”  I definitely have a FTW! attitude sometimes, making choices with intentionality, passion, and excellence.  Sometimes, however, I totally settle for just good enough.  A tie will be fine, just don’t want to lose.  Or even worse – I don’t mind losing this one, as long as I don’t get annihilated.

I’m not saying I have to “win” or “be the best” at everything.  But am I living life each day FTW!, or just doing enough to stay out of last place in the division?  Hmmm…

When was the last time you did something in such a way that it would have been so fitting to have ended it with a loud, “FTW!”?   Just wondering.

(I chose to withhold the name of my friend on Twitter for two reasons.  One, he has his posts marked as private, and I will honor his preference.  And two, I would hate for you to change your high view of this good friend of mine, and begin seeing him as some sort of Ewok-hating maniac.  And to those who are offended by my obvious disdain for Jar-Jar Binks, well, I happen to know a great therapist!)

Yesterday I shared a link to a video that gives a rather unnerving, satirical viewpoint on Twittering, the micro-blogging phenomenon of which I have been a part now for maybe two or three months. Today I am glad to share with you how all this high-tech instant communication can be a part of a real relationship where coffee is imbibed, stories are shared, theology is hammered out, and friendship is deepened.

Last week as I was going through my emails at the office, I got an instant message (G-mail style) from a good friend of mine. It was one of those “Wazzup?” kind of messages. Rather quickly, this simple correspondence evolved into some genuine theological discussion. My Catholic friend had been talking to his Pentecostal co-worker about the Trinity, and he was curious to hear my non-denominational, evangelical take on it. I quickly suggested to him that a late lunch at Raising Cane’s was required if this was to go any further. (For those of you living outside the range of Cane’s, you are sadly missing out on the finest chicken fingers and dipping sauce known to the free world. Guthrie’s in Tuscaloosa, AL holds a close second.)

The conversation was spirited, heartening, and rather deep. As we were leaving, my buddy commented that we really should do this more regularly, kinda like the old guys who have breakfast every Friday morning at Frank’s, or IHOP, or whatever. We both laughed, but agreed he was onto something, and left with an undefined hope of continuing this dialogue.

So yesterday he sends me another G-mail instant message, clarifying the Trinitarian view of his Pentecostal colleague, etc. Before we finished the online conversation, we had set up a standing weekly appointment for coffee on Friday mornings at 6:30. I sense real, lasting friendship in the making – the kind that doesn’t seem to happen as much anymore in our culture of surface relationships and conversational skimming. We’ll see.

My point today is this: tools make whatever impact they make based on how they are used by the tool-wielder. All this communication technology can easily be used as a substitute for real relationships while giving the appearance of many friendships. But it can be a helpful method for real people to make real progress in deepening real relationships over real coffee. Bottoms up!

“I’m taking you to the Twittersphere!”

So, what do you think?  Regarding Facebook, MySpace, blogging, Twitter, etc, how do you see these “social networking sites” impacting our culture?  Your family?  Your life?  Friend or foe?

I look forward to your comments, and hope to see the site become more interactive and conversational as you add your perspectives to mine and to one another’s.

(Thanks so much to my friend, Jimmy, for tweaking my website for the umpteenth time – this time to make it easier for folks to post comments.)

So, I’ve been Twittering lately.  Maybe you have noticed the new Twitter feed on my site over in the sidebar.  This social networking brain-dump is growing great guns, because we just love to listen in on random excerpts of our neighbors thoughts.  I am still learning the ropes, but I must say I really like this new communication form.  Not typically very deep – but fascinating.

And for some reason I had the thought tonight, “I wonder what my first blog post was about?”  So, I checked.  Here it is.  In light of the Twitter boom, it is now more relevant than ever:

Connection Illusion

Humans are wired for connection.  We all need relationships – family, romantic, friendships, community, etc.  In our constantly changing world of wireless connectivity, we seem to be more connected to more people than ever before.  Between cell phones, text messaging, instant messaging, email, blogging, MySpace, Blackberries, and so on, we have constant access to more people than the world has ever dreamed was possible.  So, why do so many people feel so empty, disconnected, and alone?  Now, I’m not saying technology is our enemy or the reason for this empty disconnect.  However, I do believe the more we allow technology to lead in our relationships, the more disconnected we will feel inside.  What we really crave most in our relationships is for someone to be there.  I need to know that I matter enough to someone else that they will stop whatever else they are doing to be there for me in my time of need.  Sending me an electronic drive-by greeting or multitasking me into your schedule just doesn’t fulfill.

So, here is my challenge…If someone in your life is worth being there for, then really be there for them.  Grab that cup of coffee.  Have them over for dinner.  Turn off the TV/computer/cell phone, and sit and talk and listen.  Take your spouse out on a date.  Take your kids out on a date.  Get to know your next door neighbors.  Get to know your neighbors at church.  This will take effort, and will demand that you say “no” to other things.  It is worth it.  You will have to say “no” to many people and opportunities so you can say “yes” to a few people and opportunities that really matter.  You’ll be glad you did.  You won’t have as much entertainment in your life.  You won’t miss it.  You will have greater fulfillment in your life, be more appreciated by others, and find your relationships much more meaningful.  You’ll see.  Be There!!!

- February 15, 2006