Flip-phone Worship with a full Qwerty Keyboard

The intent this morning was to claim a "common view of reality -- what is the "is" that surround us.  And while we had varied ways of describing it, we similar themes kept popping up -- mobility, for one, which undercuts most familiar calls for commitment; community built on and nourished more by technology than proximity; constant multi-sensory stimulation; behavior motivated more by need than obligation; the recognition that no one is simply looking for one more thing to do; etc.

But a common view of reality did not lead to any commonly agreed upon response to it.  The answer, for some, was "get in line."  At its worst, this is "going along to get along."  "Fit in."  "Emulate your environment."  At its best it is the recognition that "connection" requires a common vocabulary.  "Get wired or get lost."

But others suggested just the opposite.  In a world of constant motion, where might one find a place of stillness?  In a world of thumping sub-woofers pounding out of car windows, televisions never muted, cell phones ever on the belt, iPods constantly wired to the ears and 24-hour news cycles constantly updating us, isn't there yet some need for silence?  In a world of chrome and wire and battery and keyboard, isn't there some hunger for human touch?  If there is a need for music that enlivens our toes, could there also be a need for music that enlarges our soul?

We reached no consensus -- only an agreement to send each other a text message containing instructions for downloading the video podcast developed to argue our particular point of view, soundtracked as we prefer, that we can individually watch at the same time as our favorite cable show we TiVo'd last week.

Right.  Ah!  The intimate warmth of church and community in the 21st century.