One of my pastor friends was chided by one of his parishioners who said to me, "He has to get off the computer and get out and meet the people." Now, this parishioner is almost 80 years old, and what he missed about the computer was--of course--that my colleague was meeting people...just not the ones at the corner cafe, but the people who use the computer. The computer, thanks to Mark Zuckerberg and others, is now a social network. Who knew?
It is a different social network to be sure from the corner cafe and Starbucks that were all the rage just a few years ago, but people are meeting me all the same on Facebook. The other night as Chris and I were relaxing in front of a fire and watching the North Dakota day turn to night it was great, and you cannot put a premium on that type of intimate, face-to-face relationship. But not all my relationships have to be that way...and the Facebook ones, as public and "un-intimate"as they are, are just different...but they are still valuable, and they still have importance even if others do not think so...
I believe God is about relationships no matter how they happen or where they occur. We are created in and for relationship, and as I have written before the solitary human is no human at all...Whether you call the relationships you are in marriages, families, colleagues, small groups, churches, bowling leagues, drama troupes, facebook pages, or choirs...we are made to live and be together...
Think of the resurrection of Jesus--not as God's forgiveness of human sin--but rather as God re-making God by incorporating Jesus, now as the Christ, into the life and being of all that God is...this is what Prairie Table means by being stewards of the "mysteries of God." We will never be sure of all of who and what God is, but we take care of that mystery wherever we find it...at home, at work, at the cafe, or even at the computer...and just as deepest relationships survive multiple locales, we must remember that Jesus Christ survives them too...may your tables be full, and your conversations be true.
Your Blog Steward
- Scott Frederickson
- Omaha, Nebraska, United States
- I am more and more convinced that most congregations die from a staggering lack of imagination. Let's change that. Let's imagine a creative future with God and each other together. Drop me a line on email or leave a comment if you have thoughts on God, Jesus, congregations, the church or whatever.... I look forward to our conversations.
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