Browsing Category: Relationships

Taking the Online Offline

Relationships. One simple word, but one word that can make or break or so much. One word that demands our focus and attention whether we like it or not. One word that God called us to – with Him and with others.

In a society where we live so much of our time online our view of relationships can become quite distorted if we’re not careful. We can develop a community that is a mile long but only an inch deep.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that relationships cannot be built or fostered through online interaction. What I am saying, however, is that we can’t let it stop there. If we do, we’re missing out. We’re missing out on depth and growth in community. We have to take the online offline.

I’ve always been a firm believer in that – taking the online offline, but my time at the Echo Conference last week reaffirmed that. Sharing a meal and great conversation or staying up well past 2am talking about life, ministry and the church is something that you just can’t duplicate online.

So here’s to being intentional about seizing opportunities to take the online offline…to have a face to face conversation with someone who you normally associate with a tiny square picture on a screen. And here’s to intentionally using the online tools to continue the relationships when distance makes offline impossible.

Comment Deep Thinking, Just Life, Relationships

Different Eyes

A couple of weeks ago I read this: “…the experience of many travelers today, who compose their experience through camera lenses as they go and then take the pixelated images home with them in place of memories,” in this article: “Too Many Lenses, Too Few Eyes.”

A couple of days ago I listened to photographer Esther Havens speak at the Echo Conference and was challenged and inspired. Three thoughts she shared stuck with me:

1. Don’t just go to tell stories, be a part of the story.

2. Are you doing a job or connecting with people?

3. Awareness without action is pointless.

The full connection of these two things is still processing in my head and I don’t know exactly what it means. But, I do know that I am challenged and inspired to do something about what I see and what I know…and to see with different eyes…eyes that are not always my own.

Comment Deep Thinking, Missions, Relationships

Tribes vs. Movements

I read Seth Godin’s Tribes when it first came out, but recently decided I needed to re-read it. In the season of life I’ve found myself in “tribes” seem to be playing a big role. I’ve found a place in several different tribes of varying sizes. Tribes where I’ve found community, friends, & mentors. I’m also, somewhat begrudgingly, coming to the realization that whether I like it or not & whether I consider myself one or not, God may be calling me to be a leader within a tribe. And so, back to the basics I’m going.

I haven’t finished the book a second time yet, but in just the first few pages something struck me – the difference between a tribe & a movement. I think we often confuse or equate the two.

Godin defines a tribe as “a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea.” A few pages later in the book Godin says, “Every one of those [stuck] tribes, though, is a movement waiting to happen, a group of people just waiting to be energized and transformed…A movement is thrilling. It’s the work of many people, all connected, all seeking something better.”

You see, a tribe is not a movement. All that’s required to be a tribe is to exist with commonality. A tribe communicates with itself. A movement communicates with the world…through action. A movement requires action…a movement is a tribe in action…a tribe in action creates a movement.

And the world needs more than tribes, it needs movements. It needs people who step out in faith and do something…together.

Sidenote: I found the image above in a Flickr photo group for To Write Love on Her Arms –  a tribe that has created a movement of love. Check out what they’re doing here.

Comment Deep Thinking, Leadership, Relationships