shhh.

While running on a treadmill, listening to what was surely a raunchy pop song, staring at news images of people protesting for their rights, I decided things have been a little too absurd lately.

Words only seem to confuse and pressure me when things seem absurd. And so I'm closing up shop around here.

For now. A long now.

garnering dirty looks everywhere

I get dirty looks, cyber or actual, often when I brush off the latest media scare as just a fenzy to be ignored for all intents and purposes. When pastors and the like flew into a frenzy over sexting a few months ago, I nodded my head and said, "Yeah, and?"

I see things quite simply: we live in a broken world. It is no more broken in 2009 than it was in 1624 or that it will be in 2391. Our relationships to each other are broken. Our image of God is muddled. We have poor understandings of needs and wants, love and sex, celebrating and flaunting. Because of our broken condition, we must expect that sin will find inventive ways to seep into our lives, the lives of teenagers, and of course the lives of men who live in their mother's basement.

It isn't that I don't care about the sin. Rather, I believe that we often hammer too heavily on the expression of the sin and avoid quite deftly the root cause of the behavior. Our reactionary behavior does little to create wholeness in the lives of the broken, only mounts to the list of things that we are against.

Perhaps my flippancy isn't the answer. But neither is reactionary hysteria.

some advice to those who like a good internet fight

The number one way to stop a thoughtful conversation is the insult your conversation partner, their choice in reading material, their friends, or their thoughts. Insults are a show-stopper. It only gets ugly after insults.

So step away from the temptation to tell that person that he is an ignoramus and politely ask about their sources.

Key word: politely.

Other useful words or phrases that will make you sound like you have a degree in counseling, are severely passive aggressive, or were schooled by Emily Post on the playground in first grade:

perhaps, have you considered, I wonder if, does this make sense, conversely.

And if you are worried about looking like a pansy for being polite, consider the alternative: a donkey's hiney. The last time I stared at a donkey's hiney, I gagged. The last time I stared at a pansy, nice thoughts rushed through my veins. You decide.

would you?

spiritual development in review

My review of New Directions for Youth Development's edition on Spiritual Development is up:

Many youth workers have at least a minimal understanding of faith development theory and they exercise that knowledge in the way they create faith opportunities for the youth in their ministry. However, there are a large number of youth who are never reached by the ministries of our churches. Are they developing spiritually, too? Is spiritual development something that occurs only in relationship to Christ? Or is it, like physical or emotional development, something that occurs for each person?