name tag
yesterday i was on a conference call with a guy who has worn a name tag everyday for 5 years. why? to create a "front porch"; to free people up and make himself more approachable more open to conversation. after the call i was conversing with joe myers about why that sort of thing might be necessary and it we began talking about the lack of social comptencies in our american society today. in general the scurriedness of life and to some degree technology has inhibited the development of our social skills. also in the conversation we talked about the third place (ie. bars, coffee shops, etc) where much of this interaction would take place but given our suburbarn sprawl the lack of third places now, and especially the lack walking accessibility. how should the church be considered when talking about third places? interesting to see the emerging churches using the coffee shop, bar, night club model.
12 April 2005
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technology has created a very interesting phenomenon in our society. people are busier than ever before (look at the typical structure of a work week these days) but heavy workloads don't minimize people's needs to interact with other people- they just don't have the time or means to find these people outside of the workplace. and since a majority of people in sf are spiritual but maybe not part of a temple, church or synagogue, that role is kind of factored out. but have you ever found how you can chat or communicate well with someone online and yet once you are face to face with them, everything dissipates into awkward mumblings? just a thought.
i guess we're lucky to be in sf, where "third places" are easily accessible on foot and there is a prevalence of people open to interacting with strangers. i know we at our church are trying to evaluate and put into practice the concept of missional living and how that corresponds into loving your neighbor and what that looks like tangibly. and now i am rambling so i'll stop.
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