As a proud member of the "watch me go" generation, I blog, facebook, email, text message, cell phone, twitter, maintain a website and carry a smartphone (so I can do all of the above from wherever I find myself). One of the accusations/realities of living in these times is that we can replace "real" relationships with virtual ones.
All of this leads me to the 25 Random Things Revolution. On Facebook there is a wave of folks posting their 25 Random Things list. I have included the instructions and my list below.
Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.
To do this, go to “notes” under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag 25 people (in the right hand corner of the app), then click publish.
1. My name is Jerry - I don't like my name, seriously if you walked around as Jerry Lee, you wouldn't like you name either, though my guess is Jerry Lee Lewis liked his name just fine, he just kind of screwed it up for the rest of us.
2. My wife is Megan - I like her and am only doing this list because she ask me to.
3. We have four children - Sam, Sophie, Henry and Asher - or as they are called around here - the Turkey, the Princess, the Squirrel and the Monkey.
4. My savior is Jesus - He is the only option that actually works, I am occasionally pragmatic.
5. I had two parents - nobody said these had to be original - they were/are good parents, not perfect but good.
6. My dad died in 2002 - I miss him, I have often needed his advice these last couple of years.
7. Meg and I have been married for 12.5 years - I feel sorry for her, she didn't know what she was getting when she signed up for this - I however, think the Lord felt sorry for me and give me the girl I needed and wanted - if there was such a thing as luck, you could call me lucky.
8. I am a pastor - I love my job.
9. I have pastored at 6 churches - somehow this has translated into moving 10 times - and in the 10 moves since I've been married, I think I've packed 2 boxes - I told you, my wife is a saint.
10. I don't believe in luck, karma, reincarnation, or coincidence, just the sovereign majesty of Holy God.
11. I hate shoes - they make my feet nervous and sweaty - I don't like sweaty feet, they make stinky socks and shoes - really Meg has enough to deal with from me, the last thing she needs is more laundry and stink around here.
12. I really like sandals - birkenstock is my preferred brand - yes it makes me a little bit of an elitest but my feet have issues, only the best for them.
13. My first pairs of birks came from my mom, she got a shipment, through a surplus company of something like 120 pairs of sandals, because I have large feet I got all the big ones that were left over, something like 20 pairs, for a while in college if I wanted you to be my friend and you happened to have big feet I would give you a free pair of sandals.
14. My family is part of a group that is planting a new church in Sunbury, OH. We love our new church -that is all of the people and think that if you are close enough you should come and check it out and bring 7 friends, yes I'm talking to you - you know who you are.
15. I have the best wife in the world - I know that it seems like a pretty bold statement to make, but I'm a pretty bold guy.
16. Ukraine is my favorite non-US country. I have been twice, it was life changing both times.
17. I have three siblings, an older brother and two younger sisters.
18. I was arrested in the 1st grade for shoplifting - they put us in the cop car and everything.
19. I like books, my wife would say that I was obsessed with books, maybe because in the 10 moves I've only packed 2 boxes, which means she has packed my hundreds of books multiple times and I haven't. This does not stop me from buying more.
20. Based on #19, libraries tend to like me, a) I like to show up and I treat books nicely b) I like to borrow books c) I'm horrible at returning them, once I've read a book I feel like it should be mine and it makes me nervous to not have it beside my others d) consequently I tend to owe libraries lots of money e) this is not an exaggeration the Columbus Public Library is currently not letting me check out books because I owe them $39 f) I owe them $39 because when I returned my last batch I only had a $20 g) Meg would say that this means you shouldn't let me borrow your library card h) I would say that it means I like supporting my local libraries i) Meg is always right
21. I broke the bone under my left eye in high school, this happened at a wrestling scrimmage in Norwalk, OH. The facts of the story did not stop me from telling people that it was the result of a bar fight later in life.
22. My favorite Bible verses are 2 Timothy 4:7 - "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" and Jeremiah 29:11 -"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a hope and a future."
23. We own a home in Illinois still, though some really nice people are renting it at the moment. And we are renting a really nice home in Sunbury, thanks Dave and Pegi, you are the best.
24. In addition to really liking books, I really like music. In fact, I like music so much I used to buy Meg CD's when we were dating and then open them up and listen to them before I gave them to her. OK, maybe that makes me a jerk and not a music lover - I'm not kidding she is a SAINT!
25. It seems like #25 should be the best or the worst - the simple truth is I love Jesus, I love my wife and kids and I am trying desperately hard to love everyone the way Jesus did. This means that I am trying to give my life away in the hope that they will find a real relationship with The God of the Universe!
26. I do not like to conform to an arbitrary standard.
It may seem a little dramatic but I do believe that what we are witnessing is a revolution, ok that is a little too dramatic, we are witnessing at least a reaction. Individuals with lists of hundreds, maybe even more than a thousand friends still have that innate desire to be known and to know. It is not enough to see a six word status update, no matter how regularly we post them. It is difficult to "know" someone in short bursts. We long for more, we long for intimacy.
Put simply Jesus has created us as relational beings. From the beginning, way back in Genesis, we see Adam, Eve and God Himself walking in the garden, living in community. As relational beings we need people and we need to offer ourselves to those around us. Much like Adam and Eve hid themselves after the fall, many of us continue to hide. We long to be known but are afraid of how someone will react if they really got to know us.
So today, put down the smartphone, turn off the laptop (when you are done reading my blog post of course), and make a real connection. Play a game with your wife, ask your child about their day, call a friend on the phone, schedule a coffee and maybe even spend some time praying.
