Today (Monday) should be my off day. I did not and have not been sleeping much at night. I am sure that my friend Joe would tell me that it is because I am not trusting God. Well, he may be right! I am praying-"casting," but haven't really left some matters securely in God's hands. He says that we sometimes think of casting like casting a reel in fishing. We cast and then draw it back and cast again. He says that THAT is what I do. I'm trying! I'm crying, doing all the things that have brought me a breakthrough in the past, but nothing for now.
Joe is a perfect example of one of these guys that is connected to everyone. He has been a confidant to me over the last couple years. I think he is to lots of people. I wonder if he has anyone to confide in?
He is in his 50's and is on the cusp of societal change. Even though I and others have encouraged him to join on-line social networks such as facebook, he has resisted as of yet. Perhaps he knows that as "facebook friends and social networking are not adequate substitutes for authentic friends" (L. Gregory Jones)
Can we have authentic friendships on-line? Can we find support and encouragement via wires and signals and images? Is on-line social networking creating a next generation who cannot build, sustain and deepen authentic friendships?
Here is a little bit more of an article by L. Gregory Jones (Dean of Duke Divinity School): "We long for relationships with people who know us so well that their lives impact and influence ours. Young people love the high-tech world of multi-tasking and interactive media, but like the rest of us, they long for personal intimacy...A sociological study found that between 1985 and 2004 the average American's number of close confidants declined from three to two, and that those reporting "no close confidants" jumped from 10 to 25 percent...Why does a lack of confidants matter? We are created for relationships, and we long for support and encouragement from those who know us well....confidants sometimes know us better than we know ourselves. They can and do check our propensity for self-deception. They challenge us, support us and encourage us to dream even when we have given up. Even when they call us to account, we are confident that they are doing so with our intersts at heart. Duke's Pulpit and Pew project uncovered a significant amount of self-reported loneliness and isolation among American clergy...This loneliness ought to sound alarms among those institutions and people charged to support and encourage congregations and clergy. If there is any place in American culture that ought to encourage deep and lasting friendships, it's the church, and our pastors ought to be catalysts who nurture others' friendships. Can churches be vehicles for both extending social networks and deepening friendships, for laity and clergy alike?"
Such great questions and such great observations. I'm going to post this and write more about this later. I'm getting tired. Maybe I will sleep?
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