Oh blogger me

A couple of weeks ago my internet service in the office went south on me. It took me several days of patiently, well not too patiently, waiting. On the first day, turning off all things and reconnecting them several times didn’t work. Checking all the connections reaped no reward. So I just went to plan B. I went home to use my own connection to complete the important correspondence of the day. And I did this repeatedly for several days until the problem resolved itself. Later, talking to an older member of the church about this frustration, more in passing than serious lament, she commented that I was spoiled by the internet.

“O contraire!” was my reply. She just didn’t understand that the internet is now our primary means of communication on so many levels. Internet has become the primary means of delivery and connection in the Oregon Idaho Conference. United Methodist organizations at all levels communicate to pastors, and laity with increasing reliance upon the Internet as the medium.

Within the same week a short article came across my desk, (yes, it actually was printed on paper and mailed) which raised the issue of the church and Digital Natives.
I am not a digital native. I’m far too old. My first introduction to computers was after I began working in the banking industry somewhere around 1975 or ‘76. ATM’s were just coming out at that time. Banks sorted and cleared checks using row upon row of computers and keystroke operators. A whole fleet of people and machines worked to sort out the daily work of every branch office in San Diego County for San Diego Trust and Savings Bank. The building was kept at a very cool temperature of about 66.7 degrees in order to keep the machines from overheating.

About a year after that I took my first class in computer programming. If you are a digital native this probably means very little to you unless you are also a digital geek. Those of us who took any programming classes in the 70’s had to use punch cards to write our programs, one card for each line of a program. I wrote the simplest program, prayed not to drop the stack of 70 lines of command in a some foreign language cobal or fortran I think, and shouted for joy when I completed the class with less than an A but better than a d plus.

Since those early days of learning to embrace the technology of computers I’ve taken other classes, and determined that minimally I’m just a user. GUI -Graphic User Interface- made it so much easier than those early days. And now, like 10,400 others who list themselves as pastors in their profile, I’ve taken to using a blog as a means of reflecting – hopefully also inspiring, those who may never once step their foot within the door of any church that I preach in.

My husband kicked and complained about the use of the internet for business purposes until about 6 years ago. Now within just the last 24 hours he too is seeing the value of the blog for connecting. For him and the rest of our family we are setting up a private space, thanks again to blogspot, a place where we can connect with our family which resides in Iraq, California, Missouri, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Oregon, and who knows where else.

My son and daughter in law were sharing about their experience selecting a church for their family. Their search started with the internet. She studied the mission statements and vision statements of every church around their community. Not being present on the internet with a complete website automatically eliminated a lot of prospective congregations.

Now I know that what I blog is supposed to be "fresh" and "in the moment". So let me confess, I started writing this about two weeks ago. I saved it, and put it aside. But again today, my internet in the office "NO tabaja!" Once again I've had to pack it up and head to the parsonage, and that just to check email and download documents that my denomination dutifully requires me to file annually. And that, my friends led me to pulling out this piece of bloggerity.

Back to the younger set looking for church on the web. Out here, on the edge of the timber, I wonder who is searching for a connection with the Divine, Methodist version or otherwise, through the World Wide Web? And after they've found it, what do they think of us once the walk through the doors to discover that they quite likely, on that particular week are the youngest in the room?

Will they want to worship when I'm also reduced to using DIGITALLY recorded music for our worship through the winter because our accompanist has gone south for the winter?

So tell me, if you're out there, what are you looking for from a church? What will keep you coming back, well, at least once or twice every quarter? How can the church be the church for you?