Church Leadership Conversations

  • Jacob pulls himself up and out of the tub and other updates

    Yesterday Jacob pulled himself up while inside the tub bathing and tossed himself over the side on to the floor as I narrowly missed catching him.  That was a fine time to learn to pull himself up. 

    Today he pulled himself up on the coffee table.  He is cruising side to side better. 

    Today while I was on the roof washing the siding he clapped his hands together telling me "More" – meaning "Dad, I want some food.  Will doing this sign language help get some food?" 

    He tries to say "All done."  He has a nice Chicago accent with a drawl of an a sound. 

    Ryan to us at breakfast when the babysitter put him down to sleep, "You guys were gone a long time." 

    When I went into his room he woke up one night, "Fanny the fox was already sleeping" meaning he was projecting his own sleep on to the stuffed animal.   

    Similarly, he said tonight, "I am not sure what to do tonight.  I guess I will do whatever Brachiosaurus wants to do." 

    After sleeping past 8 am for the first time ever and contemplating his digital clock, "Where did the seven go?"

    When he gets in trouble for say knocking Jacob over taking a toy from him, Ryan has been exclaiming non sequiturs like, "No one knows my name" or "I'm not a good singer anymore" or "I'm not a good hitter anymore."  We have tried to psychoanalyze and probe whether there is some substance behind these expressions of inadequacy / self-doubt but at this point we are chalking them up to being poorly articulated expressions of remorse for being caught doing something wrong. 

    Ryan wore his knee pads (the biggest accomplishment) and learned to ride his two-wheeler bike with training wheels down the driveway.  He also with my spotting/gently pushing rode the bike for 10 minutes in a row yesterday. 

    We have new sleep schedule (i.e. we are recommitted to it). 

    Both wake up 7:00 am
    Jacob nap 9:00 am
    Both nap 1:00 pm .  Ryan gets woken up at 3:00 pm.
    Bedtime 8:00 pm

    Of course it is never that simple but that is the idea. 

    Ryan still can't put on his underwear and shorts or socks and shoes
    though he can take them all off.  That should probably be pursued soon.
      

    Amy has Jacob weaned down (skipping the dinner nursing) to just wake up, lunch and bedtime.  Lunch is the next to be eliminated. 

    Ryan loves red raspberries (and blueberries if they are sweet).  They both like Life and Shredded Oats cereal.  Jacob loves cheese.  They both like meat (chicken and steak).  Ryan also loves peanuts and cashews.  Ryan likes baby carrots.  Jacob will eat broccoli.  Jacob tosses things he doesn't like overboard. Both will eat sliced cucumbers.  They both eat pita.  Ryan and Jacob love
    yogurt – why not with all the sugar is what I say.  Jacob can eat a
    whole meal by himself but he still likes baby food served up on a spoon.  Ryan loves to
    dip everything – ranch dressing and BBQ sauce and syrup being the most
    frequent.  Of course peanut butter and honey on multigrain bread is a favorite for both boys, we try not to have it everyday at lunch.  Jake loves whole milk (cold) in a sippy. 

    We didn't know you were supposed to teach kids to drink out of cup without a lid but apparently it is better for their mouth development to do so thus both Ryan (3) and Jacob (11 mos) are on the cup regimen.  Jacob can do it (even one-handed) in his high chair though he is sloppy so we take the cup when he has had a few sips. Plus, he ends up burping a lot later.  Ryan is worried about spilling on the carpet, "It will make a stain!"  he says (which causes Amy to glare at me that Ryan knows this).  Ryan openly wonders what it would be like to pour it over Jacob's head. 

  • But we need to practice!

    Ryan grabbing Jacob's feet as Jacob tries to crawl away: 
    Me: Ryan, we do not touch people who do not want to be touched. 
    Ryan: But we need to practice!

    Ryan kneeling with his face to the ground: 
    Amy: You need to go to the bathroom. 
    Ryan: But I am praying to God! 

    Ryan on seeing lots of toy tanks at a friend's house: 
    Ryan: Brian Williams on Nightly News has a matching set of army tanks.  But he only has four or five. 

    Jacob started cruising tonight.  

  • Reflections on Twitter

    I started experimenting with Twitter

    Follow me if you are interested:

    http://twitter.com/AndyRowell

    In short, with Twitter you can update people by answering the question, "What are you doing?" in 140 characters and people can follow what you are doing.  The fun is seeing in real time what those you are following are up to and those who follow you can know what you are doing. 

    In the hierarchy of quality writing, Twitter is near the bottom, just above text messaging and instant messaging. 

    • Nobel Prize literature
    • Published material
    • Graduate papers
    • Undergraduate papers
    • Blogging
    • High school papers
    • Elementary school papers
    • Twittering
    • Instant Messaging
    • Text Messaging

    My first impression is that it is pretty narcissistic practice and a waste of time but I am still experimenting. 

    nar·cis·sism
    –noun

    1.
    inordinate fascination with oneself; excessive self-love; vanity.

    2.
    Psychoanalysis. erotic gratification derived from admiration of one's own physical or mental attributes, being a normal condition at the infantile level of personality development.

    To clarify, I don't think the people who do it are more shallow than anyone else.  I just think the dynamics of the technology do not lend themselves to quality relationship-building or quality reflection.  The same also applies to Facebook (which I also do a little) and blogging.  Read books!  Interact with human beings in the flesh! 

    Still, often my blog has greased the wheels to have good face-to-face significant conversations with people and has made me a better writer.  Will I be better informed about the world outside of my study carrel at Duke's library because of these technologies?  Probably.  Will I be better able to get connections to write and teach?  Probably.  I have already done a lot more writing because of the exposure my blog gives me.  Does this technology give me practical reminders of why I am doing this doctoral work?  Probably.

    I think David Swanson is right in the comments when he says that Facebook and Twitter supplement his relationships with his congregation because many of them are in their twenties and use these tools.  As for me, my Facebook and Twitter friends have almost no relationship to my primary day-to-day relationships.  Facebook was more useful for me when I used at Taylor University as a professor.

    Wisdom in using these technologies is needed.     

    I will end with this quote by Neil Postman in 1998, author of Amusing Ourselves to Death,

    In the past, we experienced technological change in the manner of sleep-walkers. Our unspoken slogan has been "technology über alles," and we have been willing to shape our lives to fit the requirements of technology, not the requirements of culture. This is a form of stupidity, especially in an age of vast technological change. We need to proceed with our eyes wide open so that we many use technology rather than be used by it.


    Below are nine posts by church leaders I follow who use Twitter.  They can explain its "benefits" and how it works.  Below that I have listed the people I am "following." 

    1. Why We Twitter

    from Tony Morgan | one of the simply strategic guys

    2. Twitter

    from Mark Batterson – Evotional, Thoughts on Life and Leadership

    3. Twitter– Lost & Found?

    from Dave Ferguson – Velocity

    4. Twitter Community

    from Mark Waltz | …because People Matter

    5. The Kingdom of Twitter

    from Tim Stevens – LeadingSmart

    6. 5 Reasons Why I Love Twitter

    from Mark Batterson – Evotional, Thoughts on Life and Leadership

    7. The Beginner’s Guide to Twitter

    from Michael Hyatt – Thomas Nelson Publishers CEO From Where I Sit

    8. 12 Reasons to Start Twittering

    from Michael Hyatt – Thomas Nelson Publishers CEO From Where I Sit

    9. How Do You Use Twitter?

    from Dave Ferguson – Velocity
    Here are some church leaders I am following:

    DJ Chuang
    djchuang / DJ Chuang

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    Jason Clark
    jasonclark / Jason Clark

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    c. wess daniels
    cwdaniels / c. wess daniels

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    Andy Crouch
    ahc / Andy Crouch

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    Doug Pagitt
    pagitt / Doug Pagitt

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    Mark Driscoll
    PastorMark / Mark Driscoll

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    Kem Meyer
    kemmeyer / Kem Meyer

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    Mark Batterson
    MarkBatterson / Mark Batterson

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    Cameron Strang
    cameronstrang / Cameron Strang

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    daveferguson
    daveferguson

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    tony morgan
    tpmorgan / tony morgan

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    perrynoble
    perrynoble

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    davidswanson
    davidswanson

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    DanKimball
    DanKimball

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    knightopia
    knightopia

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    tallskinnykiwi
    tallskinnykiwi

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    Michael Hyatt
    michaelhyatt / Michael Hyatt

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    Ed Stetzer
    edstetzer / Ed Stetzer

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    Tim Stevens
    timastevens / Tim Stevens