Jack Carter Wilson Looked Me In The Eye

Hello Emmanuel,

Jack Carter Wilson looked me in the eye.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-millennials-scared-talking-phone-100000499.html

The above link is an article making the argument why talking is better than texting or emailing.  It suggests that people are nervous about talking on the phone and--with the onset of email and texting and all that other techno stuff—people are developing higher anxieties about talking on the phone. 

My first response was ‘huh?’

My second response was, ‘oh.. that makes perfect sense’. 

My third response was, ‘uh-oh’.

I wonder if the art of verbal communication is on a decline… not just slow decline, but very fast decline…. as in, crashing and burning.  Consider that a whole generation is growing up as texters.  Kids and young adults (and some parents) are making thousands of texts every month, typing more words out than come out of their mouths.  Forget email.  Email is old school.  Texting is how you get to know someone today.  Kids will text each other while in the same room (called ‘nexting’). 

But Jack Carter Wilson looked me in the eye.

Now before you peg me as the old, grumpy guy who complains about kids now days, we adults are not without a part in all of this.  I am of the email generation.  I saw the transition from envelopes and stamps to email addresses.  I liked it.  It was faster and more efficient.  This is the same argument that texters today will make.

My concern is the art of verbal communication.  There is more to communication than the words we use.  There is voice fluctuations that sometimes say more than the words.  Texting, for example, ruins my use of sarcasm.  You can’t tell from my text if I’m serious or if I’m joking entirely (and I’ve got myself into trouble more than once in such a manner). 

Why is this bothering me?  It has to do with why and how God wants us to establish relationships with one another.  I baptized Jack Wilson yesterday with Holy water, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  The whole time he looked me in the eye.  Understand, please, that Jack is a toddler.  He likely had no idea why I put water on his head.  But he looked me in the eye those whole 8 seconds.  He was communicating something to me and I, him.  It was a moment that I rarely have with baptisms.  The eye contact was a holy moment for me.

You can’t text those kind of holy moments.  Which leads me to wonder what other interactions we have with each other that are not ‘textable’.  And how does that help or hinder us from making Disciples of Jesus Christ.

I’m all for technology.  Texting is a great tool.  However, I invite you to think about when it may be better to use a more personable communication tool (like talking or looking) to get a point across.  If you do, you might capture a holy moment that you’d otherwise miss.

God is Good,

Pastor Joe