This is Pastor Tim’s article which appeared in the Evening Leader on Tuesday, March 5, 2023
I am sure that none of you will be surprised to learn that I love listening to podcasts. The current availability of podcasts on the internet seems tailor made to feed my obsession. It is so bad that I listen to podcasts of movie reviews for movies I have no intention of watching. Even as I write this article, I am listening to a podcast of guys talking about college basketball. I don’t even care about college basketball at all. March Madness will be starting soon and it is highly unlikely that I will watch a single game. Yet here I am listening to these guys talk about stuff going on in the NCAA. Apparently, a Duke player was hurt at Wake Forest when fans stormed the court after Wake Forest upset Duke.
My take on this, do not storm the court under any circumstances. If there was a Sunday that the sermon at Wayne Street was incredible and the congregation stormed the front of the church and carried me out on their shoulders…. Never mind, I would be totally into this.
The reason I enjoy podcasts is the good ones are focused and direct on a specific point. Whether it is one person speaking or even if it is a panel, it is the fact that they are working to explain something to you so that you understand the topic. These guys are helping me understand the strategy of winning a basketball game. Will that information ever do anything to improve or help my life? I doubt it. However, it is the ability to be focused and develop a point and help flesh it out that is incredible to me.
And therein lies the danger. What I want to impress upon you with this article is the power of engagement. The world understands that power and with the rise of the internet and social media, it is all about engaging you so that someone like me would happily listen to a podcast about a topic I do not even care about because I am looking to be engaged.
As a severe introvert, I have to be very careful because listening to a podcast can easily take the place of engaging with actual people in real life. I enjoy podcasts because I can engage with people while I do other things, like write newspaper articles. If someone was physically in this office speaking to me and I was typing an article while they spoke, that would be rude. In fact, in the middle of writing this article, a staff member from Wayne Street stepped in my office and I both quit typing and paused the podcast. Why did I do that? Because I wanted to pay attention to what she had to say. We talked about the successful service we had on Sunday, a new mentoring possibility, and a big event she was a part of last weekend. We would not have had that conversation if I did not both quit typing and pause the podcast.
Don’t give up on people. People are actually interesting to talk to when you do not have some kind of electronic device separating you. Communicating through devices is awesome for gathering information. Do you know what electronic devices are horrible at? Engagement. I may feel engaged with these guys talking about college basketball but I am not friends with them even though it seems like we just had a fully engaged conversation. I got more out of the 10-minute conversation I had with my staff member than I did in the hour I have listened to this podcast because I cared a whole lot more about what she had to say than I do about the NCAA.
Know the difference between listening to a talented communicator and connecting with another person. We have many people who connect with Wayne Street through livestreaming on Sunday. That is great for people who cannot make it to church on Sunday for whatever reason but that does not match the live and in person experience of being together.
I know, the folks online and the folks in the sanctuary hear the same sermon but there is something to be said for entering a sacred space with fellow believers and friends that is as much a part of a worship experience than me being able to string a few sentences together.
The moral to this article: don’t allow your phone to be your conduit to the world. Go out in the world and live life in reality as much as you possibly can. No electronic device could ever come close to equaling reality.