Happy 4th of July weekend everyone. I've always been a big fan of the 4th, not because I'm hyper-patriotic, but because it seems to mandate that everyone slow down for a day. There's not a lot of preparation for it and it's not a high-paced, high-stress holiday like some of the others. It's understood that you relax, barbeque, watch baseball (I think baseball may be the ultimate introverted spectator sport), hang out with family and good friends (but not necessarily at a huge party) and watch fireworks. What's not to love for an introvert?
I've been also thinking recently about how many churches change their rhythms during the summer. Most have a "summer schedule" which involves fewer programs, less movement and activity, and in general a more laid back ethos. I've never heard a theory for this other than a pragmatic one: people go on vacation during the summer and there isn't as much demands for church programs. But it occurred to me, what if we had "summer schedule" all year round? What if we could learn from the pace of the summer that churches do just fine without all the hyper-activity? I've never heard of a Christian abandoning the faith because there wasn't enough church programming during July and August. In fact, I know a lot of people who absolutely love the church rhythms of summer. Something to reflect on, I think.
I did an interview with InterFaith Voices that will be broadcasting this weekend and is also now up online. The show plays on 70 different stations in the US and Canada and you can find the schedule here: http://interfaithradio.org/tunein
Or you can listen to it, or download it, here: http://interfaithradio.org/node/1401
My interview starts at the 38 min 46 sec point of the show.
Raising a toast to the slow introverted pace of summer...
I take issue with Baseball being "the ultimate introverted spectator sport." Even the broadcasters have to make small talk to fill in the spaces.
ReplyDeleteThat's funny. Fair enough. I'm going to do a blog post about baseball sometime this summer, but it will be primarily about watching the game in person rather than on tv.
ReplyDeleteI am relishing the slow summer pace at church. I was completely burned out by a school-year's worth of doing extroverted tasks as the volunteer coordinator of Adult Education. And just found your book in April, near the end of the programming year, and realized from reading it what the source of my burn-out was. This coming year I will have to recreate small bits of "Summertime Slowdown" throughout the year.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of Summertime Slowdown throughout the year. Glad you found my book! I've got a discussion guide at the end if there are others in your church who might like to read it together.
ReplyDeleteI listened to your interview on Interfaith Voices. An introvert and Christian, I resonated completely. African American introverts in black churches have the same issues you have in white evangelical churches. However, many will never hear about your book unless you or your publisher do some media outreach, e.g. Oprah Show, Tavis Smiley, NPR Tell Me More.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment, Frank, and thanks for listening to the InterFaith interview. I've had several introverts in black churches tell me pretty much the same thing. I think you're onto something, and I will definitely explore some media that would reach more African Americans. The shows you mention are probably out of my reach right now, but do you have other suggestions?
ReplyDeleteYes! Let's hear it for the summer schedule year round - at church, home, and work.
ReplyDeleteOur Christian culture has subtly encouraged us to make choices that have enabled life to become more frenetic and the result is that we are more frazzled and disconnected than ever before! And less effective in our calling as believers.
We are loving being in a house church ... we're together every Saturday night, praying, worshipping, learning, growing, and interacting. We often break bread together. We're serving others during the week.
With no programs, no boards, no committees, no red tape.
Simple. Satisfying. It's working for this introverted leader.
Linda