Sesame Street and Settlers of Catan

I am working on a couple of ideas for a reading/research project for school and one of the areas I am thinking a lot about is the current challenges in Ecclesiology.

In the past day or so four or five great articles on this subject have appeared on my blog reader, and yesterday was a great Systematic Theology class that touched on some related issues.

I am too busy with papers and tests to develop this or blog on it right now, but just wanted to pass on some great articles on the church.

What the Church can learn from Sesame Street

Settlers of Catan and Church membership

Two views on Christless Christianity

2 articles, 1.5 questions

I'm going to ask you to do something odd,

I want you to read two short two posts in the order that they appeared to me as I was scrolling down my google reader today, and see if the same thing happens to you.

These posts are short, like 90 seconds or so, and painless... though it might involve thought.

But if 90 seconds, or thinking seems a burden, then just click to the next click or tweet or whatever is next in your life, there is nothing to see here, good bye have a nice day.

But if you want to think about something with me, then read this post. It references another article which you can read later, but for now just the summary, then i'll see ya back here. back here.

Ok, Click and GO!

.... are you back? (... hey! party poopers who didn't read the first link ... no one is making you do this. you are free to leave, really, It's OK, you have already answered my final question.)

....Still with me? OK,, here is the second one. ...just read the lead in from Tullian and look at the list and consider some of the titles and authors, an come on back. I really am not trying to be tedious, i am just wondering if the same thought/question appears to anyone else when they read this second one.

....OK, you're back. ....Here is the .5 question: Did you see a connection?

Here's the question that burst on my mind as I read the second post, with the first one still on my mind:

How is the hyper-socialized, "what are you doing right now?", 140 character, txt communication culture mentioned in the first post even going to engage the significant thought life of the Christian mind and history represented in that list of books? or become wise in the way Tim Keller suggested?

Call me a pessimist, a Luddite, or just dismiss me as a retrogrouch, but heres my answer: they aren't.

A brain trained to 140 charachters with an attention span to match is simply not going to read the significant thought life world represented in that list...and it sure as heck will never write anything approaching that kind of significant thought life.

What are the implications for the Church? ....OK, no fair! that's a third question.

well, I'm gonna risk that third question, and a thought:

There are two responses for Church and Christians to take: keep drifting down stream till your mind, your Gospel and your church are small enough to fit in the same 140, culturally conforming, and similarly irrelevant charecters. Or....?