There's only 4 arguments on the internet
1 my world (what I know and see)
2 'the' world ('facts')
3 equality (the game today)
4 equity (the game today, yesterday and tomorrow)
New addition to this in 2019
These are filtered by
1 the world how it is
2 the world how you think it ought to be
3 the world being not grasped
3 the world 'how it is' but it just ain't so
I'm pretty fed up with almost everyone in my life with their deep fear and high strung anxiety... and for what? Because you might slightly go backwards in comforts, affluence and status? I feel like I'm this outlier... I'm not afraid or alone, it's just really really strange... maybe my time will come but there's just so much unnecessary fear out there!
"There are more things to alarm us than to harm us, and we suffer more often in apprehension than reality."
It's easy to like someone who always says yes... It's hard to respect someone who always says yes.
We have observed, in the last half-century, an endless line of proposals and plans for ‘reviving,’ or ‘renewing,’ or ‘revitalizing’ the nation’s tired old denominations. To my knowledge, however, no one has yet succeeded in turning around a declining denomination. ~ George Hunter III
The solution.
Authenticly and relevance.
What do you mean?
I'm 30, born in 1986 going to a variety of denominations both because of family and choice... The pattern I noticed is people are with a particular denomination either because it's what their family believed or it was a reflection of themselves in some way, I believe secularly it's called your 'tribe'. In my time on this earth, I've seen the noise grow, in the late 90s advertisers had the rule of 7... After the 7th time, people would be conscious of your message... early 2000s it was the rule of 9... 2017 it's now up to 24... When I wake up, as I get ready for work I've already been exposed to hundreds of brands, messages, the noise of life... There is one thing which cuts through in 2017 ... Simplicity and/or authenticity. Tradition is fine, but if no one can tell simply or authenticly why, it's not relevant and it's not authentic... 'that's how we've always done it' is an immediate fail, 'because the Bible says so' is a fail... It's not against the Bible or the traditions, replace the word Bible with literally anything else and the result is the same... The paradox is we are after knowing why without it being complex... The theory goes that if you can explain your subject matter to a 6 year old, you truly understand. Jesus did the same simplicity approach... It was simple, it was relevant to the audience which was relateable and how he lived his life and how he spoke it was authentic...
In a world where we (milenials) don't trust anyone, we crave 'real'
Of course 'how' to achieve this I could talk for hours, but it's best to start at 'what'.
The biggest hurdle is the 'I want to know why' with 'I don't trust you' and 'get to the point in a way I can understand without thinking too hard'... I will say this, if you follow these two traits, you can figure out how...
"the path of least resistance" and "a simple lie is more believable than a complicated truth"
Example. Cold water freezes faster than hot water.
It sounds right but it's actually a lie... But as I start to explain the stupidly complex reason why hot water freezes faster than cold water, the effort to understand why becomes greater than the desire to know which means the path of least resistance is to not care/not pursue the answer.
Finally regarding relevance... "if you care about what I think, I'll listen to what you have to say" everyone has an opinion, deep down, it's not about being right, it's about being valued, needing to matter. Most people tie their opinions into their identity... So when we argue with them, it's not about someone rejecting their opinion, we're rejecting them as a person. It's a hard way to live, but somehow that's how this generation work.
And whether you think I'm right or wrong, does it matter? depending on what you want to achieve I guess, thrown out a statement, as a non church goer I have data from outside the walls representing a demographic that has to be represented if looking to the future. If you feel my voice does not reflect milenials... Ask yourself why? Search for other people in the milenials who are on the cusp of church... We not only know why, we have solutions... We want what you want, and even though it might not seem like it, we're on the same side.
I'm happy to answer any questions but I probably won't go down a path of trying to defend my stance, it's not tied to my identity so I don't mind if I don't hear any support for these ideas 😊
I wish you well in your journey to find knowledge and understanding, peace be with you.
You'll never not piss someone off with who you are and what you believe, so instead of figuring out who to please, maybe figure out who you'd rather piss off? I want to piss off people who want their own way with everything, I want to piss people off who exploit others for their gain, I want to piss others off who want to rob dreams and hopes of others, I want to piss people off who think it's OK to hurt others for their pleasure or wreck people's lives for a moment of hideous indulgence. I want to piss off the people who make the world a worse place for them being in it.
"Attitude trumps intelligence, passion trumps process but excuses trumps you."
S. Phelps
we need to teach our sons the difference between:
a woman who compromises him and a woman who will compromise with him
a woman who will stand on him and a woman who will stand with him
a woman in need of a parent and woman in need of a partner
a woman who expects everything from him and a woman who respects everything about him
Then we need to teach our daughter's to be that women.
Men V Women.
How to tell when it's a fair point? Reverse the genders... If the advice is both true and powerful regardless of if it's directed at male or female... It is not about gender, rather about humanity
The difference between collective and individual.
A man rapping a women is an individual action, the attitude towards it is collective.
A women belittles a man to the point of suicide is individual action, our response is collective. Both are important, but to swap is deadly
A man who raped a women turning into a collective is men can't be trusted, all are potential rapists... Then a man defends that he and others like him are a good guy with the swap, he is now and individual which means he holds no weight or authority only making him and his kind more guilty.
We may never get rid of individuals actions, but our goal as a collective is to be surprised about male / female inequality, to be surprised when a man does something to a women (or the other way round) that we are surprised and shocked that a women got attacked at night in a park by herself... Let's be surprised as a collective that a man does something bad against a women.
When people say 'we are all equal' do they really mean it? Even the most 'open minded' seem to change their stance when 'narrow minded' people do or say something 'closed' or 'misinformed'. So, if they aren't open minded, they are wrong and less equal than the person that strives for equality?
The amount of hate that incites the most horrific violence I've seen for people like a child molester or a kidnapper ... These are bad things, very bad, but to wish these people tortured to death? So everyone's equal until we do something perceived to be bad by someone, then we are no longer equal? Who gets to decide this sliding scale? How do we decide where to draw the line where you 'lose your right to be equal'?
So are we only equal when we are the same as the person creating the 'equals' parameters?
We sit and wait as so many others are! You wish for a letter, you wish for a gift, or a big gesture, a moment where no one else matters but you, a fantasy of being unconditionally loved, praised, honoured, maybe even worshiped for a moment.... You have the power to do this to someone... Write a letter, personalise a gift, say a kind word, dedicate some uninterrupted time... that's very powerful, and can be used as a tool to empower the lonely, the sick, the frightened, the enslaved, the belittled, this power of words, power of gifts, power of time... We can all change the world... The smallest deed can send ripples though history
A story...
I was selling flowers at the market a few days ag and the stall next to use was a father and daughter selling honey... I had lots of discussions during down time... The little girl Eloisa (12-14 maybe) taught me lots about bees... Anyway at the end of the day I stole a long stem red rose from our pile and thanked her, hoping she'd feel special... As I walked away I imaged the future for her life and choices that I'll never see... That moment could change the choice she makes about a douche guy that treats her like shit but instead respects herself and has value and says no, which gives her the space to chase her dreams and meets other like minded people who unite and cure cancer, cease world hunger, bring peace to humanity... That's life changing... Or it was just a flower and gets thrown away after I leave, the end... Ill never know, but it's now a possibility... We all have the power to change the world... that's the exciting/terrifying thing about life.
