tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post8579420678652469468..comments2024-03-27T03:19:11.216-04:00Comments on Assistant Village Idiot: Parachurch ChangesAssistant Village Idiothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-62239892462240848102010-04-17T22:00:33.640-04:002010-04-17T22:00:33.640-04:00Your second-to-last paragraph reflects what I fear...Your second-to-last paragraph reflects what I fear in this: wide but attenuated and superficial communities. There is more to communication than words, more even than words and images. There's a world of difference between talking to my wife in person and talking over the phone. Same people, same words, but something's missing.<br /><br />Words aren't enough. (Three of our children are Aspies, and so you can imagine that the world of non-verbal cues is one of lively interest to us.) But the online world is dominated by words and illusions, without a real presence.<br /><br />I agree that the parachurch groups separate rather than unite. Within the group of friends things seem tight enough, but these comfortable place/echo chamber/ghettos don't meet much. This happens inside a church too. I grew up in Southern Baptist churches, where Sunday School groups were neatly segregated by age, so the young didn't benefit so much from the wisdom of the old. I've spent time since then in churches with extensive youth programs that insulate the youth from the rest of the church--with disastrous effects when the kids graduate.jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01792036361407527304noreply@blogger.com