Leaving the Cellular Age

“What’s your cell phone number?”  My reply, “I don’t have a cell phone.”  “What! You don’t have a cell phone?  HOW DO YOU SURVIVE!  Everyone has a cell phone.”

I have this conversation ALL the time.  People are fascinated with our family’s decision to leave the cellular age 2 years ago.  Now in light of full disclosure, we do have a Pay As You Go phone, just like the one pictured.  But we only use it for traveling and babysitters.  We pay about $25 every 2 months.

So why did we leave the cellular age?  5 major reasons.

1.  The Cost.  When we had both our cell phones, we were paying nearly $80 a month.  On a Dave Ramsey budget, that was not a necessity to survive, so they had to go.

2.  The Availability to People.  The more I used my cell phone, the more I became available and accessible to people via voice messages, texts, and calls.  No place was safe to be away from everyone as long as the phone was clipped to my belt.  I needed to order my private and public life and the cell phone caused a blur in those lines of distinction.

3.  The Impact on My Family.  When I was on the cell phone, I was completely distracted from my family.  I go into the “on” mode and would forget if I was playing with the boys or having a conversation with Jennifer.  They deserve more.

4.  No Rings in Meetings.  I hate when a cell phone rings in a meeting.  I have always been one of those who doesn’t use the silence or buzz functions, I just turned the thing off so that there is no possible chance of a ring.  I remember someone saying once, “Why do you even have a cell phone, you never turn it on.”  Exactly. 

5.  Ministry to Real People through Real Connections.  A hand on the shoulder, a smiling face, a quiet moment of prayer while holding someones hand.  My view of ministry doesn’t include faceless communication, distracted conversations, and text message-type responses.  I want to be truly focused on people and ministering to them through the cell phone created distance and lack of intimacy.

Call me old fashioned.  Call me a Puritan.  Call me a freak of nature.  Call me whatever you like.  But we are probably not going back to the cellular age.

My Father’s Day Present

My wife rocks!  She is simply awesome.  She got me a Wii for Father’s Day. 

Now my last video game console was a PlayStation 1.  Some of my teenagers back at Trinity Bapt. Church gave me their old parts and put together the machine so I could have something to play in seminary.  So I am making a huge jump forward to the Wii.

Oh wait, I did buy what we called the “Woo” at JC Penney’s last year on Black Friday.  Not quite the same as the real thing.  It lacked a lot.  Even Isaac thought the graphics were poor.  And he doesn’t even know what graphics are.

Needless to say, I pumped.

Main Street Week 3-5

It is hard to believe we are through 5 weeks at Main Street.  Only two weeks remain.  This has been such a wonderful blessing to be back at Main Street and to get reacquainted with so many folks who we consider dear dear friends and family.

This past week was Father’s day and I preached a message on Cornelius from Acts 10.  The week before was way more feminine and girly as we studied Dorcas in Act 9.  You can hear that message at iTunes or by going to www.sievechurch.wordpress.com. 

This week is probably the most heavy message of the entire series entitled Peter: My View of People.  Peter’s transformation in Acts 10 is nothing short of radical.  This message was partly inspired by my visit to the Dr. Martin Luther King Museum in Altanta last fall (read post here) and to reading the book, Becoming King, about Dr. King’s pastorate in Alabama.

This week is a busy one.  SBC Convention.  My summer classes finish Friday.  Two Maple Trail consulting appointments.  And then back to NKY on Friday for more visits and meetings.  I love summer ministry.

Main Street Week 2

It’s Friday and I am just getting to recap Main Street Week 2.  We had two baptisms, which were both boys that I had spent time with as the CEC administrator.  We celebrated the Awana graduates and the High School graduates.  Great music and fellowship.

The message was focused on the life of Barnabas entitled Barnabas:  My Property & Calling taken from three sections in the book of Acts.  You can hear it on iTunes (search “sievechurch”) or go here.  I really felt God was moving.  His presence was close and I believe we all grew because of it.

Week 3′s message is entitled Ananias & Sapphira: My Integrity and Family Name from Acts 5:1-11.

Movin’ on Up

I have relocated out of the Druien Hall basement.  One year in the basement was all I got.  Many others have lasted for years before they moved up.

So I am out of DH 5A, up to DH 122.  I now have two vents for heating and cooling (none downstairs), two windows with a view on the parking lot (absolutely no outside light downstairs), and a closet for the ole’ regalia.   I even share an old bathroom with my colleague and office neigbor, Dr. Dwayne Howell.  No plumbing but more space for storage and files. 

This is a huge step up.  I believe this is the former room of my dear friends Tiffany Schofner and Victoria Alexander Smith.  I am not for sure, but  think so.

My Summer Reading List

Each summer I take on 3 books or so to read during the break.  Last summer it was all Oprah book club: Kite Runner, The Shack, and The Road.  The summer before that was Tuesday’s with Morrie, Lesson before Dying, and Harry Potter No. 7.

This summer we are going in a slightly different direction. The summer reading list is:

• Becoming King: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Making of a National Leader by Troy Jackson.  This book specifically looks at the time Dr. King was pastoring in Montgomery, AL at Dexter Ave. Baptist Church.  After my trip to Atlanta last fall and visiting the Dr. King museum, I have wanted to learn more about his life, ministry, and preaching.
• God is the Gospel by John Piper.  I received this book a couple years ago at the Together for the Gospel conference and am now just getting to it.  I need to be challenged in my understanding of God.  I heard Piper preach that when we get a bigger view of God, we get a better understanding of the Gospel.  This book should do just that.
• The Autobiography of Malcom X by Alex Haley.  I have been fascinated with Malcom X since seeing the Denzel Washington film portrayal years ago.  With my study of Dr. King, I thought it would be interesting to read about a contemporary of King who took on a whole different direction in the Civil Rights movement.  I have also been interested in the Nation of Islam.

It Has Come to An End

Last Thursday night (May 28) roughly 12:15 AM, I emailed my draft dissertation to my dissertation chairman.  It finally came to an end. 

Official title:  Models of Academic Governance and Institutional Power on Southern Baptist Related Liberal Arts Colleges and Univerisities.  182 total pages.  11 participating Baptist colleges and universities.  161 total surveys processed.  It took 12 months and 28 days to complete from beginning the prospectus phase to editing the final pages.

The process is not entirely complete.  I will defend, hopefully, in July.  The dissertation defense is a 2-hour process where my dissertation committee can ask me any question about my study and give me some areas that need to be revised.  Usually there about about 20-30 of editing and revising to do after the defense. 

But after that, you are done.  You send in the final copies to be bound and you walk in graduation.  After the defense, you are a DR.  I feel a huge relief.