Smart at Home

Proverbs and Computer Screens

We have all heard the statistics about the enormous amounts of time that children and adults spend in front of a screen each day. Is there a down side to cruising the information highway? It seems to me that there is. I think too much screen exposure reduces attention span. It also seems to me that too much screen exposure overloads the brain with information, reducing its ability to sort out the information received. So what shall a thoughtful person do, short of abandoning the screen and all its assets?

I believe there is a cue for us in the concept of the "proverb". Many proverbs have been collected over the years. Perhaps a few come to mind, e.g." he who laughs least, laughs last.."; "a rolling stone gathers no moss..."; " good fences make good neighbours..."; "look before you leap". "pride goes before a fall"; "raise a child up and when he is grown up he will not depart from it."

What exactly is a proverb? Wikipedia defines a proverb as a simple and concrete saying popularly known and repeated, which expresses a truth, based on common sense or the practical experience of humanity.

I hear in this definition of a proverb a number of kinds of thinking which are both different from and complementary to the "scanning for information" intelligence required by the screen. These complementary thinking skills include:

• Listening: The definition above paints a picture of people discussing their experiences together. This requires the intelligences related to listening, self expression and empathy.
• Decision making: The definition also suggests thinking skills related to decision making. Proverbs often define a key issue which requires a decision or an action. For example, the biblical proverb "the ants are a people without strength, yet they provide their food in the summer", lays out the question of how a person will use their time.
• Validation: The fact that the proverb presumes in the first place to provide advice shows that its wisdom has been tested and found good. This act of validation is a thinking skill.
• Proverbs are often value laden, such as the biblical proverb "one who gives an honest answer gives a kiss on the lips". Values thinking is also a form of intelligence.
• And the fact that proverbs have lasted for so many years qualifies them as a form of the thinking known as the voice of experience.

So what does the concept of the "proverb" have to do with how we use "the screen"? I suggest that proverbs point us in the direction of using all of our brain, including the "proverbial smarts" we use to reflect, validate, listen and discern. So while we happily click away on the screens which drive us down the information highway, let us also remember that we need to exercise the reflective and intuitive parts of our brain. Let us remember that screen information is not the only ingredient needed in a good decision. Perhaps we should all get up and take a walk in the outdoors, talk to a friend, or even just experience the silence when the power is turned off!

Perhaps a new proverb is in order "Let the person who drives the information highway turn in to the rest area" or "He or she who reflects deeply grows in their appreciation of life." (Oh, I guess that one is already taken. Didn't Socrates pen the proverb "The unexamined life is not worth living!"?)

Smart at Church

Mentorship with a Difference

When I have the opportunity for conversation with pastors, I like to ask "what is the biggest need in your congregation in the area of harnessing human capacity?". In a recent conversation, the answer given was quick and emphatic: "mentorship". When I hear the term "mentorship" in the context of church, I picture a semi-formal program in which young persons are matched with an adult who can provide friendship and support through the teen years. This is a wonderful program, but this is not what the pastor was referring to in this case.

This creative pastor had a different angle on mentorship. He saw mentorship as a way to harness the human capacity of different generations. The mentorship plan he was working out focussed on roles within the church. In the area of worship, for example, his experiment was to identify a young person with interest or potential aptitude. That youth would be partnered with an older person who had experience in worship leading roles. The older person would coach and support the young person in trying out the role.

This is a simple plan, but what an effective way it is to harness gifts! I wonder if this is what farmers used to do when they would put a young work horse in a team with an older, experienced horse? Think of the advantages of a system like this over more usual ways of inserting a new person into a new role.

• It is personal: instead of (only) reading a job description to provide information, this process engages the feeling part of the brain by putting the learner in touch with a caring person.
• It is expressive: the older person has an opportunity to communicate the passion they have for the activity, e.g. worship leading. This can lead to a deep response in the youth.
• It is supportive: the younger person has someone to ask about problems and challenges in the role. Obvious gaps can be filled in ways which prevent embarrassment.
• It makes use of skills: Often older persons have developed the skills of listening and empathizing. These skills are put to good use in a one to one working relationship.
• It supports friendship: A positive by-product of the mentoring relationship is that people become friends across generations. And perhaps they will gain greater insight into each others' culture.

Perhaps another way of looking at mentorship is that it recovers the role of the elder, which we may have lost in recent days. Older persons are given a positive way to contribute at the same time as they begin the process, well deserved, of steeping back.

What are some other roles where mentorship could be well used? Could one mentor young church board members, or deacons, or teachers, or preachers? How could or does mentorship work in your congregation?

The Enlivening Gift of Laughter

Ever notice...

... that in every restaurant, the hardness of the butter pat increases in direct proportion to the softness of the bread?
... that whenever you heard the word save, it is usually the beginning of an advertisement designed to make you spend money?
... that the person who starts by saying "Maybe I'm wrong," is often right?

Collected from Reader's Digest