Comments on: In the Culture of Now

By: C. Holland

C. Holland — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 11:37:24 +0000

@Ali: Thanks, I appreciate it. I, too, would rather people’s decision to follow Christ actually mean something life-changing and permanent, instead of getting large numbers of people who don’t know what they’re agreeing to. If it means a person taking longer to get to an honest decision, I’ll be happy to wait.

By: Ali

Ali — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 21:05:22 +0000

Sometimes I think it is good that people are slow to become Christians here in Western Europe. I mean they’re cautious of us, the missionary. They’re cautious of Christianity, but I believe that once they decide to follow Christ they’ve counted the cost. I think they are less likely to fall back. I know this isn’t 100% true, but I don’t think the decision to follow Christ is taken lightly here. This is an old post of yours, but I’ve been going through all the posts and reading them I couldn’t resist commenting. Thanks for the great thoughts.

By: Tai Fu

Tai Fu — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:49:23 +0000

I really do long for a slower, and simpler pace of life. In Taiwan everything moves at the speed of light and I had thought things moved pretty fast in the US until I came to Asia. Things move really FAST here.

By: C. Holland

C. Holland — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 20:37:54 +0000

@Kevin: I find that I generally prefer this pace of life over my previous lifestyle, though sometimes I still get impatient.

@Roxie: Good insights. I never considered the shift within the US as in your situation. Must get frustrating at times!

@Grady: I used to be a futurist, but I find it is slowly fading away.

By: Grady Bauer

Grady Bauer — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 15:00:33 +0000

Good reminder for a futurist that prefers the future over the now. Thanks!

By: Roxie in Wisconsin

Roxie in Wisconsin — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 05:30:39 +0000

Excellent points… another way of communicating the difference between time orientated people and event oriented people. Since we serve in the US, but among the Native Americans, we identify with you, only we sense the differences on a daily basis as the two worlds collide almost daily. The “now culture” of the elders – in contrast to a trip to town (30 min away) and having to have everything ready to be “processed” as I check out at Walmart in a hurry… Also – what we find is interesting – is that as we’ve become much more event oriented (which is, as a general rule, like the more traditional Native people), the people with whom we serve are an interesting mix of event and time orientations… what I’m trying to say is that we’re sometimes in a slower pace of life than the Native Americans with whom we serve beside…

Add to this the interesting mix of my husband serving in administration – with a mix of the two cultures in those meetings as well as on the mission board…

By: kevin

kevin — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 17:13:39 +0000

Thanks for the reminder. It's so easy in this American culture to forget about the now because we're looking to the future. I long to return to a slower, simpler pace of life that isn't caught up in always progressing, always planning, and always preparing for the next big thing. I think I'll write my wife a note now to let her know I'm thinking of her. .-= kevin´s last blog ..Mission Minded Families =-.