practical practitioners practicum

Taking a brief break from my hunkered down editing mode to surface for a blog entry. We’ve finished one round of editing. One more round trip, and then I’ll do the layout and circulate among a handful of trusted readers for feedback. Glad to exit edit mode and to write random disparate thoughts.

Often I hear of people responding well to those who are practical and down-to-earth. What’s that code word for? Down-to-earth, according to WordWebOnline.com means: sensible and practical. Practical means (1) concerned with actual use or practice, (2) guided by practical experience and observation rather than theory.

I’m not one of them. I’m an idealists, love to dream, attracted to the latest innovation, wish for the way things could really be and ought to be. I love ideals! So when I read David’s thoughts about what needs to happen before we go multicultural as a church, I’m not thinking practical– I’m thinking ideal! (David is my faithful virtual friend on this editing project that’s fueled largely by sweat equity.) I’m not as motivated by how things are, or how things used to be, but more by how things could be, can be, and should be.

I think it’s that way for most endeavors – there’s a lot more excitement over what’s new and a vision of what could be, rather than having things the way they’ve always been, comfort foods and antiques excepted. Maybe you can add traditional churches to that list too. Proportionally speaking, I don’t think preservation motivates a lot of generosity in funding or volunteerism.

And, I get a text message that Kobe Bryant scores 81 points in 1 NBA basketball game – see videos:: Play of the day: Kobe (0:37) + Kobe highlights (0:33) + Kobe reflects (4:37). How long until Google Video has it available for download? [update: a day. Get the full game for $3.95]

Another golden find: Rick Warren met with Jewish leaders last June 2005, months before emergent church leaders met with Synagogue 3000 recently. What would Rick Warren say to the Jewish Rabbi? You can view the video clips [registration req’d] online. Rick wisely quotes from the Hebrew portion of the Scriptures in this big practitioners pow wow.