Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope you all are having a wonderful Christmas season. This week I want to talk about phones. As you may or may not know, I hate talking on the phone. A wise friend of mine once helped me understand why this is: I often can't tell how the person on the other end is responding. When I talk to others face-to-face, I get all sorts of nonverbal feedback. That doesn't work with a phone call, but I still have to keep the conversation going. I don't get to pause and carefully plan out my words. It's terrifying! Answering machines are even worse. I don't think I've ever finished leaving a message and not thought to myself, "Boy, am I an idiot!"
Here's the funny thing: I spend a pretty decent amount of my pastor life on the phone. I call council members to ask questions about how we should do different things at the church. I call members of the congregation to try to set up visits. Sometimes I follow up with church visitors on the phone. Plus, I'm almost always the only one at the church, so I have to answer the phone and return calls that we get from people who want to do things like check out our boilers. Nothing weirds me out more than having to call someone I've never met before. Phones aren't my favorite, but calling is part of my job, and most people are pretty friendly. Maybe I'll even get better at this over time. So if you ever come to church and find me trying to psych myself up for something, don't worry. I probably just have to make a phone call.
Grace and peace,
BMH
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