“[preface, preface, nuance, disclaimer…] what I really think about this is…” [cut off]

I’ve often thought about this post, which was an attempt a few years ago to break writer’s block and resume posting to this blog. I posted it but wasn’t satisfied so switched it to a private post; with other posts having broken the silence recently, it seems fitting now to share this again as a glimpse into how things were going for our ministry during this time. Republished 13 August 2023 but listed under its original date.


Online communication can be tough.

That came up a few times this week as I participated in an excellent online convention offered by the Evangelical Press Association. The lecture sessions were well chosen and edifying, and the event app offered topic discussions and small group meetings.

The topic forums fostered hundreds of deep, inspiring conversations, and although most of us usually posted long comments in short portions, a few times I tried posting a whole idea at once so that another commenter wouldn’t get stuck between my sentences.

Three times, I noticed that I’d exceeded whatever character limit the app set and had been cut off mid-sentence—which inspired the lighthearted joke serving as title of this post.

Online communication can be tough.

Technical limits and glitches can lose parts of messages. Other tasks and topics can leave clarifications unsaid. The lack of tone and body language can cause misunderstandings. Anonymity and distance can inhibit kindness in writers and readers. Distractions abound and succeed. Zoom calls accidentally activate filters that turn lawyers into cats.

But online communication can also be a blessing. Millions around the world have remained connected — partially, imperfectly, to be sure, but connected — despite the isolation of the pandemic. EPA couldn’t hold its annual convention last year and had to convert this year’s to an online event. What a blessing to spend four days learning alongside, with and from other professionals serving Christ and His church through journalism and publishing.

Among the many inspirations and lessons this week held for me has been a reminder that I need to resume this blog, which has been far too long dormant. Silence gains weight and inertia and therefore becomes harder to break the longer it lasts. I have let it last too long. I have let the inertia of silence grow too much here; that is not good stewardship of this resource.

For a long time (longer than I’d realized, actually), I’ve favored our family ministry’s Facebook group, partly because of its privacy, but there are things I should be sharing here. What to post first, though?

Something, maybe even anything. The only way to break a silence is to make a sound.

Here, then, is a sound. Imperfect, but present and functional. Breaking loose what has long been stuck. Opening a door too long ignored, trivially taking the weight off whatever might try to speak next…

Online communication can be tough.

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