Simples?

Well not really.

The angsting over which phone to get is tortorous. I had no idea there were so many companies making phones with their budget, mid-range and top of the range models. They then have a variety, depending on whether you like a plain phone, QWERTY keyboard or touch screen. Then you can start looking at the contracts available…. It’s enough to send you running, honestly.

So after much pondering, several visits to different shops and wondering which will best fit my lifestyle, even though all I should want is to be able to phone people(!), I think I’ve decided.

More people have mobiles than have landlines (or have both). 13% more according to Ofcom. This has to be a stronger pattern amongst millenials, I’m sure. I was one of those with a mobile and no landline until recently. I wonder if that’s a sign of growing up (but that’s a post for another day!)

My point is that mobiles are personal. Mobiles are an extension of ourselves. It acts as our address book, storing the contact details of friends from uni days we’ve lost touch with.

Got an opinion about what you’re reading? Post your comments to facebook by clicking here: 

It stores our personal calendars, often with travel details and the codes for our e-tickets, so we don’t need to use paper. It’s a gateway to social media. We can update facebook, twitter and linkedin from our phone, all at the same time.

Mobile phones have radios, they are our alarm clock (83% of millenials sleep with their mobile), act as an e-reader, a GPS system, newspaper, email, music player (with or without headphones) and as a phone, to name but a few.

So if mobiles are so integral to our lives, our relationships and communication, what impact does this have on us?

Life is busy. A mobile allows us to multitask and fit in our relationships as we live life at a faster pace than previous generations, often desperate not to miss out on opportunities and experiences. So mobiles help us to be more productive, but at the cost of deep relationships? Does this mean we are destined to experience shallow relationships?

Immediate access to social media allows us to broadcast our thoughts and opinions to others who ‘follow’ or ‘friend’ us. Sometimes that flows into a discussion, connecting people from different parts of our lives, but at other times it can be like talking into an empty sphere.

But mobiles (and technology in general) allows us to continue friendships across the globe and continents. Rather than move half way across the world and never see our families again, we can often benefit from skype, facebook and email to stay in touch with loved ones.

So how important is your mobile? And how does it make life better for you?

Get article updates through facebook, by liking our facebook page here.

Subscribe to General Overflow by Email

Bankers’ bonuses… Aren’t they shocking? The economy is in a mess… Unemployment is at 8.4%, 2.67 million – the highest in 16 years. Yet bankers are still getting bonuses. But if you’re honest, if you were a banker, being offered a bonus, wouldn’t you want it?

And therein lies the issue – not bankers’ bonuses this time… but the question of judging others.

It’s easy to judge, to think we would behave differently in a given situation. But it’s also easy to forget the circumstances surrounding the situation, such as established behaviours, previous decisions, habits, attitudes, culture and other people’s opinions. According to a University of Michigan study of 14,000 American 18 to 25 year olds it’s getting easier to judge, with empathy and compassion declining by 48% over the past 30 years.

So given all this, why do we think we have the right to judge? Is it getting easier to judge others? And should we be judging in the first place?

It depends on how you define judgement. I’m not about to argue that we should refrain from using our brain and our common sense. We need to be wise, to use our experience and discernment.

Judging others is different though. Think of it like ‘picking on people, jumping on their failures and criticizing their faults.’ No one likes being treated like that.

Judging and criticising other people isn’t the way to treat others. It doesn’t make us feel any better. It’s hardly going to change people for the better or improve their behaviours. In fact it’s likely to set the tone for their treatment of other people, maybe even us. I know I don’t want to be on the receiving end of that kind of behaviour.

Got an opinion about what you’re reading? Post your comments to facebook by clicking here:

So if judging others isn’t the way to criticise others, how do we behave? How do we challenge and criticise?

I suggest the starting position is to love others. Sounds simple?

By that I mean not simply loving those who we like (whether our friends, family or romantic partners) because that is easy. I mean loving those who are different to us, who are a bit harder for us to love. That kind of self-sacrificing love is hard work and often costly. And if we then challenge behaviour or decisions from a place where people feel loved, it’s often more helpful and constructive.

Do you think we have a right to judge and criticse people? What have you found works in doing that in a positive fashion?

And on that note, I will love you and leave you…

Over to you.

Get article updates through facebook, by liking our facebook page here.

Subscribe to General Overflow by Email

“Religion is simply no longer relevant to Millennials. In particular, they feel Christianity is hypocritical, judgemental, too political, and out of touch with reality.“

Over to Kate…

Recently I’ve rediscovered my reading bug through the Kindle app on my Ipad.  (I was a cynic about e-books, but it’s amazing to be able to carry a library with you at all times!)

Anyway, over the past year I’ve been reading three books about the church in America.  ’America’, I hear you say, ’we’re the UK, we’re different.’  Well, yes we are, but often trends in the US have a tendency to appear over here, so bear with me…

1) Firstly, some people outside the church have strong negative views of the church, namely the church is hypocritical, sheltered, judgemental, to name but a few characteristics.

2) Secondly, significant numbers of millenials\ gen y are experiencing a disconnect between church and life (exiles with 38% showing these traits), leaving active involvement in the church but are continuing in their faith (nomads at 43%) or are leaving the church and their faith behind them (prodigals at 21%). I know this makes over 100%, but people have self identified and may self-identify with more than one group.

3) Thirdly, there are some inspirational millenials changing the world, balancing ‘being in the world, but not of it’.

In the UK 2001 census 70% of the population identified themselves as Christian, but only 15% of the population attend church regularly.  This isn’t broken down by age, but I wonder if this reflects the exile and prodigal trends documented in the US.

I’ve certainly seen all of these trends amongst my friends and had conversations about them.  I’ve focused on the importance of church because we are called to be part of community, but I’ve seen some walk away from their faith (whether forever or temporarily I don’t know).  I’ve experienced the feeling of being an exile myself, with some people certainly judging me for being involved in politics.

So my unfinished thoughts are these… are you seeing these trends in the UK?  Are these limited to under-35s? Are there other trends amongst millenials with regard to church?  Does this break down by nationality and ethnicity? What about city, suburban and rural locations? What do you think?

Never being a fan of leaving a problem unresolved, what do we do about this?  Where do we look for solutions?  I suggest Jesus.  The son of God who celebrated and commiserated, who had a diverse and surprising group of friends, inviting them to join him on a journey and challenged them when life became comfortable.  I don’t think anyone can level the criticism of being hypocritical, judgemental, too political, and out of touch with reality at Him.

Yes, he lived a while back, but the principles He gives us, particularly in the Gospels, are patterns we can adopt to our world.   Fresh Expressions is one project exploring different models of church.

My questions to finish on are these… what patterns are you living by?  Are you part of a church community? Why? What have your good (and maybe not so good) church experiences been? How has the church equipped you to live out your life and call?

I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences of what’s worked, what hasn’t worked and other thoughts.

For more information, check out these books:

http://www.unchristian.com/, http://nextchristians.com/ and http://youlostmebook.com.

Subscribe to General Overflow by Email

I’m Kate and things I love include God, family, friends, Peckham, politics, community, West Wing, coffee, knitting, cycling, reading, country walks, home decor and my iPad 2 (there is an app for everything!)

Things that interest me include people and their potential, education, womens political representation, the persecuted church & religious freedom, to name but a few. Rather immodestly I excel at managing my time and being organised!

At uni I read European Studies with German & Italian with a formative year abroad, and returned to find myself immersed in student union politics, after which I moved onto Westminster politics. Outside of work I’ve been a school governor, chair of governors, charity trustee, company director, volunteer youth worker, homegroup leader, council candidate and chaired the Liberal Democrat Christian Forum.

I’m looking forward to writing and sharing some thoughts on a wide range of issues that take my fancy. Roll on the unfinished thoughts…