Hello!

In our home Kim and I have an expression we use when we realize we have lost the focus of our conversation, veered off into a tangent, gone down a rabbit hole. When this happens, one of us will say, “that dog has a puffy tail” (it comes from The Simpsons). In other words, as we have been discussing something we both thought important and needing our input, we have become distracted by something that has caught our eye. I have heard people refer to “Squirrel!” in a similar way, when focus is a challenge in story telling or a conversation of a serious nature. All of us, including me, are guilty of this, and we do need to occasionally check ourselves that we are honouring our conversation partners, not moving their curiosity or need to share, into a place that bears no connection to where this dialogue began. In our home, and in my family, I am known to have the opposite instinct, that is I will tend to keep the conversation on track, even if people begin to move it into a new direction. “You are like a dog with a bone”, I have been told. In your conversations, are you more likely to be distracted, go down rabbit holes or are you like me, often fixated on a topic, finding it difficult to move on to new subject matter?

The other day I was headed to a birthday party, and I was worried I might get lost, so I asked the Allens for help. They suggested I drop by their home, one of them would drive with me to the destination. Once there, I asked Nancy, “where is Jim?” She responded, “In one of his five sheds”. Jim and Nancy do not have five sheds, rather there are a few storage spaces in their backyard with multiple doorways. It is a funny exaggeration. I liked it. I tried to ask about their summer, the grandchildren who are visiting, prayer shawls, repairs to the church, but I kept coming back to “sheds”. I was distracted, the “sheds” were an easy and tempting rabbit hole. I found myself unable to resist. It reminded me of this two and half minute YouTube clip from Monty Python: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLjS3gzHetA You get the picture.

In church we face this challenge every time we plan a worship service, or a study, or a workshop or a seminar, or any intentional gathering with content at the core. How do we maintain focus, keep everyone on track, and yet leave room for organic changes in topic, so no one feels constricted or stifled by the agenda. At church meetings, this is a forever challenge, the chair trying to keep members on topic, so we can resolve issues, and not find ourselves talking about our recent trip to the Tattoo or a neighbour who plays music too loud, or how “they” have changed the menu at Tim’s. In fairness, sometimes these shifts in topic can be most helpful, when discussing the projected budget deficit someone asks, “how much do we spend on our children’s ministry”? Not entirely on topic, but it prompts an excellent discussion we have overlooked. Or when discussing vacation for staff, someone asks, “what do we do to affirm our volunteers?” Again, not entirely on topic, but most helpful.

Hoping all is well, that conversations remain on topic, at least on topic long enough to satisfy our curiosity, care. Peace, Kevin “no sheds” Little