Spent some quality time in an elevator yesterday. I got on at the first floor and had to go all the way up to the eighth, with periodic pauses on the in-between floors to let others on and off. It's a mundane thing, really, to ride on an elevator. We hardly pay any attention to the goings-on. But you know what?
Social conventions crack me up.
Those little unwritten rules about elevator etiquette are unique and kind of silly. Don't talk to anyone, unless the topic involves communicating the destination floor. Look only at the numbers, or your feet, or the door. Actually, just don't make eye-contact with anyone. Move to the back of the elevator when new people get on. Face toward the doors. Evenly space out as far as humanly possible to be equidistant from every other passenger. Making contact with the wall is OK. Don't slouch. Which is funny when you think about it, because I think people would have better posture if we rode elevators everywhere. When did I learn? Did Mom have to sit me down and enlighten me one day? Did we cover proper elevator behavior in Kindergarten?
Funny thing. I probably never had to be taught verbally how to behave in an elevator, but I learned by observation. It's probably as close as we ever get to the old "learning by osmosis" trick many of us have been trying since high school chemistry. And eventually, we all catch on.
Which makes me wonder... What are the unwritten expectations of faith and behavior at Lexington Baptist Church? What do we expect of growing believers in Christ? Do we expect discipleship? Do we expect Biblical literacy? Do we expect people to grow in grace, and love, and mercy? What do we expect post-baptism?
What social conventions (good or bad) exist at Lexington Baptist? And are they keepers or losers?
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