The Experiment Begins

It's been pointed out to me that this blog has no overriding purpose. No raison d'être. I knew that. But that's all about to change tomorrow morning at 11 a.m.

About a month ago, I read a story in the New York Times about the aging brain. It offered some interesting ideas on keeping one's neural connections in tip-top shape. Sure, reading helps, having a good-sized social circle, doing crosswords, but I suck at crosswords. (Just today my mom called to ask me what a three-letter word for "low swampy land" was. Fen. Who knew? Well, she did. She was just showing off.)

Basically, the NYTimes story said that to stay sharp, you should challenge your way of thinking, whether it's driving to work a different way or hanging out with un-like-minded individuals. I sent the article to my dad, and he wondered if he'd have to start watching Fox. Basically, yes. That's the idea.

Here's a snippet of the story:

One way to nudge neurons in the right direction is to challenge the very assumptions they have worked so hard to accumulate while young. With a brain already full of well-connected pathways, adult learners should “jiggle their synapses a bit” by confronting thoughts that are contrary to their own. Continued brain development and a richer form of learning may require that you “bump up against people and ideas” that are different.

So an idea for this blog was born. It may be contrived, but it will be challenging. It may even be interesting. At least for me.

And so it begins, tomorrow morning I will do something I never thought I ever would, something I really don't want to do: go to the 11 a.m. "Blended Service" at the 13,500-member Hyde Park Baptist Church, two blocks from our house.

I grew up Baptist. Fire-and-brimstone Southern Baptist. Which is probably why I got baptized Episcopalian. (Actually that was done in a jiffy just so I could become a legit godparent.) Not only do I not go to church, but I certainly would never go to this particular church. It is widely detested in Austin. It is responsible for expanding into the neighborhood and knocking down lots of amazing old houses. It canceled an interfaith Thanksgiving service last year because it objected to Muslims worshiping in one of its facilities. It owns several houses in the 'hood and acts as a big, bad slumlord.

I really don't know what to expect tomorrow. Will the preacher ask all visitors to stand and be recognized? Will I have to shake "my neighbor's" hand? Will I be expected to know the words to "I'll Fly Away"? It may be overstating it, but I feel like I'm about to venture into the belly of the beast.