Robbie Rambles | June 23, 2023
Hey all, happy summer. Welcome to another edition of Robbie Rambles. Let’s get to it.
I wrote some reflections on Montaigne and Golgatha.
I listened to these two episodes of the Jocko podcast with Dave McCormick and Gen. Michael Ferriter while driving back home from Texas. One of the things I love about Jocko is how the politics of his interviewees are alway treated as tangential. He starts with the humanity of his subjects first, and digs into their stories. I didn't even realize that Dave McCormick recently ran for Senate in PA until the latter half of the episode (a fascinating story featuring run-ins with everyone's favorite presidential villain). But I also appreciate how he and his guests steer you back to taking ownership of what's in front of you and doing right by the people around you.
Katelyn Beaty interviews Beth Allison Barr on the Southern Baptist Convention's recent ruling about restricting the role of pastor to men. According to Barr, this is something of an anomaly in the history of the convention, which has always prized the autonomy of individual congregations. Though the SBC has always decreed that the pastoral office was restricted to men, there was considerable leeway as to what constituted that office — for example, was it acceptable for "children's pastors" to be women? Additionally, the nature of the SBC's polity is such that they are _not_ a denomination, but a collective working in "friendly cooperation". In this "friendly cooperation", the gender of ordained ministers was always treated as an issue of secondary importance. Now, with the recent vote, it looks like it has been elevated to an issue of primary importance, over which congregations ought to disfellowship. I also didn't know didn't know "soul competency" was a defined thing. The tension between individualism and authority in American evangelicalism is fascinating.
I like DHH's thoughts on making a concerted effort to "turn down the volume on the world." I envy the fact that he got to develop software in a time before algorithmically curated feeds engineered for maximum distraction. Mitigating FOMO is something I especially struggle with. I agree that it's necessary to tune out from the hype cycles, but I'm finding that checking out alone is insufficient when it comes to developing resilience. One thing I'm trying to do is develop an "antifragile" mindset when engaging with digital content. For me, this means looking at things with a more critical eye when confronted with them, rather than just passively consuming or avoiding entirely.
Olly Headey, former engineering director at 37 Signals, laments the tug-of-war discourse over remote/hybrid work. I really liked this piece because Headey called to mind the pre-pandemic "hybrid" model, where some employees were remote and some weren't. I think the benefits and drawbacks of remote work for teams are often overstated by both parties. But I kind of miss having the _option_ of going into an office these days, especially with a toddler at home. The "old" hybrid model, where companies where remote-friendly, but not remote-first was almost better in my opinion.