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Recently I was in New York, speaking at a conference on postmodernity and the arts. Enjoying the sights and sounds of the city that David Letterman built, what a great place!
The William Blake exhibition at the Met reminded me of the dangers of struggling for power (http://www.metmuseum.org/special/index.asp) and Proof the play held a “damah moment” for me, challenging my stereotypes when I dismiss people to roles (http://www.broadway.com/shows/shows.cfm?show_id=proof).
I spent a lot of that time pondering the relationships that have developed between emerging postmodern leaders and their Baby Boomer counterparts. Both generations are locked up in this crazy time of transition and facing different issues.
If you were looking for where these two worlds will most likely collide, I believe for postmoderns, the emotion they often feel is anger. Anger with not being recognized, anger with not being fully released, anger with the way the world perceives them.
For Boomers, the emotion they often feel is fear. Fear of losing control, fear of what they don’t fully understand.
We all need to be careful of these emotions, and constantly give grace to one another as we face them. The cultural shift the church is in the midst of is not a demographic one, it’s a psychological one: postmoderns must control their anger and desire to deconstruct everything; and Boomers must overcome their fear of losing what they already have. It’s not about age, it’s about mindset. And the mind of Christ in each of us is what will get us through. When you boil down this or any other transition the church will go through, our actions will speak louder than our words… “They will know you are my disciples if you love one another."
Let’s get on to the news:
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BOOK OF THE WEEK
>Everyone was raving, I finally got it and read it... open, honest, textured, gritty, smooth, challenging, surprising, deep, funny, new look, alive... It’s refreshing to read a book that resonates with my soul and doesn't trivialize my spiritual journey. Excellent.
Traveling Mercies : Some Thoughts on Faithby Anne Lamott
Get it here: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0385496095/TheOoze
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VIDEO OF THE WEEK
>This will challenge all of your stereotypes of the “them and us” style of evangelism. Without ruining the first view of this insightful and poignant tale, think of it as "Dinner With André" meets "Glengary Glen Ross" meets "Left Behind." Now you have to check it out!
The Big Kahuna (2000)
Starring: Kevin Spacey, Danny DeVito
Director: John Swanbeck
VHS http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/6305968896/TheOoze
DVD http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00003CXIM/TheOoze
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LINKS OF THE WEEK
>The must-have gadget: a phone and PDA (palm vii) combined! Very cool! And all for the price of a Palm! http://www.kyocera-wireless.com/kysmart/kysmart_series.htm
>I will be speaking here in a few weeks, if you can make it out and would love to see you there.
http://www.off-the-map.org
>Words from the other side of the culture: whatever happened to the counter culture from the ’60s? See where a segment of that culture is now and get a hint of where it might be going.
http://www.counterculture.com/
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LETTER OF THE WEEK
In the midst of the chaos of the site going down, we received this letter. What a huge encouragement.
Spencer,
Enclosed is a check for $20 as a donation to TheOoze. I wish to thank you for your efforts in providing this marvellous site for seekers. What a breath of fresh air for an old guy of 56 to find that what he has been harping on for over 20 years is not so far off as many have tried to tell
him. The reality of life in Christ being one of intimate relationship with God in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit has been my theme since the beginning of my ministry in 1977. I simply thank you from the bottom of my heart for providing this site.
Sincerely, Rev. Kenneth (Ken) R. Baughman
(Rabken is the nickname I use on TheOoze
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WHERE I’VE BEEN…
>Los Angeles, California (April 26-27), a conference with Erwin McManus. Click this link (http://www.surfacingmagazine.com/inspect/pages/mcmanus.html) to read an excerpt from his book.
>The Bay Area, California (April 27-29)
…AND WHERE I’M GOING
>Irvine, California (May 4-5), Seed Stories. Gather together with people who are in the trenches, and hear the stories of four churches addressing the issue of reaching our postmodern culture through church planting. Each church is developing in a unique way: Intentional, Incubation, Organic, and Transitional. We would love to see you there – and there are some scholarships available. The deadline to pre-register is this week! Register by phone @ 949.278.7077 or walk-ins welcome if space is available. For more info http://www.TheOoze.com/seedstories/
>Seattle, Washington (May 16), meeting with all those interested in helping or finding out more about Soularize in October. Come meet us at Chevy's in Lynnwood at 12:30 p.m.
>Seattle, Washington (May 19-20), Speaking at Off The Map. The map concept has to do with how the existing Christian maps (ideas, programs, etc.) don't necessarily work in our post-modern culture and so we all are now embarking on an exploration to create the new maps. Lots of great explorers, thinkers and practitioners will be there including Brian McLaren & Todd Hunter. Check it out at http://www.off-the-map.org
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Just a note on our recent technological bugs: We went off line for a few days this month because of server problems. Thanks to some speedy migration work, we were able to keep all of our areas and functions intact and no data was lost or compromised. Whew!
Areas still being debugged include e-mail, message boards threads from 3-9-01 to 4-12-01, the chat room template, new sign up and registration, homepage directories, images for wallpaper and e-cards, and access to lockers. Thank you for your patience - we are working on this to
correct the problems and create a safe and secure community.
Well, that’s it for this week. Feel free to forward this e-mail on to anyone who may be interested in TheOoze. Word of mouth is the reason why most people come to TheOoze, so thank you for sharing our site with your friends. If there’s any way TheOoze can serve you, please e-mail me at spencer@TheOoze.com. May the Lord smile warmly upon you this week and I’ll see you soon.
Spencer Burke
www.TheOoze.com
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