Considering this photo was of the sharks that I was swimming with in Bahamas (just call me the Shark Whisperer), this story is a bit unnerving. (we were doing the same thing but with a company called Stuart Cove). We actually signed a waiver saying that if I was attacked by sharks, no assistance would be given and if I made it back to the boat, no medical help would be administrated. (here is another photo of the sharks)
Kyle Martin IM'd me and while we were chatting, asked me what the video was that was shown to kick of Soularize. I had no idea but after looking and looking I finally found it.
So what did I find?
"The slam poet/tech artist/paper sculptor Rives does eight minutes of lyrical origami, folding history into a series of coincidences ... all » surrounding that most surreal of hours, 4 o'clock in the morning. This elusive hour, both very late and very early, appears often in art in literature as a way to describe the most extreme states of affairs. Rives -- aided by a nimble mind and extensive online research -- reveals 4 a.m. as an iconic moment, drawing hilarious historical connections.
The shorter version is it is a funny link worth clicking on.
New Providence Community Centre's Garden where the church has a greenhouse to research agriculture for the island. Bahamas imports 99% of their food and the cost of food is incredible.
An art garden at New Providence showing the history of slavery in the Bahamas.
Jim Schoch and Father Richard Rohr on the deck of the Soularize HQ.
Here are my notes from my session with N.T. Wright at Soularize. I was running video during the session but then Spencer fired me and had Adam Klein run the video so I was able to take some notes. The entire talk will be for sale in a while on Soularize Feedlive and in Soularize-In-A-Box via TheOoze. I hesitate to post these notes because I was tired after a long day and was busy with other things. If they reflect poorly on N.T. Wrights theology or his talk, make the assumption that is it my fault and not his. I did borrow some of this from Kyle Martin who took some excellent notes of all of the sessions.
We gathered at New Providence Community Church for a reception and a wine tasting. After the worship band warmed things up and Spencer introduced Bishop Tom Wright, things got started. Acts for Everyone
Bishop Tom spoke on Acts (his book Acts for Everyone is coming out in December) and began by saying how we need to read through Acts in large sections as opposed to a verse by verse study (Frank Viola made some of the same points the next day -- I'll blog some about his seminar tomorrow). It is a story and must be read that way to understand the whole. He also made the point that the book was probably written as a part of Paul's legal defense.
He spoke about the nature of Acts being a riot a day influenced by the actions of believers. He also talked about how a fellow Bishop who remarked that when Paul spoke, the people rioted and when [the Bishop] spoke, people made tea. Bishop Tom talked about how the Kingdom of God is the overlying theme of Acts. It begins in Acts 1 and extends after the 28th chapter. Acts is the story of the kingdom of God breaking into the world…living this Kingdom life will cause riots and those that will carry out this message will face persecution.
Acts 1-11 says nothing about going to heaven when you die. It is about the restoration of Israel but it looks different than the Jewish people originally thought. The Kingdom of God looks like a community hanging with people from all worlds, with God living out his promises, as God claims the world as his own. The Second Coming of Jesus is Jesus coming to earth to rule and reign and to ultimately renew it. Not us being taken away to heaven which contradicts what most evangelicals believe and partly explains the lack of a theology of earth that has played a part of global warming.
Wright then spoke on the ascension which confuses many because it is not a literal ascension upward. It reminded me a story of my brother coming home from Sunday School and learning how Jesus went to heaven on a Popsicle stick. Instead it is the place where heaven and earth intersect/overlap/interlock. Jesus didn’t go up, he went into God’s space. Jesus is at home in the space we call heaven. Jesus was already transformed and this ascension leads us through Acts.
To the Jew the temple was this overlap (inside the temple was heaven, and the temple was on earth). But Jesus was a human not a building and its for the whole world.
Acts 1-13 has a Jewish focus where we have Jesus community lived out in the temple in the outer courts attracting Jews. Jesus is announced as the Messiah.
Acts 13-28 Jesus is announced as the Lord of the world and Caesar is not.
The early Christian community is the church the place where heaven and earth collide. Bishop Tom mentions 1 Kings 8 and Isaiah 6 = connected to Acts 2. It is the place where the spirit comes alive and the community is equipped to share to everyone in the culture and provided opportunities. the name of Jesus carries power.
Acts 7 has Steven preaching in the temple as a marker to Jesus and he is martyred. Acts 4-5 leads into this by sharing how we must obey God rather than men, not looking for trouble but allegiance brings trouble at times.
Jews see water, sea as dark and evil. Look at Noah, Jonah, Moses and the sea as the dark chaos of creation. In order to bring the message of hope Paul must go through the dark and evil sea.
Wright connects Luke to Acts through the crucifixion and the shipwreck Paul goes through. Jesus going to Jerusalem, Paul to Rome; climax of cross and shipwreck for the ultimate message to be declared. Luke’s theology is woven into narrative. People must go through fire and water (cross) in order to show Jesus as lord which happens over and over to Paul.
Paul utilizes Roman citizenship and political powers. It is not our job to get the right people in, it is to keep accountable the people in positions of power. Acts has been thought of as a document to help Paul on his trial at end of Acts.
Wright finished up with Luke having justification as a woven theology in his narrative. One day God will sort it out, and we should live in anticipation in the present for the the future. To be saved is to live out the Jesus way of life as heaven and earth intersecting. Jesus is powerfully present in Acts through faithful battered followers - Acts 2:42.
Again, you will be able to get the full video in a short time from Soularize Feedlive and later in Soularize In a Box II. I am looking forward to reading Acts for Everyone and hope to explore the topic more.
Before that Todd, Jim, and I managed to escape to downtown Nassau for some touristy sightseeing and buy Nassau branded things made in China. While I was downtown, I saw the ugliest shirt while in a market. The storekeeper saw me and grabbed my arm and she told me I needed it. After saying it was something that a crazy member of royalty would wear, she named me Earl of Nassau III. We weren't sure that she was able to bestow me that honor but I did get a good deal on the ugliest shirt on the planet. How ugly was it? When I put it on, a couple of guys had seizures, three whales beached themselves, and one container transport ship set itself on fire. It isn't so much a shirt but a weapon of violence.
After wolfing down some food, we ended up on the other side of the island in the same gated community as Sean Connery (he lives across the street) and am listening to Father Richard Rohr who is talking about...
You can be an extrovert and be a contemplative. It is about controlling your chatter. The mind is only capable about reprocessing the past and worrying about the future. The mind can not be present and this is a substitute for life.
Father Richard talked a little longer and then we were set out to find a quiet spot for a while to listen to God and quiet the chatter. More about that later. More Father Richard
When you don't have an experiential faith, you rely on dogma.
83% of human thought is repetitive and useless. We have compulsive addictive ways of capturing reality (the Enneagram helps one realize this - I am a Type 5)
Romans 8:16
We have to detach and go to a new place to abide to observe ourselves and discern our patterns. This is deeply humiliating and most people stop.
Small minds can't see anything because they are too self absorbed.
Liberal politicians is not that much different that conservative politicians - it is still all about winning and still about their ego.
Contemplation should not be taught to monks if they are still slamming doors - Thomas Merton
The ego is the unobserved self
Any addiction (good or bad) is horrible for you.
Contemplation teaches you to be a holding cylinder and not an exhaust valve. Hold on and learn from it.
Judgmental mind is not seeking truth but rather seeking control.
Most Christians are split people. Torn internally.
Father Rohr gave me a handout that I need to post later - Jordon
Merton told his own community because he said, "You aren't contemplatives, just introverts"
Yesterday I plopped down $35 for the right to be eaten by many, many man eating sharks in the Bahamas at Stuart's Cove. I wasn't going to go but after seeing Bishop Tom and many of my friends deciding they thought it may be cool to die at the teeth of some sharks, I went (apparently I am part lemming). We drove across the island to a cove, were assigned some flippers (so the sharks don't think our feet are food) and boarded a boat to meet our deaths. Once we got out there, they lower some chum below you in the water while you snorkel and watch the action. Sounds kind of safe right? Not really. First of all the liability form states that if you may not be rescued and there will be no medical assistance offered if something does go wrong. Secondly there are not just a couple of large sharks but about 50 of them. One just about knocked Spencer's underwater camera out of his hand and one ran into my foot. I have never experienced physical fear in my life until yesterday when I was terrified when we got in and I looked down and saw not only sharks but some of the largest fish I have ever seen.
As time went on, the sharks came up higher in the water as they know the chum gets fed to them later. Once we were out of the water, the feeding frenzy began and it was unreal as well. I took some photos with Todd Littleton's SLR so when he uploads them to Flickr, I will offer up some links. Would I go again? I would go in a heartbeat. It was one of the coolest things I have ever done. The underwater video footage that Spencer took was amazing and I will post the link to Google Video once he uploads it.
Day one of Soularize started out way too early in my humble opinion. Either that or the night before was too short. I woke up covered in bites from the sea lice the night before.
So Thursday we all woke up being with small chunks of flesh missing and headed to the Wynham Resorts to board some buses and head to Paradise Island so we could get to the docks and head out a private island. The boat was three stories and like an idiot I headed to the top deck. The first part was calm. We saw Tiger Woods house, Eddie Murray's private island and headed to open waters where the water got rough. On the top deck, a bunch of us got tossed around for a bit before we got to the private island. Many us, including N.T. Wright here when snorkeling. I had never gone before and after Mike DeVries gave some important tips on how not to swallow sea water (global sea levels actually went down that afternoon), it was a lot of fun and not something that one can easily do in Saskatchewan, even in the summer (algae and too cold). It did rain several times but the way I looked at it, I wasn't going to get any wetter whatever we did and that rain was tropical rain after all. By the time we had left the island, I was pretty much sun burn free but on the way back, I got burnt nicely.
After another swim in the ocean, it was time for a reception at New Providence Community Church. The church features an elaborate art garden with sculptures showing the Bahamas history of slavery and oppression. While the reception at the church was supposed to be held in the garden, the day's rains forced it onto the church porch where wine, Kalik beer, and soda.
After the wine tasting and the reception, Bishop Tom spoke for an hour. I am pretty familiar with N.T. Wright's work and Kingdom theology but he said some things about eschatology and the kingdom that kept me up thinking for a bit after his session and challenged me because according to his talk, I tend to separate church and state too much and perhaps give to Caesar more than what Caesar deserves. I hope to talk some more with him about this.
Perhaps the highlight of the day was that later in the day, I was relaxing on the deck (and my bedroom this week) feeling the sea spray when Todd walks right into the sliding door hard enough to cut his forehead open.
Today was spent setting up for Soularize. After breakfast we headed to New Providence Community Church and took a tour around. NPCC has the most innovative church campus I have ever seen. The photos on Flickr tell the story better than I could but as a church they have a better understanding of metaphor than most congregations that I have ever seen. They also have a Sunday school where 1/3 of the year is spent in art classes, 1/3 of the year is beach reconstruction, and 1/3 of the year is spent gardening to help reduce the financial impact of living on an island that must import 99% of their food. Their commitment to people suffering with HIV/Aids goes beyond what I have seen anywhere else as well.
We were supposed to be there by 2 and I wanted to connect up with the Pedersons who are staying 4 or 5 miles away. Not only that but wild dogs attacked Mark Scandrette and Jim Palmer (they ran away and I later joked, became the first two humans to record a 3 minute mile) while jogging this morning between here and there. Back at the condo, we got stuff for supper and went for a swim in the ocean. As I entered into the water I felt like something was stinging me all over and mentioned a tingling feeling. I was laughed at and mocked and then everyone else started screaming in pain. These small bug like things were biting all of us all over. We moved into deeper water (I know, I know, the correct course of action would have been to leave) and were freaked out by a glowing thing near us, so we had to go shallow which meant more biting and screaming. The phrase "Ahhhhhhhh!" and "What are these things"?" we said at a great volume by many of us as we retreated to the pool.
To say the Internet connection is flaky at the condo would be an understatement. We have some radio transmission towers nearby which we think may be part of the problem. Even Apple Support hasn't been able to help and it cuts in and out, often as I want to send an e-mail.
Tomorrow we are joining Bishop Tom and his wife on a private island with a main session with the Bishop at night. I will blog the main session and enjoy some more reliable Internet tomorrow night.
I got to the Bahamas late last night and am staying in a great beach front condo with Spencer, Mark Scandrette, Adam Klein, Jim Palmer, Todd Littleton, and Mike DeVries. We dropped off our gear and wandered down one of the two beaches surrounding the beach and floated outside falling over shells and into holes in the dark. Not that I swallowed a lot of water but the ocean is a lot lower today. Will find some time to post later but the morning will be spent in staff meetings and setup.
The Soularize old school webcam is now online and at the moment was capturing Mark Scandrette trying to set some rum soaked bananas on fire.
Mark Dowd, Jim and Tammy Schoch, Shayna Metzker, and Dwight Friesen have come by for breakfast.
Because absolutely no one has asked for it and I will be in front my laptop for part of Soularize, I thought I would set up an old school webcam that updates every 60 seconds or so while we are at the main sessions. Of course you can watch a live feed but you can now check in and see if anything is going on via cutting edge 1984 technology... the webcam. If by fluke it captures anything really great, I will post it to the blog as well.
On Monday I am off to the Bahamas via Toronto and Miami for Soularize. Until yesterday, I had never looked at where the Bahamas were on a map (or in my case, Google Earth) which is a good thing because it wasn't where I thought it was in the Caribbean. I will be blogging and Twittering the conference and helping facilitate some Soularize Feedlive (if you can't make it live, you also get access to the content in the archives). I also hope to have a Soularize cam going but we will see how it goes. My laptop is wounded so we will see if it survives the trip.
On my way back to Saskatoon, I am spending a long layover in Toronto on October 29th. I should be free from customs at 5:00 p.m. so if you want to grab a bite to eat or a beverage, e-mail me at coop AT resonate.ca. If I don't respond to your e-mail, check YouTube for "jordon cooper" and "shark attack".
Lately I have been noticing the increase in negative mail to the worldwide headquarters of Super Dave Osbourne/jordoncooper.com (we sublet the place when Super Dave isn't working). Some of the recent mail is on the low quality links and bias that this blog has. Several are complaining about the sports links, my liberal world view, and how this blog has little to do with the emerging church anymore.
I have replied to many of them individually but I realized, all of them are related as well so here is my bigger explanation.
As many of you know, I work in a homeless shelter/half-way house that is also the emergency after hours for social services. That is all on the website and after that, most of what I do is protected by non-disclosure statements. Some people who work in similar places, blog anonymously or using SixApart's VOX blogging system but for me, I don't talk that much about it and prefer to leave it at work. Even stuff that I see outside of work on the street has been tough to process this week and for that reason, I have been going to a spiritual advisor to talk through some of the frustration of not being able to do more. (at work, part of my evaluation is asking me if I think another job would be a better fit for me -- after thinking though it, I am not sure if even being the Minister of Social Services could tackle the job properly -- so I said, I am fine where I am at)
The evening shift is often a zoo. A booming Saskatoon economy has made work a lot busier and housing harder to find. The other night I watched a guy wander down the street with a knife in his side and didn't even find it that weird (ambulance was following him as well), I am often drained emotionally and to unwind, I enjoy some tea and sit down and watch the news and Sportsnet Connected. I have the web and a paper at work and if I am lucky I can read through some of the New York Times and Google News but when I get home, I am tired and ready to give up the good fight. Watching some highlights takes a lot of the stress of the day away. The other reason I watch and blog about sports is that I love sports. While not a great athlete, I played hockey for years, baseball, rugby, soccer, basketball, high school football and skied a lot growing up. I know that sports have been derided by many in the church in favor of the arts but I appreciate both. My family was a sporting family. I have a catcher's mask that is four generations old. Like a lot of families, sports was a bonding thing growing up and it is the same for Mark. I think it was Pete Ward who wrote this in Liquid Church, sports may be one of the ways the Holy Spirit brings life back into tired people. Unless it is the Edmonton Oilers or the San Diego Chargers, then it is devil's way of destroying people.
For me the 'emerging conversation' has become too much like a whole bunch of people mouthing off... Pretending to listen, by occasionally quoting others, but, for the most part, just yabbering on about their little world regardless of what others are saying. In the book I mention some of the conditions under which a system might become 'emergent', or 'self-organizing', or 'a learning system', to use different syntax. One of the key conditions is an ability to sense and respond to its environment. And this requires careful listening. I think we've lost the art.
I agree with Kester although I am not sure why that is although I am sure I am part of that problem that he is speaking about. I used to find the conversation a lot more interesting although I find it really narrow and in some ways I find it has gotten narrower. Part of my problem is that I have been strongly influenced by Canadian political scientist, Thomas Homer-Dixon who wrote The Ingenuity Gap which makes the powerful case that we wrongly take a very narrow view of the problems of the world and the problems (and the solutions) are often shared and more widely connected. This idea has influenced me more than people realize and explains why blog moseys from idea to idea at times.
I have always hated the term Godblog, (excused me as I go and wash after typing it) and this site has always been a blog about the liberal arts in which as a part of that because of vocation or passion have blogged about the church but now after several years of it, there isn't a lot of new stuff being said, especially online. Even Mark Driscoll's hate filled rants against Emergent are getting repetitive.
Despite the boredom with posting about this stuff online, there is a bunch of different stuff happening offline that is exciting. Several conversations with friends have reminded me we often get judged by our writing on these things called blogs but they are only a small window of our lives. Church of the Exiles is working with others to create a local alternative seminary in Saskatoon. Resonate is setting up a micro publishing house to help the emerging church in Canada and has two books in development and all of this is happening outside of the 40 hours (although this week it was 60 hours) that is spent at work. On top of that is Soularize and Soularize Feedlive that I am helping with. Don't say I am not engaged with the church. I think I am more engaged now than I was when I was being paid (although I have a lot less meetings).
So keep up the feedback coming. I may or may not take it to heart. I have some hockey to watch.
Going to Soularize? Use Flickr? If the answer is yes, you will want to join the Official Soularize 2007 Flickr Photo Group. It's free to join, easy to add photos to, and a great way to share your favorite Soularize photo experiences with the entire community. The other way to share your photos is to tag your photos with "Soularize 2007"
To save some money going to Soularize, I am using AirMiles which isn't as easy as they make it sound. Sure collecting AirMiles is easy, fill up at Shell, shop at Safeway, buy furniture at The Brick... but then you want to redeem your miles. Good luck.
Here is one flight possibility to Miami.
Drive to Winnipeg (long eight hours but I could connect with some friends from Resonate)
Fly to Minneapolis.
Fly from Minneapolis to Chicago
Fly from Chicago to Charlotte
Fly from Charlotte to Dallas/Fort Worth
Fly from Dallas/Fort Worth to Miami.
Umm, no.
Instead I am taking a late flight into Toronto and an early morning flight to Miami. To short of layover to crash but I am in around midnight if someone wants to grab some food and coffee at or near the airport. If you do, e-mail me.
Spencer Burke sent this out as a part of TheOozeletter today.
This year Soularize is a counter intuitive relational learning party
There are three important reasons why we chose the Bahamas;
This is the first international venue for the missional / emerging conversation. I am surprised how many people in the USA are unaware of how difficult and expensive it is for our international friends to come to US. It is only 60 miles off of our coast but it makes a world of difference for many desiring to engage on neutral ground.
We are always connected to a local ministry and spend a year or more working with them on the event to ensure this is not a "road show". All of the creativity and experiences are in collaboration with Clint, Tim, Kelly, Gillian, Christian (New Providence Community Church) and local artists, musicians and families. You should check out all of the spaces we are using to create the conversation and learning experiences Soularize, (no hotels or conference centers).
It is hard to fight the perception of the Bahamas - cost was one of the factors (although it is cheaper to fly from NYC, Minneapolis, Seattle and Canada, stay in our host hotel and pay the registration fee for Soularize than it is to fly to a San Diego conference). Soularize has been the one safe place for those who have left the comfort of the established church and their conference budgets. Many have to take time off of work as well. But this has become more than a conference, for some, it is a family gathering. It is always great to see the friendships pick up from last year and new ones begin. The key to Soularize is relationships. Online 24/7, in person Oct. 25-27, 2007.
Below is some Soularize Resources, please pass the word on and I hope to see you on the sand with the rest of my friends Frank Viola, Becky Garrison, Karen Ward, Mark Scandrette, Kristyn Komarnicki, Michael Dowd, Barry Taylor, Dwight Friesen, Jim Palmer, Gareth Higgins, Ron Martoia and more being added weekly.
Myth Busters Myth #1 - The Bahamas is too Expensive Fact - October is the Off Season with great deals on airfare and hotels
Myth #2 - The Emerging conversation is limited to the USA Fact - We chose the Bahamas because it is an International venue, it may be a short flight from Miami, but it is a huge leap towards our friends
Myth #3 - Conventions are talking heads in stuffy rooms Fact - Soularize includes a Private Island, Art Studios, Swimming w/Sharks, Social Networking website, Beach Reclamation Project
Myth #4 - Big name speakers equal big impersonal crowds Fact - We limited the event to 500 attendees, with a key note line up of the decade (N.T. Wright, Brennan Manning, Rita Nakashima Brock, and Fr. Richard Rohr)
There will also be some Canadians there. We will be the ones playing road hockey on the private island while swimming with the man eating sharks.
Two Years in the Planning - Less Than 90 Days to Register Host Spencer Burke has popped the creative cork off Soularize the original /catalytic emerging church gathering
Key Note Line Up of the Decade N.T. Wright, Brennan Manning, Rita Nakashima Brock, and Fr. Richard Rohr
International Conversation and Venue - Nassau Bahamas Take advantage of off season rates and ease of travel for our international friends
Five Learning Modes of Engagement Keynote, Small Groups, Extended Experience, Reflective Time, 24/7 Web Collaboration
Varied Relational Environments Private Island, Art Studios, Swim w/Sharks, Social Network, Lecture Hall, Limited to 500 attendees
Totally Wired Conference Free T-1 wireless access, Live Web Interface with polling, chat, webcams, whiteboard
Most Progressive and Diverse Workshop Facilitators Frank Viola, Becky Garrison, Karen Ward, Mark Scandrette, Kristyn Komarnicki, Michael Dowd, Barry Taylor, Dwight Friesen, Jim Palmer, Gareth Higgins, Ron Martoia...
Knowing that all have limited budgets to invest in annual learning opportunities, we hope you take opportunity to compare the Soularize learning experience with a few of the other national learning opportunities happening this coming year. Perhaps you'll be as surprised as we were that an event in the Bahamas is actually cheaper than attending an event in San Diego (see comparison chart) . So if you're looking for a more progressive, independent, and cost-effective learning experience in a tropical setting, perhaps you should consider joining us for the Soularize learning experience.
What makes Soularize unique is the learning environment. We create a casual, safe and interactive place where you can wrestle with issues your church and faith are facing today. You'll engage in a wide variety of learning experiences like facilitated groups of less than 50 people, hands-on learning experiences, main sessions with keynote speakers, and workshops. Open times in the schedule offer chances for you to reflect and refresh in a hammock overlooking the Caribbean.
Come and lend your voice, your experience, and your dreams as we explore the Evolving Church - rethinking and reinventing what the Church could be in years ahead. Learn more - http://www.soularize.net/
Resonate Audio is featuring a podcast by N.T. Wright this week from empireremixed in Toronto this May. Speaking of Bishop Wright, he is going to be in the Bahamas this October with Spencer Burke and Soularize. The audio is about an hour long and is quite good.
I have been swamped with life lately but have finally found the time to upload my photos from California to Flickr, then I realized I had over processed them in Picassa and they looked horrible that I uploaded the raw images again. Click on the photos to take you to the different photo sets on Flickr.
The point of the trip was to go down and help put together Soularize with some other friends of Spencer Burke's. It was quite a bit cheaper if I flew down a day earlier which allowed me to spend some time in the greater Los Angeles area and take a meandering trip down through Southern California.
The flight from Saskatoon (YXE) to Los Angeles (LAX) was surprisingly uneventful. I got through United States Customs in under 15 seconds (I timed him) in Calgary which beats a new record for me. When I got into L.A., Rudy had sent me some pretty good instructions on how to get to Pasadena by the Flyaway bus and the Metro Gold Line. While it was uneventful, I was not prepared to see Los Angeles' Union Station. Built in 1939, it was the last of the United States great train stations. It now serves both Amtrak , Metro and Metrolink trains and is a sight to see. I know it isn't as impressive as some of the eastern stations but I was impressed.
Once I got to Rudy's, I got a tour of Harambee and met the rest of his family. I mentioned the high school football game and I had a chance to learn more about Harambee and also talk to Rudy about important things like how big does a dog need to be in a tough neighborhood. Rudy has given me a hard time in the past about the petty crime that we have around my house but I have never considered whether my dog was tough enough for my neighborhood. Although it can't be that tough of a hood if Hutch is still alive. In case you don't know, Rudy was one of the first Christian bloggers out there.
Saturday morning the plan was going to take the train back down to L.A. and explore downtown a little more. It only costs $1.25 but the regional kiosk offers no change. My inner cheapskate lead me to explore a bit of Old Pasadena until I found a place to break the bill with a Diet Coke. Luckily King Taco came to my rescue and I was off to downtown
After taking the train downtown , I spent some more time exploring Los Angeles' Union Station which was fun. It opened in May 1939, is known as the "Last of the Great Railway Stations" built in the United States, but even with its massive and ornate waiting room and adjacent ticket concourse, it is considered small in comparison to other union stations. I put together a photoset here. Living in western Canada, we don't have a lot of cool train infrastructure between Winnipeg and Vancouver. Saskatoon doesn't even have a train station (we have a platform) so seeing the famous train station was great.
I couldn't help but compare the grandness of Union Station with the mess that passes for the international terminal of LAX. Makes me want to take a train to California next time.
Before I left, Rudy told me to explore the historic Olvera Street which is the oldest street and area in Los Angeles and is otherwise known as the birthplace of the City of Angels or El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Monument and is a department within the city. Many Latinos refer to it as 'La Placita Olvera'. Circa 1911 it was described as Sonora Town. It felt like Mexico and I spent some time snapping some photos and also shopping for Wendy and Mark. I got close to my dream on of one day having my own mariachi guitar band follow me around and be a soundtrack for my life. As for the shopping for Wendy and Mark, I struck out. I wasn't sure if Mark really needed a Lucha Libre mask.
While I was there, I wandered into the famous Mission Nuestra Señora Reina de los Angeles which was founded in 1781 by a group of Mexican pobladeros, consisting of 11 families — 44 men, women and children, led by Don Fernando Rivera y Moncada, Lt. Governor of the Californias — who had set out from the nearby Mission San Gabriel Arcángel to establish an asistencia ("sub-mission") along the banks of the Porciúncula River. It's hard to believe that the humble Roman Catholic mission is still there and a vibrant part of the community. When I was there on the Saturday morning, it was packed full of families and children in white dresses and tuxedos which I imagine were being baptized. Anyways there were cameras, churos, tacos, bottles, and all sorts.
From there I wandered the half dozen or so blocks up Bunker Hill to the Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels. To help pay for it, it was reported that the Diocese of Los Angeles cut back spending that was to help the poor. In other words the Diocese acted like most churches do when they are in the middle of a building program.
I never got inside of the cathedral this time as there was a wedding going on and the doors were closed. As I was walking around taking photos, wedding attendees and even parts of the wedding party kept asking me for directions and the scary thing is that I was able to help them.
It has been a couple of years since I have seen the Cathedral and I was shocked to see some wear and tear on the building since it is only four years old and was designed to last for five hundred years. I wonder how long of a warranty you get on a building designed to last for 500-1000 years.
I have no idea why I keep being attracted to it. Maybe because it represents the anti-Jordon and personifies a lot of what I no longer believe in and maybe never believed in. Despite my difference in values, I did find some time to get some food at the Cathedral grill.
After hanging out at the Cathedral. I made my way to the Frank Gehry designed, Walt Disney Concert Hall which was still under construction the last time I was in Los Angeles. I have heard a lot of people crack that all of Gehry's buildings lately look alike but despite looking like a "Gehry", the feel is significantly different than his other great buildings. Originally the plan was to use a stone exterior but soaring costs caused them to use a stainless steel exterior. Of course that had it's own problems. There was a flaw resulting from the design's use of polished concave stainless steel surfaces. Residents of the neighboring condominiums suffered significant glare caused by sunlight that was reflected and concentrated in a manner similar to a parabolic mirror. The concentrated light made some rooms of nearby condominiums unbearably hot, caused the air-conditioning costs of these residents to skyrocket, and created hot spots on adjacent sidewalks of as much as 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Employees of the ticket office reported observing melted plastic traffic cones and spontaneous combustion in trash bins. After complaints from neighboring buildings and residents, the county government stepped in and asked Disney to come up with a solution. Their response was a computer analysis of the building's structure; after the offending surfaces were identified, they were sanded to reduce glare in 2005.
After heading back through Olvera Street and some other parts of the Civic District of Los Angeles (here are my photos ) I still hadn't gotten a hold of Spencer Burke and Mike DeVries . I decided to get my ticket at Union Station and head south on the Metrolink into Orange County. As the train was leaving, Spencer called me and I made plans with Mike to pick me up at Santa Ana Station.
Apparently the train was faster than Mike expected and I had to wait for a while to get picked up. Not a problem as it was a gorgeous day. I went inside, got a Diet Coke and made myself comfortable in a t-shirt and shorts. Apparently something was wrong with me as EVERYONE else was wearing long pants and jackets. Even downtown, I was the only one wearing shorts and seemed out of place wearing only a t-shirt. Any hotter and I would have bought a thong (there is a mental image that drove a couple of you into therapy).
Mike picked me up and we made our way to Newport Beach. Spencer was still not back from the Emergent Gathering so Mike and I headed to the beach and killed some time shopping for Mark and shared baseball opinions. While we were out walking, we walked by a place on the beach that was $7500.00 a month during the winter and $6500.00 a week during the summer. I pay less than $6500.00 a year for our mortgage.
We finally connected up with Spencer Burke and had a good discussion about A Heretic's Guide to Eternity. I didn't have the same problems that some others have had with the book. Some of the reviews seem to come from a misreading of what Spencer and Barry Taylor have had. I hope to have a review to contribute to the discussion in a week or so.
Later that night as Mark Scandrette, Adam Klein, Dwight Friesen, Tim Parsley, and Todd Littleton all rolled in, we went out for dinner and to start planning Soularize. A little about Soularize '07. For those of you who don't know, it is going to be in the Bahamas, we are diving with man eating sharks (I offered to stay on shore to call next of kin) while relaxing on a private island, and we are all going to be there along with Father Richard Rohr, Harvard's Rita Nakashima Brock, and some other names that we aren't quite ready to announce yet. All I can say is more details coming soon.
Of course Saturday night was a big night for me as peer pressure made me into having my first glass of wine ever. I grew up in holiness traditions. My grandmother was the head of the Saskatchewan Women's Christian Temperance Union. We actually had the discussion growing up about what would happen if you went into a bar to lead someone to Christ and a Christian saw you and decided to leave the faith because of it.
Mark was quite passionate about picking a great bottle of wine during the weekend with a lot of input from others. Finally I decided to leave the guilt and legalism behind and I tried a fine glass of red wine. There, I said it. Hopefully this doesn't activate a family curse or something. Then again my mother would have a glass of wine on holidays. Of course she died quite young...
It was weird, outside of talking online a bunch with Todd and knowing Adam from previous Soularizes, I didn't know any of them outside of reputation. It was unreal how much I learned from all of them during our time together. Soularize 07 is going to feature a lot of online learning from them and you get to choose your facilitator and perspective that we tackle the topics from.
Sleeping arrangements at the (soon to be torn down) Beach shack were a lot of fun. Adam and Markslept outside on the deck, Dwight and Tim on a bunk bed, Todd on the floor, and me on the sofa. I don't know if it was the fresh sea air or all the walking but I slept well even knowing that if I fell off the sofa, Todd's and mine relationship would be way more awkward.
Sunday morning was spent on the sand of Newport Beach. Shayna Metzner joined us Of course I got sunburned. Sunday featured more good food, some different wine and some great discussions about what is going to happen with Soularize. I realized that Resonate has influenced my thinking a little too much. My mantra was "give it all away" to which I was reminded, Soularize does cost a lot of money.
The Soularize website is going to be a really busy place with a lot of new announcements and content over the next couple of days/weeks/months. Hopefully you can join us for the year long sojourn that will lead to the Bahamas.
Wendy and I were doing some winter cleaning and we found an old audio tape of Heather Reynolds talking at Soularize in 2002 on the impact on HIV/AIDS on society and her remarkable story. You can find the podcast and audio file here.
For those of you who are heading to Soularize and even for those of you who are gathering online, make sure you upload your pictures and screenshots to Flickr and tag them with Soularize so the rest of the world will be able to see what is happening. If you do tag your images with Soularize, anyone can see them on Flickr by going to http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/soularize.
You don't have to do anything else and it gives everyone a glimpse into Soularize even if they were not able to attend (how cool is that?). If you don't have a Flickr account, you can get a basic on by heading to www.flickr.com and signing up. It's free for a basic account and only $30 annually for the pro version.
One month till Soularize 05, in sunny Southern California, March 9-11, three full days for $99.
If in the past you have found TheOoze to be a valuable resource you will want to know you can join us face to face in one of the most alternative communities in the nation - Venice Beach, CA - for our 6th annual "Learning Party".
Always on the cutting/bleeding edge of the postmodern/ALT/emerging church, Soularize 05 is filled with innovation (free high speed wifi access, webcasting, simulations regional gatherings), grass roots leaders (voices you may already know and so many surprising friends you won't hear anywhere else), proactive daily themes (fleshing out the issues the church will be addressing in the next 5 years - Kingdom, Community, Rhythm, AIDS...), and multiple learning styles (Large gatherings, interactive labs, hands-on/in-the-field small groups, collaborative web postings and parties - 2nd annual Ooze booze cruise - celebrating what we have discovered).
Join Heather Reynolds (the woman, who introduced Oprah Winfrey to the AIDS pandemic through her South African orphanage "Gods Golden Acre"), fellow learners - Todd Hunter and Patrick Burke (living out the Gospel in Harlem), Voices of conscience - Christine Sine (Spirituality and Rhythm) and Shirin Taber (the Muslim Next Door), Now famous targets Brian McLaren and John Franke (via live Web uplinks), Bloggers (Sarah Dylan Breuer, Rudy Carrasco, Andrew Jones, Jordon Cooper, Malcolm Hawker, Chris Marrow, Jason Evans, Dwight J. Friesen, Todd Hunter and John O'Keefe) and the unconventional minds of Barry Taylor and Jerry Peloquin (a founding member of Jefferson Airplane).
Anyone who has attended a Soularize will tell you it is a one-of-a-kind event, never to be repeated, full of unexpected moments that have become legendary in the emerging church story... where you become the event and you leave with life long friendships.
Hope you can join me and let your community know about it too,
Spencer
I got to the Bahamas late last night and am staying in a great beach front condo with 
