Last night Wendy and I went to the Persephone Theatre (in the new Rawlco Radio Hall) to watch the world premiere of Cheryl Jack's play, At the End of Her Rope which is a play based on the Albert Guay Affair. We had planned to take in a play this season. Our choice of which play to attend was made for us as the Reimers gave us tickets to the play for Christmas. It was an excellent choice.
The venue is beautiful, walking out after the play from the balcony gives a wonderful view of River Landing. Inside our tickets were on the first row of the balcony, right in the middle but as I have heard many times before, there really isn't a bad seat in the Hall which seats 450.
The play itself was a lot of fun. It was funny, clever, and does a really good job of telling the story of the Albert Guay Affair from the perspective of his murdered wife. It doesn't answer the question of whether Marguerite Pitre really understood her role in the crime which is part of the charm of the play. As Cheryl Jack wrote in the program, she did take some liberties with the facts but after reading quite a bit about the play, she is pretty faithful to the essence of the story.
The casting and acting was excellent. It was apparent that the cast was really enjoying themselves in front of a full house and created an energy in the hall. We weren't the only ones that felt that way as evidenced by the standing ovation that was given at the end of the night.
This is a play that I expect and hope will become a classic so if you have a chance to see it being performed near you, make sure you check it out. Oh yeah, for the record, Gloria, your favorite word was used numerous times.
I don't know how worried Wal-Mart is about this but I think it is pretty cool. Beyond Magazine's new shop is open. Speaking of Beyond, their blog has a new design and a new magazine is hitting the stands. Click around and check out the renovated digs.
To make it to the home page, a new service needs to be so compelling that it will garner millions of page views per day. Contenders audition on the advanced-search page; if they prove their mettle--as image search did, growing from 700,000 page views daily to 2 million in two weeks--they may earn a permanent link. Few make the cut, and that's fine. Google's research shows that users remember just 7 to 10 services on rival sites. So Google offers a miserly six services on its home page. By contrast, MSN promotes more than 50, and Yahoo, over 60. And both sell advertising off their home pages; Google's is a commercial-free zone. So why don't those sites simply hit the delete button and make their home pages more Googlesque? Hewing to the simplicity principle, it turns out, is tougher than connecting with tech support, particularly if you try it retrospectively. "Once you have a home page like our competitors'," Mayer says, "paring it back to look like Google's is impossible. You have too many stakeholders who feel they should be promoted on the home page." (MSN says more than half its customers are happy with its home page--but it's experimenting with a sleeker version called start.com.")
My friend Gloria and I argued this all of the time at Lakeview Church. I favored a more Google approach and she favored a more MSN/Yahoo! approach. From this it looks like I was right and apparently petty enough to bring it up.
John Maeda runs the Media Lab's Simplicity Consortium. His goal is to find ways to break free from the intimidating complexity of today's technology and the frustration of information overload. He is a gentle, soft-spoken man, dressed elegantly in a crisp, white collarless shirt and black pants. And he is an unusual amalgam: having the mathematical wizardry of a computer geek with the soul of an artist. Indeed, in 1990, he left MIT for four years to study art. "My whole life changed," he says. "I thought, This is a great way to live." But rather than throwing over his digital life entirely, he conceived a mission. "I came back to MIT to figure out how you could combine simplicity, which is basic human life, with this thing--technology--that's out of control."
In his book, he asks the basic question. How simple can we make it and how complex does it have to be which is something I have been mulling over in regards to how we live life.
Philips deployed researchers in seven countries, asking nearly 2,000 consumers to identify the biggest societal issue that the company should address. The response was loud and urgent. "Almost immediately, we hit on the notion of complexity and its relationship to human beings," says Andrea Ragnetti, Philips's chief marketing officer. Consumers told the researchers that they felt overwhelmed by the complexity of technology. Some 30% of home-networking products were returned because people couldn't get them to work. Nearly 48% of people had put off buying a digital camera because they thought it would be too complicated.
It explains a bit of why I am using AbiWord for writing my book. It just allows me to write. If I really need a complex chart, Open Office is a couple clicks away and yes I know how to use all of its features but at times, I just want to communicate with words.
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.
I made the mistake of clicking on this link to a photoset of business cards (If you have a half hour or so, check out the slideshow). These are not so much cards as they are pieces of art and they made me feel very insecure about my own cards. I am off to design some new ones...
Borgmann says technology can make certain wonderful “goods” in our lives disappear without us even knowing it. Example: the central fireplace is replaced by the invisible central air furnace. In the process the family that once gathered around the fireplace to get warm before heading off to bed no longer engages in the community-building routine. The family no longer talks about the day, tells stories, or prays together. Through technology we lose what Borgman calls a “focal practice.” We lose a concrete, formative, and simple activity, and our lives are changed without ever noticing.
The question is obvious. Have we lost worship as a focal practice? By turning it into an “experience” saturated with convenient technology, have we made worship a disposable reality when in it is supposed to be a commanding reality?
Last night at a worship meeting we talked at length about the use of technology and graphic arts in our worship service this past Sunday. We want to retain the concrete nature and the formative practice of art in our church, but any art that shocks or produces a disposable experience we try to avoid. Art is really important in our church, but we must not produce disposable experiences. We must retain the focal practice of worship.
Bob Hyatt is saying what I have been talking about around here forever and is one of the foundations of Resonate and the worship.freehouse. You can read more on his weblog...
Watch your toes...
I want to put in my plug for more Creative Commons churches.
One of the beautiful things about the age we're living in is the unlimited potential to share. Where sermons and art and music used to take years to circumnavigate the globe, now, they take less than seconds. We have the ability to share what we create in our local Christian communities with the larger Christian community and with the world. But not many of us do it.
April 18-21 at Asbury Theological Seminary. Some of the main speakers include Sister Rose Pacatte, Brian McLaren, Maggi Dawn, Fr. Thomas Hopko, Robert Webber, Claude Nikondeha, and others. Looks good. Check out the website for more information.
Another interview here at jordoncooper.com and this time it is Pernell Goodyear. Pernell is the pastor of the Freeway, an emerging community in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. As they put it on their website...
The Freeway is part of an international movement known as The Salvation Army. That's right, now the folks who bring you quality vintage clothing at a reasonable price, also bring you church--done differently.
We began in 2002 with the simple desire to be a healthy, innovative church community that reaches a new culture of people searching for truth in their lives with THE truth, Jesus Christ.
In addition to bringing church done differently, Pernell is a part of Resonate and the publisher of what I think is the best designed blog on the web right now. I speak highly of his blog to compensate for the fact that I never linked to it for many months and am feeling convicted by either Pernell or the Holy Spirit for not linking to it.
Enough about me and some more about Pernell.
1) The Freeway is a non-traditional church in a denomination (The Salvation Army) that is rightly or wrongly known for being a church that asks for conformity. Does that create tension and how do you deal with that?
Good question. It has created some tension within our tribe, which has, for the most part, become pretty cookie-cutter in a lot of ways for the past number of decades. Although, perhaps surprisingly for us, for the most part our leaders are pretty excited about what we're doing. Besides, The Salvation Army has a long history of reaching those who may be unreached by many other churches. The Freeway has had some "success" reaching a demographic of people that are generally missing from many other churches. And when push comes to shove, accomplishing mission and bringing the Kingdom is what we're all about.
What makes The Freeway different from the bazillion other "contemporary" churches in North America?
I don't really know, I have never been to most of those churches... and I don't think we're "contemporary". But from what I have seen, we tend to be fairly organic, creativity-focused, eclectic, relational, missional and less hierarchical and structured than the average church. But I would also say we're less sure about what we know and who we really are, we're more chaotic, and harder to explain or put on a flow chart than many churches... actually, we're kind of a mess most of the time.
3) If you could go back and change any decision being made while planting The Freeway, is there any that you wish you could change and "do-over"? What would you change?
I would have hired Jordon Cooper to give me back massages after the long, tough days. Just kidding. We have made so many mistakes, I would have a hard time picking just one. I guess I would say that we started out with many constructs of the modern, church growth focused model, even though that didn't fit us at all... because that was the only way we knew, and had to fumble into what really resonated for us... explore and experiment and "try it on". If it's possible to paint broad, judgemental strokes, we started out as a hyper-modern church wanting desperately to reach people in the emerging culture. We have had to shed much of our comfy terminology, structure, focus, etc. in order to become the community that we are (and we will likely need to shed much more to become the community God wants us to be in this new, emerging culture).
4) Does having a permanent building change community life for FRWY? If it has changed, how?
We don't know yet. We just got possession of our space at the beginning of February and are currently renovating it into a cafe / music / art / worship space. We likely won't be in there until May. I hope it does change things for us though. In that, I hope it allows us to meet up with people we wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity to meet and journey with and do some stuff we wouldn't normally have the opportunity to do.
5) What's the biggest obstacle (or opportunity) for FRWY as a community in the near future?
The biggest obstacle and the biggest opportunity could be the same thing... getting a funky, innovative non-profit cafe off the ground. We want to love our community - no strings attached. We want to live with them. We want to follow God. We want to change the world by bringing the message and experience of Christ in a way that people can understand and embrace. That's a lofty enough goal, I would say.
6) So much of the Canadian discussion about church growth through the 1970's until now has been dominated by the American church. How does the context in Canada differ?
Radically. We live in a very different culture.You (and likely many of your readers) have read Fire & Ice by Michael Adams. I think that he's dead on as far as the differences between the two countries goes. "Emerging" here and "emerging" there can look very different. This would also be true to some extent from one community to another within Canada. I think the major difference is the fact that we are in a post-Christian culture and I'm not sure that the US is yet. Also, mega church mentality doesn't sit well here, generally. Although there are certainly enough American (you know who) ripoff, wanna-be's in churches in Canada too.
7) What's been the impact of FRWY.ca on your community. Is the web making a difference in the life of your church? What about that blog you publish?
For one thing, the web is really our only form of "advertising" to people outside our community (well, except the lives of community members themselves... and the billboard pictures of me naked plastered all over Hamilton). People around here work, study, volunteer and play on crazy conflicting schedules... busy, busy, busy... so getting together is tough alot of times. We have found that blogging (a bunch of Freewayers blog), our discussion forum, and e-mail has really increased the amount of community we can do. We keep up on each other this way and dialogue about tons of stuff. We have even recently started an e-Living Room - an online community group. Actually, all the "keeping up on each other" is kind of creepy when I really think about it... that's it, I'm shutting down the web.
8) Who have been some of the most influential thinkers along your spiritual journey?
9) When our kids look back at the start of the postmodern world and our efforts to lead churches in it, what do you think they are going to see that we got right? What do think they will say we got wrong?
Right: Finally choosing me as Lord Sultan of the Canadian Emerging Church movement. Joking... sort of. I hope they'll see that we at least were courageous enough to question and wrestle with the status quo. I hope they'll see that we really loved Jesus and his truth, enough to try and look past our cultural view of him and to live for him at all cost. I hope they'll see that we made an effort to really love our neighbours.
Wrong: My fear is that they may see that we took too long making the necessary changes, taking the necessary risks, adjusting the way we live missionally to really have the kind of Kingdom impact we could have. And I think that they'll see that we took ourselves far too seriously too much of the time.
On weekdays, Laurel Pennock goes to Q Cafe, her favorite non-profit coffeehouse, where the sofas are comfy, the music is likely to be indie rock and the java is shade-grown, fair-trade and, of course, organic. Sunday, the 24-year-old file clerk goes to the same place, but this time for the bread and wine and a large wooden cross. That's when the cafe morphs into Quest church, an evangelical congregation that attracts lots of young people who like to hang out in cafes. "It's nice having your favorite hangout place be your church on Sunday," she said, near the barista bar after a recent sermon. If church with your latte seems strange, how about some thumping techno music before communion? Or fellowship at a drum circle, baptism at Gas Works Park or a punk rock show run by Christians? While many Northwest churches struggle for membership, a new crop of churches is retooling traditional worship to appeal to younger people turned off by organized religion. Sometimes called "emerging" churches, they are mostly run by young pastors who infuse art, music and pop culture into faith. A common trait among emerging churches is that they're relatively new and cater mostly to twenty- and thirtysomethings. Otherwise, the churches offer a spectrum in style and theology, from the large, ultraconservative Mars Hill Church to the bohemian Church of the Apostles. The movement is international, but numbers are hard to pinpoint. TheOoze, a Web community dedicated to the movement, counts 10,000 members. Its annual "Soularize" conference attracted 500 people last year, for such workshops as "Theology's New Groove" and "Why I Stopped Going to Church." "A big question is, who do you trust?" said Patricia O'Connell Killen, a professor of religion at Pacific Lutheran University. She said many young people distrust institutions, including traditional churches, but do trust "their own visceral experience of the divine."
Hockey Cover Art and the New Yorker This comes from Karen Neudorf over at Beyond Magazine Professional hockey came to the Big Apple the same year Harold Ross founded The New Yorker, and it wasn't long before the magazine featured regular coverage of the rink action at Madison Square Garden.
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Last night Wendy and I went to the Persephone Theatre (in the new Rawlco Radio Hall) to watch the world premiere of Cheryl Jack's play, At the End of Her Rope which is a play based on the Albert Guay Affair. We had planned to take in a play this season. Our choice of which play to attend was made for us as the Reimers gave us tickets to the play for Christmas. It was an excellent choice.
Another interview here at jordoncooper.com and this time it is 
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