Venice Beach, Calif., is recognized as the birthplace for bodybuilding in the U.S. In ten years, it may be renowned as the location where a new body of Christ was born. At present, there is a tremendous amount of wagering going on within the Christian community in the U.S. about what the next form of Christianity will look like. It’s a huge gamble. The stakes are enormous. It’s the Omegabet.
In 2001, co-authors George Barna and Mark Hatch made the following written prediction in their book, Boiling Point: Monitoring Cultural Shifts in 21st Century Christianity “Around mid-decade we expect to see a nascent grassroots movement from within the Christian community to reintroduce people to the idea of living in accordance with a biblical worldview and discovering how to get there,” including values and lifestyles that reflect the same.[i]
It’s 2005, mid-decade on my calendar. There is concrete evidence that whatever is oozing out of mainstream Christianity to contribute to this emerging form, Orange County and southern California are providing some of the essential ingredients.
Enter Newport Beach, CA resident Spencer Burke, a former pastor at Mariners church and talented photographer. Burke has spent over twenty years in traditional ministry environments, in a variety of denominations. He focuses his energies today contributing to encouraging the definition of the emerging church movement.
Burke was the host of this weeks fifth-annual Soularize:A Learning Party, in Venice Beach, Calif. Attended by roughly one hundred people from all over the U.S., and conferees from as far away as South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
THEOOZE began in 1998 and boasts an international surfership of tens of thousands of users in over ninety countries. The site provides a safe place for people to network, ask questions, share resources, and learn from each other about the issues facing the emerging Church…the nascent grassroots movement bet placed by Barna and Hatch.
How has the Barna/Hatch bet paid off? After spending three days this week at the Soularize convention, I’m conflicted. Burke suggests that www.theooze.com and Soularize function as “a support group for crazy people in their garages. Individuals who are struggling to fit in their churches and understand how the cultural shift affects their faith. I laugh about it, but it’s actually true and you know what? I think it’s needed. There’s something wonderfully freeing about knowing that you’re not the only one.”
All kidding aside, I developed a tremendous respect for everyone I met this week at Soularize. I left this conference changed by the people I encountered. I was refreshed by the fact that I had been around a diverse group of people for three consecutive days, who referred to themselves as Christians, and I wanted more. Perhaps this is what is oozing out of mainstream Christianity, contributing to the essence of it’s emerging form. I hope so.
This bookmaker will pay on the nascent grassroots movement/alpha portion of the Barna/Hatch wager. The return to saner values and lifestyles part of the bet? Well, those dice haven’t been rolled yet. Burke’s bastion has maneuvered their way into a very crowded, raucous table game. They’ve got the dice. They’re discussing some new rules for the game amongst themselves at the moment, pinging the pit boss with their ideas. All joking aside, this is serious business. The impact may be eternal.
My money is on theooze crew. I’m all in: The Omegabet…betting on an unpredictable outcome when the rules of the roll have yet to play out.
What have you got to lose? Check out what’s oozing out of emerging Christianity.
[i] Barna, George & Hatch, Mark Boiling Point, Published by Regal Books, A Division of Gospel Light, Ventura, CA Copyright © 2001, p. 94
Photo From: http://www.flickr.com/photos/29772064@N02/2990790423/
