I tweeted the question “why does the tram at the Minneapolis airport use a woman with a british accent”. Not only did dozens of comment on the tweet (and FB post) but the MSP tweeter replied to me.

Here is a screen shot.

This is a good example of Social Media in organizations. JoPa, my company with Tony Jones, is offering a social media bootcamp on Feb 4 in Minneapolis. A few spots remain if you or someone you know wants to join us. Price is right at $95 for the day including lunch (man, we’ve gotta raise the price on this thing).

We will be discussing his new book The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the heart of American power.

Jeff is also the author of Killing the Buddha: A Heretic’s Bible and Believer, Beware: First-Person Dispatches from the Margins of Faith.

The Family describes the role of a certain version of Evangelicalism in the halls of congress and beyond.

I am really looking forward to it.

No agenda, just connecting and everyone is welcome. Here is a map link

It was a great event, so many good thoughts and so many good people. Much of my use and understanding of the Bible today can be traced back to that event.

This April 15-16, The Free For All: Rediscovering the Bible in Community event will, I believe, play that role for many in this coming decade.

Simply put, if you use the Bible in professional or personal setting, I believe this is the most important Bible event in the last 10 years. I encourage you to attend.

You can’t beat the price, it is Free. Free for All is Free, get it?

It will be well worth the trip to North Carolina. The content will be exceptional and the people outstanding. Really, this event is going to be great. Don’t let the non-registration fee fool you, you will want to be at this event

All the details are here.

A bit about the event from Tim Conder, the event instigator:

Can you imagine communities that encounter the biblical text as a privileged invitation to collaborate in the process of interpretation?  In these same communities — collective and personal imagination, artistic expression, sacramental practices such as the common table and baptism, and other essential practices such as mission, hospitality, and dialogue are not only motivated by the text but also are integral in shaping our reading of the Bible.  This is the vision of the “Free for All.”

Sadly, this dream can be rare in its actual expression.  Biblical interpretation in our present culture tends to be limited by a few powerful voices who tell us precisely what it must mean (and what it cannot mean), theological overdetermination that also restricts meaning to predefined possibilities, the personal entitlements of individual readers who read the text to reinforce their agendas and loyalties, the apathy of bored readers, or the profuse frustration of silenced perspectives.  The result is a devastating disconnect between text and community.

The consequences of the disconnect are dramatic.  In many fellowships, the Bible is perceived to be oppressive, sacred but irrelevant, or even trivial by its lack of interpretation or intersection with the actual lives of those in community.  In more churches and communities than we care to admit, participants live in the typical anxiety of “don’t ask, don’t tell” environments where they fear to reveal their honest questions about the text and the actual contours of their lives.  In addition, many perspectives and experiences are entirely excluded from the interpretative process.

The “Free for All” event is a theological dialogue, an artistic encounter, and an imaginative experience based on the book by that title which seeks to close this gap by encouraging communities to embrace the freedom to interpret and embody the text.  Authors, Tim Conder and Dan Rhodes, draw upon their experience as leaders in the emergent community, pastors in various settings, and as founders of Emmaus Way, a community founded on the practices of dialogue and community interpretation of the text, to lead this conversation.

But as a dialogue event, the voices of those in attendance will be critical to the content of the event.  Tim and Dan also are excited to draw upon the experiences of scholars, pastors, artists, often neglected interpreters to expand this conversation.  Check our site regularly to get updates about seminar leaders and other contributors!

“Free for All” is an image that cuts in two directions.  When we hear this term we often think an argument that crosses the lines of propriety, chaos spinning out of control, or the likes of a bar fight.  It conveys our greatest fear of the chaos invited when giving the responsibility of interpretation to whole communities rather than trained professionals.  But it also implies the beautiful possibility of a liberated text, liberated from homogeneity and the claims of objectivity despite the biases that all persons bring to word, functioning as a living word in practicing communities of faith.  This event will offer not only a vision and rationale for that second trajectory by looking at the Bible from historical and social lenses, but will also explore many proven paths to this reality from pastors and leaders who are committed to the value of community interpretation and a living text.

Also in the spirit of this metaphor, the conference will be offered, “free for all,” meaning free from a registration charge!  The event will be held in downtown Durham, NC (walking distance from Duke University and many excellent pubs and restaurants) and is being produced by JoPa productions.  The event website <freeforallbook.com> has a registration link, hotel and transportation information, and other critical updates.

On Free for All, the book…

“This is as clear and thought provoking a statement as I have seen yet of a theology of Scripture for emergence Christianity. Conversational in tone, these pages are filled with the practical implications of the possibilities and ideas being presented. As cofounders of Emmaus Way, Conder and Rhodes speak with the authority of lived experience as well as out of their own deep faith.”–Phyllis Tickle, author, The Great Emergence

“The Bible is the product of the believing community, and it is meant to be read in community. Solitary reading of Scripture has gotten us into all manner of difficulties. Now Tim Conder and Dan Rhodes discover the fruitfulness of reading the Bible together. This book is a wonderful exercise in biblical hermeneutics by two of the best representatives of a younger generation of pastor-scholars. Weaving in popular culture, well-informed Christian theological insight, and excitement for the Bible as uniquely revelatory, Conder and Rhodes lead us into a fresh new encounter with Scripture—the church’s book—speaking anew to the church for the salvation of the world.”  –Will Willimon, bishop, the North Alabama conference of the United Methodist Church; author, Conversations with Barth on Preaching

Order 4 of any book and I will ship 5. And the first 4 are only $10 each.

If you have a book club this is a great deal for you as the organizer. You can get 5 books for $40, or 10 for $80. Keep the free book for yourself or pass the savings on the other members.

Some people are planning Sunday School Classes or retreats on A Christianity Worth Believing and they can get the same 1 free with every 4 for the entire group. By the way, these are the hard cover ACWB books.

And, as always the single books are only $10 each and the 5 book variety pack of all 5 is still $40.

(I sent this post to Chris and got his “sign-off on it” in an effort to “talk-with” and not “talk-about” people and to be sure I did not mischaracterize him .)

Here is a selection of things said about me just from the last week that I asked Chris to help me understand:

Comments From a Youtube video promoting my book:
Hi Doug, “Just curious as to know what it feels like to be apart of the apostate church? Just watched a video of one of your disciples and couldn’t help but notice her comment about how we need to stop focusing on sin which seperates us from God and just focus on our relationship with God. Funny, the word says it is our sin which seperates us from the Lord and until we REPENT for our sins, we cannot have a relationship with God nor can we be apart of the church. Although in your case I guess that means nothing though right? I know this message might seem harsh, critical and unfriendly, but you know, I’ve come to a conclusion, having hunted wolves, that I have no more patience for promoters of heresies in the church which are leading untold many to hell, thinking they are right. But there is hope, I ask that you repent for the false teachings you are supporting and that you seek God for the lies that you have promoted.”

From A Blog post about my book Preaching Reimagined taking to task the reviewer for not being harder on me:
Tim, I am actually shocked to read the positive notes in your review. I know Doug Pagitt, studied his ministry (from afar), and he is no friend to biblical preaching. I’ve read his book(s), and find his views on preaching to be dangerous and a disservice to those who love the Word and the flock of God. (kinda strong? yup).

This from a blog post called The Truth Wars:
In this, we see the thesis for John MacArthur’s The Truth War. Using the New Testament Epistle of Jude as the foundation, he uses Sacred Scripture in contrast to actual quotes from Emergents such as Doug Pagitt and Seeker-Sensitive advocates such as Rick Warren, to cement home to the believer why the Church is so apostate in our time. The missing part is submission to God’s Truth as The Truth. Hence, we are in the midst of a war.

“Hunting wolves”, ”surprised to see positive notes”, “we are in the midst of a war”.

I wanted Chris to help me and my listeners to understand why people, who I know are followers of Jesus, talk about other professing followers of Jesus in these disparaging ways.

Chris basically said, I am paraphrasing (but Chris did see this and gave his ok on it), “We know there are false teachers and deceivers in the world – Jesus said there would be, the devil tempted Eve, and Paul warns against them – and so when we hear you saying the stuff you say, it is clear that you are in the group we have been looking for and are on the lookout for”. You can hear the interview here – January 17, last half of hour 1, and first 10 minutes of hour 2.

I suggest this view is a distorted version of faith that does not reflect the Biblical story at all, but that argument is part of our ongoing conversation. What I am sure of is that their reactions are driven from fear. I am not sure where the fear come from, but, in my opinion, it causes them to look at people with suspicion and distrust which taints everything. Looking at the world in the terms Chris suggested creates “the good” and “the evil”, and “the good” are always fearful of “the evil”. This kind of fear does strange things to people.

It made me think of this Springsteen Song (as I am prone to do):

I got my finger on the trigger But I don’t know who to trust

When I look into your eyes There’s just devils and dust

We’re a long, long way from home, Bobbie Home’s a long, long way from us

I feel a dirty wind blowing Devils and dust

I got God on my side
  And I’m just trying to survive

What if what you do to survive
 Kills the things you love

Fear’s a powerful thing, baby, 
It can turn your heart black you can trust

It’ll take your God filled soul
  And fill it with devils and dust

This song, according to Springsteen, is about a guy at a guard post in Iraq and sees a car coming at him and needs to decide if it is a danger or not. He has his finger on the trigger and doesn’t know who to trust. Does he shoot and kill an innocent, or trust the wrong person and die himself? Fear causes you to see in others “devils and dust”. And, this fear produces in you “devils and dust”.

I think there is much fear going on in the lives of these critics. I believe they see themselves in this life and death situation and they will be held accountable -they are “the guards at the gate”.

I wish, for their sake, that this wasn’t so. I am most sad because this kind of fear causes them to work against the very people of God and ultimately to trust their judgment over trusting God.

I want to be careful not to misuse Bible passages to simply make my point, but I keep thinking of Jesus being accused of doing what he did by the power of Beelzebub. He clearly wasn’t, he was doing the work of God, but the “religious purists” of his day could only see “devils and dust”. There were only two options and they knew he was not on their “side” so, that leaves no other option of which “side” he is on.

From Matthew 12:
Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. All the people were astonished and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons.”

(I am quite sure this post will bring comments suggesting that I have misapplied this passage along with many other “proofs” of my anathema-ness. And I am sure there will be many more verses exchanged in the comments.)

People who heard the radio show interview were offering their condolences to me for being called and “anathema” by Chris (end of the segment in the second hour). I did not feel hurt or insulted, rather I feel pain for him and others that their fear causes them to see the story so wrongly and to see devils and dust in me and others. That they credit the work of the spirit to the “devil” is amongst the most tragic missteps.

The words from 1John 4 capture my hope and desire in all this:

This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

We love because he first loved us. If we say we love God yet hate a brother or sister, we are liars. For if we do not love a fellow believer, whom we have seen, we cannot love God, whom we have not seen. And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love one another.

May the love of God remove blinding fear from us all.

We have put together a package of recordings, images, and live sketched notes that gives not only the content but the vibe and feel of the event.

This groundbreaking and beautiful three days of dreaming about the future of Christianity lives on in three artifacts.  We are thrilled that we have audio mp3s of all of the presentations, an extended video by Don Heatley (see a sample here), and a breathtaking booklet with the sketches of Paul Soupiset and the photos of Courtney Perry.

All turned out better than we could have ever dreamed, and we want to give you one more chance to order them, which you can do here.  We will be shipping them out by the end of January.

You can order the audio, DVD, Photos and Live Sketched notes for $99 here.

Within minutes I got a response from National. Below is the exchange. I blocked the email since he didn’t seem to want it public. Really powerful is this social media thing.

If you are a ministry leader and want to learn more about Social Media and how it can help and not hurt you and your ministry try the JoPa Social Media Bootcamp February 4, 2010 in Minneapolis.

Update – I was in contact with the person from national and he took good care of me. Thanks National.

The idea was that if they put bookcases in new homes people would want to fill them with books. And it worked, so the marketing guy said. Books sales skyrocketed.

I am trying to verify my memory of this story and find a source for it. Can anyone help?