Reviewed by Jim Henderson

I don’t read much about the missional church, because apart from Shaping of Things to Come by Frost and Hirsch I find much of the writing/thinking to be overly theological/philosophical. I prefer stories of real people. Another thing is this; most books are too long and too fascinated with them self. They lack awareness of the reader. This may be because many are written by teachers who major in information rather than by practitioners who focus on formation. Fred Peatross crosses this divide and gives us the best handbook on missional church on the market.

This is probably due to the fact that Fred has a day job that thankfully limits the amount of time he can spend philosophizing. Fred has written about what he does and what he as observed. Unlike most missional practitioners Fred acknowledges the place for projects and drama but gratefully ends up where most of us ordinary types live in the day to day mix of encounters with our friends and colleagues. If you want someone to get an introduction to missional church give them Missio Dei by Fred Peatross

The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations by Ori Brafman and Rod A. Beckstrom

Reviewed by Eric Hansen

The Starfish and the Spider explores the power, promise, and sometimes threat of decentralized networks of people; That is, the leaderless organizations that function very well without having a centralized “command and control” structure or a recognized leader. Leaderless organizations are really more like movements, and are only loosely organized.

The authors use the starfish as a metaphor for leaderless organizations. If you try to kill a starfish by cutting it into pieces, you in reality only create more starfish because each limb has the capability of growing into a new starfish. This is the “unstoppable power” of a leaderless organization. A spider, on the other hand, creates a network web, but if you kill the spider (the head) the network dies.

The authors use various kinds of leaderless organizations as examples to build their case, including Alcoholics Anonymous, eBay, Wikipedia, craigslist, the Apache web server, Al Qaeda, and many more.

Five factors are keys to the success of leaderless organizations: (1) circles—groups of peers who share information and knowledge with no one person in a position of authority; (2) a catalyst—an individual who starts the movement, but steps aside in favor of the group; (3) ideology—a central belief in something that unites the participants (4) a pre-existing network—some sort of connected community that can serve as a platform for the ideology; (5) a champion—a person with the drive and will to promote the central ideology.

Leaderless organizations have been around for centuries. Thanks to the internet, peer-to-peer sharing and peer-based oversight are becoming more prevalent, making it much easier for starfish organizations to form and thrive. On the surface, decentralized, leaderless, organizations appear to be messy and chaotic. However, their impact, the authors state “turns out to be one of the most powerful forces that the world has seen.”

Why Good Things Happen to Good People by Stephen Post, PhD.

reviewed by Peter Walker

To be honest, when I initially picked up Dr. Stephen Post’s Why Good Things Happen to Good People, I was expecting another thinly-veiled prosperity read in the grand tradition of Osteen and Amway.

I’ve been down that road before: back in the ‘90s my brother jumped on the pyramid-bandwagon, distributing soap samples and copies of God Wants You To Be Rich to everyone he knew. When his finances flopped, so did his faith.

Call me a cynic, but that’s why I tend to be cautious about literature touting enlightened paths to success or affluence: Jesus said to die to myself and take up my cross. The Gospel is peace, transcendence, and total self-effacement; no mention of that six-car garage.

In Post’s book, I was pleasantly surprised to find a very different message than I expected. From the first chapter, he and journalist Jill Neimark introduce us to a paradigm we have seen before but rarely identified as “natural.” That paradigm is selflessness – goodness – lovingkindness. “If I could take one word with me into eternity, it would be ‘give,’” Post begins on page one. Typical prosperity-fare tells us, you deserve much, you can have much, then you can give… and be justified.

Nowhere in Good Things does Post posit a “get-then-give” dynamic. Throughout the book we are exhorted to be giving, loving, respectful and kind. This is not just a kinder, gentler way of living – according to Post’s extensive research, it’s a healthier, natural way of living.

In 2000, Post launched the Institute for Research on Unlimited Love (IRUL) through Case Western Reserve University’s School of Medicine. It’s a mouthful that may sound a little fluffy at first, but their methods are pragmatic and scientific with a focus unique enough to be quite riveting. The purpose: study love and its impact on physical and mental health and overall well-being.

Some findings on the power of loving behavior:

• Giving reduces mortality. Out of 2,000 individuals, those who actively volunteered had a 44% lower likelihood of dying.
• Giving reduces adolescent depression and suicide risk.
• Fostering personal gratitude has profound health benefits. For example, the more gratitude a recipient of an organ feels, the faster that person’s recovery.
• Generous giving is linked directly to deeper spirituality, especially among teens.
• Forgiveness alleviates depression and lowers stress hormones.
• Loyalty is a buffer against stress. The security of loyal, steadfast caring is one of the greatest inhibitors of anxiety.
• When we listen to others in pain, their stress response quiets down and their body has a better chance to heal.

Good Things is not an overtly religious book (though it regularly references Buddhist and Christian teachings) but throughout the read I could not avoid comparisons to Mother Teresa or Jesus himself. The loving, selfless lives they exemplified have too-often seemed unnatural to me – somehow other than human. After all, human nature is dark, selfish and survivalist…

Post makes a compelling case in these pages for the goodness inherently wired into creation. That is not to say that we always choose goodness, but when we do, we are biologically, psychologically and spiritually healthier. One might dare to argue that Jesus is the most purely natural being to have ever walked the earth: the most perfect man, with perfect love in a perfect life. Here I tread dangerously near an old Christological debate, but when we step in line with the goodness of Jesus (conveniently outlined in the Gospels and neatly supported by Stephen Post, PhD.) we align ourselves with an abundant life intended from the beginning.

Despite my accolade for Post’s thesis, I still cringe a little at the tone from the book’s title that occasionally echoes throughout. “Good things… good people.” Am I hypersensitive? Maybe. But something about advertising “good things” strikes me as potentially dangerous – even if the intentions are pure. There will always be people seeking their “best life.” They look for a yoke that’s easy and a burden that’s light and ignore the parable of the rich young ruler.

On page 15, Post writes, “You don’t have to leap from bed at dawn or dole out sandwiches at the soup kitchen in the middle of an icy winter, or take up the torch of social activism and march in the streets, in order to reap the lifelong benefits of giving. You will find the style that’s right for you.” I’m reminded of Kierkegaard calling Christians a bunch of “swindlers” for contextualizing and deemphasizing aspects of the Gospel to fit our comforts. What if we do have to leap from bed at dawn, dole out sandwiches and march in the streets? What if that’s exactly what God is calling us to? Then this westernized Gospel of Convenience placates us and reorients us back on ourselves. Reap those lifelong benefits!

Why Good Things Happen to Good People is a fast and uplifting read. When I finished, I was inspired to do more for my community, my church, and the people I interact with each day. That’s a very good thing. The added benefit is knowing that by doing those things, I’m becoming a healthier person and contributing to a healthier world. But I pray that I never lose sight of the importance of goodness for goodness’ sake. If forgiveness brought us cancer or kindness risked our sight, could we still model love? Let the Gospel Mission lead us through the hardships of life, not around them, so that any blessings are merely an afterthought.

Jon Sharpe is the Director of the Center for Global Urban Leadership. He and I have been friends and colleagues for over 30 years. He is planning a trip to Ireland this fall and I wanted to ask him a few questions about it. He will also be joined by Colonel John Michel, a board member of Off The Map

Where did we first meet? I was at Bellevue Community College near Seattle and had an org. we called Christian World Liberation Front ( we didn’t have any idea what it really meant other than it sounded radical to us) and we talked the college into giving us funds to have concerts. So, we looked for the wildest Christian band we could find to come play in the center of the campus. People told me about “the Justice”, a group that had recently gone Christian (sort of a U2 kind of deal) so we had them come play. They were wild and they were good! Jim Henderson led the group and we became friends… Our next group was Andre Crouch and the Disciples! It must have been about 1970.

You have been a pastor and led several ministries over the past 30 years plus. Tell us about a few of those experiences Well, my brother once said, “you can always tell the leader with spear front and rear.” Actually I keep starting things, groups, gatherings because I get bored with what I see around me. I keep pursuing a gathering or a community that lives out the dream. I think of it this way: We all have a good idea of what Jesus is like. He is our best thought. I think we were created that way. So, we also want to create gatherings and groups that are our best thoughts. I just keep doing that. However, I find that I’m not the best leader and definitely not a command type leader. If anything I’m an influence leader which usually means people don’t follow long but they sure like to steal my ideas! Being an idea guy is closely linked my life with being an opportunist. I see connectedness in just about everything. I started a church and led it through two assimilations of other congregations. I was called the “merger king” for awhile until I realized we actually didn’t assimilate the other groups but we just exchanged our culture for theirs. I learned the hard way that cultures are very strong and real. You need to know the culture of any group if you want to lead it or change it. I also had the task of working with two urban churches that were on their last legs. Tired old people trying to keep their dreams alive and not willing to give up, yet totally out of gas. I actually helped both of them recognize their fatigue and they were able to pass the ministry on to others. It reminded me of when senior citizens are trying to do all that they used to do and do not want to give up even though they have multiple accidents (auto and other). I also pioneered a city-wide effort to catalyze the church with a vision of the serving the city of Seattle. We called that effort Serve Seattle. We held multiple city leadership consultations, ministry summits, and city tours. We had an ad-hoc committee that kept at it for about five years and a lot of connectedness (that word again) happened during that time. In September I left my last “big deal” project which was the development of a global urban ministry school with Ray Bakke. We took a struggling seminary and turned it into a global study tour. It was exhilarating but tiring.

The greatest satisfaction I have after all these years is that people seem to get one message through my life and it is that God loves them through all their pain and stuff. I’m sure I preach that and it oozes out of my life because I need the message so bad.

You lead The Center for Global Urban Leadership. What is a Global Urban Leader? They’re cool! Actually we are attempting to highlight global realities and raise awareness that we need to be global in our thinking and our action. Being global also means that we think and act within the largest urban centers of the world since the world is turning into multiple city-states with over 50% of the population now living in cities. As far as leadership, we are attempting to focus on leaders who bring about radical change (Transformational Leaders) and think Mother Teresa is probably the best model from our century. Most of us do not know what she said, but we do know what she did. When I bore down into the core of transformational leadership, I always get to the root which is incarnation. You have to die, die, die, die, and then die. You got to keep coming back and living the life with the people. If we are going to be transformational (bringing radical change to people, places, and systems) we need to really follow Jesus.

How are they different from the rest of us? They’re cool!

Can people earn degrees through GLU? We actually work on agreements where we teach a few courses in existing degree programs from partner schools. What other seminaries are you affiliated with? At this point we have an agreement with a secular school in their MBA and their MA in Org. Management, and George Fox Seminary in their MDiv program.

You are leading a team to Ireland in September. How did you choose Ireland and what will people experience on this trip? I was having a conversation with a pastor from Belfast one day and he was telling me about his parish in the middle of East Belfast, Crumlin Road Presbyterian Church, and as we chatted the idea began to germinate that we should have a consultation there and look at the Reconciliation issue. As reconciliation is such a key issue for the entire planet we decided to start inviting people. Now, we have John Perkins and Bob Lupton coming and people from Rwanda, India, and other parts of the world. Father Treacy a Roman Catholic Priest from Seattle and a reconciliation leader will also join us. Father Treacy is legendary for his work in our city. This trip will be a feast. Can you imagine touching down in Dublin where you can check out Irish culture, history, and religion (a few pubs too)? Then going to Northern Ireland where they have just signed a peace accord (historical event) and see how that city is going through radical change.

You are teaming with some well known people and some other organizations. Drop some names and tell about the other organizations who are working with you. The lessons learned in Northern Ireland will be awe inspiring in my opinion. Add to the Irish context key leaders like John Perkins, Bob Lupton, and our host organizations The Centre for Contemporary Christianity in Ireland, Crumlin Presbyterian Church, and the Skainos Project. David Porter, Gary Mason, Glenn Jordan, Norman Hamilton, Jack Drennan, and Lynda Gould will be heading up the Northern Ireland team. These folks have been fleshing it out in Belfast for decades.

What other countries will you be visiting in 2008? What are the key take aways from each trip? We plan on going to India and the Netherlands in 2008. India is the other half of Chindia. Only a billion or so people and in rapid, radical change. The caste system that has dominated India for centuries is under fire and the Jesus movement is alive and well. India is the epicenter of world change in my opinion. It is explosive, open, and going to change the way the world operates. The Netherlands and a dip into London will let us look at Youth AT Risk. Amsterdam and London provide a laboratory like no other to see how youth are groping to make sense of life in the postmodern world.

You are also partnering with Off The Map Board member and US Air Force Col. Jon Michel. Tell us about his organization and why you guys are partnering on this Ireland Learning experience? I think Col. John Michel has a unique approach to mission and really believes that a new generation of young people have the potential to move mountains when it comes to reconciliation in the large cities of the world. As Michel interacts with young people in the military and in the educational system, he sees raw, untapped potential for transformation. Michel is an activist and he knows the heart beat of a generation willing to take risk for radical change. They will not be content to talk about issues; they want to do something tangible, fleshing it out, on the streets and in the neighborhood. Our partnership creates synergy for change. I am personally excited about this connection around the Reconciliation Consultation this September! I hope young families and students will join this “hands-on” Reconciliation field experience!

What kinds of changes does the church in the West need to make to if we hope to become Global leaders or participants? We need to become learners and givers. I don’t mean simply giving money but perhaps a greater gift would be giving our time and ourselves to the rest of the world and quit our pre-occupation with self aggrandizement and entertainment.

How can people get more information about the Ireland trip? Go to our website and all the information is front and center at www.globalurbanleaders.org

with Pam Hogeweide

A prolific blogger, Phil is currently writing a book about his experiences as a pastor who loves witches. This May, The Salem Gathering is hosting a conference called God for People Who Hate Church. Featured speakers include Jay Bakker of One Punk Under God fame, Tony Jones of Emergent, and our very own Jim Henderson.
Phil Wyman lives in Salem, MA with his wife, Bev. You can read more about their dream to befriend pagans here.

Pam Hogeweide is a contributing writer for Off the Map. She has written about her friendship with witches at her blog, How God Messed Up My Religion. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and two kids and is a self-employed cleaner, though she dreams of eventually being a full-time writer.

I love witches and pagans. I used to be freaked out about them, thinking they were all blood-drinking fiends who stayed up all night cursing Christians and sacrificing cats in the woods. Under a full moon. Naked. But then I found out a couple of friends of mine were into Wicca, a popular form of neo-paganism (and witchcraft) that some claim is one of the fastest growing spiritualities in America. As I researched their beliefs, trying to get my head and heart around their worldview, I soon discovered that I had a very inaccurate understanding of modern witchcraft. Most practitioners, like my friends, are peaceful people who deeply crave a connection to the Divine. They certainly aren’t drinking blood. (“That would be the Catholics,” jokes my witchy friend Michelle.)

So I am thrilled to introduce you to someone who is not only another Christian who loves witches and pagans, but he’s also a pastor. (Please don’t hold that against him.) He’s not your average stuck-behind-the-church-walls kind of spiritual leader. This man chooses to not only hang out with neo-pagans, but he and his wife, along with another family, uprooted from their California home to start a church in the witchiest city in America.

Salem, Massachusetts, notorious for its witch trials in the late 1600’s, Salem has flourished to become the unofficial capitol of witchery in the country. Its annual Halloween festival brings thousands within its borders. Phil and his church, The Salem Gathering, are right in the middle of it all, offering free Psalm readings, dream interpretations as well as hot chocolate and family-fun entertainment.

At first, Phil’s denomination-that-shall-not-be-named was all gaga about Phil’s unique and inventive outward reach to a group of people that most Christians won’t even eat dinner with. But over time, there came rumors and whisperings and a flurry of gossipy emails that raised questions about the wisdom of Phil’s modus operandi. He and the other leaders of his church found themselves subjected to an old-fashioned witch hunt where they were asked such questions as, “How can you be friends with witches?” to which they replied, “How can we not?”

Defrocked and ousted by his denomination of more than twenty years, Phil received tremendous support from his church and has continued to lead as pastor. (Read Phil’s account here)

Some wonder at the effectiveness of being chummy with people who follow pagan paths. If they’re coming to Christ, ok great, but what if they’re not? Phil makes it clear that he is not out to pull a bait-and-switch with his friends who are witches. They are not an evangelistic project. ”This is insidious, trying to convert us,” say some pagans.

“I don’t think people are targetable. I make friends with people and then we talk about life. And I think the life I find in Jesus is the most compelling thing I know, and I know that they might not,” explains Phil. “And I know, that for the entirety of their life they might not (be interested.) And I’m not going to give up on them or our friendship if they never do. We make friends and share our lives with each other.”

One of the problems about Christians freaking out when it comes to witches and pagans are the myths we associate with them. Myth number one: They worship satan. “They do not. Most of them don’t even believe in satan,” says Phil. Myth number two: We assume they worship a deity. “Most pagans define themselves as agnostic, or what I call mystical agnostic. Some don’t even practice spells,” continues Phil.
Myth number three: (my personal favorite) Pagans and witches are out to send curses against the church. “There are many of them who really think it would be an unethical thing to do. To some degree most pagans adhere to the Wiccan Rede, ‘And it ‘arm none do what thou wilt’” explains Phil. (Rede: pronounced “reed,” which basically means, Don’t hurt anyone)

Another myth about witches is that they practice their rituals skyclad, or au naturale. “Many pagans are as excited about getting naked in a group as a Baptist church quilting bee would be,” says Phil.

What it boils down to is that our response to neo-pagans and Wiccans in our communities is often a reaction of fear and superstition, typically fueled by misleading ministries who put out books and seminars with severe misinformation. “The fear that spending time with witches and neo-pagans might allow some dark force to gain access to my life is a superstition found among many Christian groups. The apostle Paul ministered in a highly charged pagan environment and gave us guidelines for dealing with the people in his culture, “ says Phil. “These guidelines had to do with intimate interactions such as eating together and the celebration of holidays. This shows us that day to day life, and the intimate interactions of living and working together, were part of developing ministry to pagans.”

I asked Phil for advice in relating to pagans about our faith. “Do not assume they are satanists,” began Phil. “Do not assume they practice some form of malevolent magic. Begin your relationship with someone who is pagan by believing the best about them – love believes all things – and that perhaps their reason for being pagan is noble. Understand that they may have been rejected or mistreated by other Christians,” says Phil. “Be willing to listen to them. Treat them with the simple respect you would desire to receive from them.”

Is it kind of weird to think about Christians and witches hanging out with each other?

“Everybody is weird. And we are weird and that’s why Jesus came because we’re all weirdoes. I just really love witches and pagans.” Me too, Phil, me too.

I checked in with Todd recently to catch up and find out about Alpha’s upcoming conference on Conversational Evangelism.

Todd, catch us up on your work as President of Alpha USA. How long have you been in the role and what do you enjoy most about your job?

I have worked with Alpha USA for nearly three years now—it’s hard to believe how fast time goes by! I spend a great deal of time on the road introducing various groups to the Alpha Course, describing why small group, conversational evangelism is such a good fit for postmodern, post-Christian, post-secular America.

The most rewarding art of the job is the vantage point it gives me to see into the wider body of Christ. I know the dire statistics regarding church life in America, I see where the culture is going, and I agree with George Barna that there is a revolution happening outside mainstream church life.

But, with all that said, I am constantly amazed by the wonderful, godly people I meet in churches of all kinds who have a sincere, non-religious, non-manipulative heart to create a safe place for seekers to journey toward faith. That discovery has been heartening. It is rewarding to come along side such people and their churches with the tool of The Alpha Course.

What are some things people would be surprised to know about Alpha?

Here is the most surprising thing: it is not a “modern” tool. Our present culture is transitioning and still mixed when it comes to worldviews—modern and postmodern. Alpha fits well because it has elements in the course that appeal to both groups. For instance the apologetics in the talks and the structured process are attractive to modern-leaning seekers. But the dinners, the small groups, the environment of emotional, intellectual and relational honesty that pervades a good course are hugely attractive to postmodern seekers.

In the early days of The Alpha Course in the USA, there was a natural and understandable emphasis on doing the course in the exact way it was invented in London. But over the years Nicky Gumbel has tweaked the course to better fit the hundreds of young, urban Londoners who attend the course every week. In the USA we need to follow his lead. I always tell people to highlight the aspects of the course that best fit the people to whom you are in conversation. That’s just no-brainer common sense—and solid missiology too!

Here is the second surprising thing: did you catch the part about 100’s of young people coming to the course at Holy Trinity Brompton? I witnessed the same phenomena at my friend Nancy Hanna’s church in mid-town Manhattan. They both were key reasons I took this job. It is extraordinarily rare these days to find something truly effective for young, postmodern seekers. These seekers like Alpha because we explain Christianity to them in an honest, straight forward way, but we do so in a conversation in which they can say whatever they want to about us, the church, “god”, etc. They are also encouraged to ask any question. We promise to help them find the best answer we can in a non-preachy way. It works…

How many churches currently use the Alpha Course and how many people are involved in putting the course on each week?

We do not have the best of records, but we currently show that there are just over 8,200 churches using The Alpha Course. In addition there are 438 Youth Alpha courses being run, 220 on college campuses and scores more in prisons, workplaces and military settings such as Iraq and Afghanistan. That rate of activity would mean that there are tens of thousands of volunteers working to put on Alpha Courses at any given time.

Why do you think more evangelical types of churches are just now beginning to take advantage of Alpha?

In contrast to historic, “liberal” mainline churches, evangelicals have always had their own models for doing evangelism. Those models have changed over the years, but some current, effective model has always been available to them. For instance, Baptists, Bible Churches or Calvary Chapels have not had a felt need for us—they know how to invite others to church and then give them a chance to respond to an alter call. The younger, more up-to-date evangelical churches, having been influenced by the church growth movement, have been doing seeker-driven or seeker-friendly services for a couple of decades now. All these groups already had an evangelistic track to run on. However, as things in society change, The Alpha Course can be a valuable addition to the things they already do well. It will reach a subset of people they are not currently reaching.

Tell us an Alpha success story:

Here are two:

1. Heather Hanson

   I was raised Jewish and took it very seriously, although I had many questions about where we go when we die and who God is. I was the first girl in my family to have a Bat Mitzvah, and I insisted on it.

   If anybody talked to me about Jesus Christ I was off ended. If ever I heard that a Jewish friend had read the New Testament, I was mortified.

   But things started to change. One of my half-brothers converted to Christianity, so I tried reading the New Testament, but I didn’t understand it.

   When I moved away from home I stopped going to synagogue. I became very engrossed with my job in the fashion industry.

   Friends who were opening a restaurant outside Chicago asked me to help with part-time waitressing. In my first week a man walked in, and I told my friends, “That’s the man I am going to marry.” Gary was 45 and divorced with three children. There was a 17-year age difference between us. And he was also a churchgoer.

   A year and a half later, we married at a Christian and Jewish service. For the first year, Gary and I went to the synagogue on the high holidays. As a Jew, I felt that I should be there, and I wanted my husband to experience it with me. But I realized how far away I’d drifted from Judaism. I didn’t want to belong to a religion simply because it was a cultural process. So I decided to go to Willow Creek Church with Gary.

   Still, I felt guilty that I wasn’t going to the synagogue. At the same time, I was obsessed with religion: I read book after book—Buddhism, Islam, the New Age, tarot cards, horoscopes.

   One December, a nearby Presbyterian Church put up an “Alpha is here” sign. I had no idea what Alpha was. On Christmas Eve we went to the church and talked with a woman about Alpha. She said to come to one night, to listen and see what we thought.

   So we went. And I loved every second of it. Our discussion group was boisterous and loud, with people from all different backgrounds. Everybody was involved.

   I remember explaining to the group that comprehending the New Testament was like learning the sky was purple when I had known my whole life that it was blue.

   At night, I’d get into bed with my teaching Bible and read something. I even asked God to make it OK for me to become a Christian, because I was afraid of disappointing my parents.

   After the healing night of the course, I had a long conversation with God: I am sorry. I want to be forgiven for my sins. And I want to give my life to Christ. Show me now how You can use me.

   The following week I went back to the Alpha group, and in the middle of our group discussion said, “I have an announcement to make. . . .”

   Kathleen, our leader, started crying. Gary was crying too.

   Gary and I try go to church every Sunday now. For Gary, Alpha was a spiritual workout. It helped him get his spiritual muscles back. And I’ve felt a weight lifted from my shoulders. I know that Jesus died for me, and I feel unconditionally loved.

   My prayer used to be, God, why won’t You help me with this? But now, I ask God what I can do for Him—that’s the difference. He’s in charge of my life now. He gives me the tools and I get to be the vessel.

2. Hamid Azimieraghi – “Looking for Something”

   I was born in Iran, to parents who were Sufi. We were not really religious. When the revolution of 1979 happened, we were the religious minority. We had no freedom, so I escaped and came to the United States.

   From then on I was always looking for something, but I didn’t know where to start or where to go. I was married to a Christian and my daughter, Gabriela, who is 7 years old now, was baptized in a Presbyterian Church. After my divorce, she was going to church every other weekend when she wasn’t with me, and I wanted to continue that.

   I also wanted to know the things my daughter believed, so I was looking for something to teach me the basics of Christianity. A friend recommended Alpha, and I contacted Bonhomme Presbyterian Church (St. Louis, Mo.). I didn’t know anyone at the church. It was scary—I didn’t know what to expect. I was afraid they’d ask me a question [about Christianity] and I wouldn’t know the answer. Also, I had my guard up. I didn’t want anyone to force me to believe something I didn’t want to believe.

   The first night changed my idea about the course—I knew this was what I wanted. We had about eight people [at our table]. Two of the guys are now two of my closest friends. One of them was the guy who came over [in the beginning] to say, “I’m here to tell you this is not true.”

   The other one knew everything, but at the end he said, “I didn’t know how much I didn’t know.” It somehow touched everyone’s life at that table. Everyone’s life in a different way.

   By the time we went to the retreat, I decided, If this is Christianity, then I want to be Christian. I started asking, “What do I do?” That was the most attractive thing: They let me go at my own pace, and when I decided I wanted to do this, they were all there to help me, and not one moment did they push me.

   The moment I realized the power of Alpha was when I bought a yearbook [from my daughter’s school] and asked her to sign it for me. She wrote: Dad, thanks for taking me to church, and I started crying.

   I love my daughter—there is nothing I would not do for her. Of all the stuff I have bought her, the things that stay with her and impress her the most are taking her to church every other Sunday.

   If you are looking for some answers about Christianity, this is the course. It’s going to open a huge spiritual vineyard to you. At churches there are lots of people like me, and they don’t know where to start. This is a great tool to reach people like that.

Alpha is hosting this conference in March. Why did you decide to partner with some of todays best evangelism thinkers and practitioners?

Well…where to start? …this is a fabulous group of people! They all are very well respected and rightly so. Becky’s book “Out of the Salt Shaker” was named by Christianity Today one of the 50 most influential books in modern evangelicalism. She has forgotten more about evangelism that most of us will ever know! Mark is exceptional when it comes to helping local churches transition to an outreach oriented community of faith. Lee is probably the most accessible and popular apologist of our time. Finally, Garry Poole has really cracked the code to creating small groups that allow seekers to find their way to faith—he is flat expert on the subject.

But…in addition to all their amazing expertise, these guys also know that something is up in culture, that times are changing. We all surmise that a key response to this change is for the church to learn to listen, to experience the fact that listening can be hugely persuasive. Evangelism today needs to be two-way communication. It requires a conversation. We hope to start a conversation about this among the constituencies of people who have followed the ministries of Becky, Mark, Lee and Garry.

This is a pilot conference. We are not sure yet that we can get said what we think needs communicated. Come help us figure it out. Join the conversation. If the conference goes well, if we see that is it truly helpful, we will do more of them around the country later in 2007 and 2008.

Conversational evangelism – what’s that and why is it important?

Preaching in large venues worked well in the 20th century. The modern world respected, demanded and loved its experts. If something went wrong with our car we expected to find an expert mechanic. If we suddenly developed a health issue, we demanded expert medical care. It was a totally normal part of life. Add to that the realities of Christendom wherein pastors, teachers and evangelists were those experts in religion, it created an atmosphere wherein seekers could feel comfortable looking up to the religious expert on the big stage. That kind of environment fit the way they sought expertise in every other facet of life.

Today it is different. Most seekers don’t want to be talked down to from a stage in one way communication. They need to talk, they need to tell their story, they need a place to unload all their fears and pre-judgments about religion, etc. This requires a conversation. It requires that we come down from stages and sit with seekers around a dinner table, letting them set the pace and direction of the conversation.

Some people fear that letting “non-Christians” talk will lead to compromise. They say “why would you let a non-Christian go on about false doctrines or wrong beliefs”. It’s not like God is surprised to hear what they are thinking! We create an environment in which they can get it out and then hear feedback from their seeking peers and the guides of the group. We are always amazed by the way the Holy Spirit works in these settings. Some seeker will say something crazy or blasphemous and another seeker will, tone him down or set forth an alternative view, etc. Over a period of ten weeks the Spirit is able to find pure gold out of the dirt and rocks sifted in the group through honest conversation..

Why did you decide to come back onto the Off The Map Board of Directors?

Why of course, the food, fun and felicity at the board meetings! The brownies were, “put you into chocolate shock” good!

Actually, I think what OTM is doing has the possibility to help shape the near future of evangelism. Our notion of the spiritual practice of serving others is key to evangelism in the coming years. Not long ago I heard Donald Miller—of Blue Like Jazz fame—say that a key question seekers are asking today is “are you a good person because of your faith or your religion?” Practicing the spiritual disciplines to become the kinds of people who naturally, routinely and easily serve others, while holding on to the evangelistic values OTM has historically emphasized, is a winsome window into faith.