As part of our Cultivating Intentional Communities gatherings, on Feb. 27.09 we crammed 29 people in the middle level of the Mustard Seed House in Seattle for a conversation about Intentional Communities and Christian Radicalism with Mark Van Steenwyk.

Mark Van Steenwyk is a member of Missio Dei (an Anabaptist intentional community anchored on the West Bank of Minneapolis that pursues Jesus’ way of simplicity, prayer, hospitality, and peace). Missio Dei is affiliated with the Mennonite Church USA and the Baptist General Conference.

You can get the MP3 of the conversation here

While you are there get the many other Mp3’s including Mark Scandrette, Christine Sine, Lisa Domke, Shane Claiborne, Efrem Smith, Eugene Cho, David T. Olson, Tom Sine and many others. These MP3’s are available for a micro-price.

Pentecost Seattle

In May, Evangelical, Emerging Church, Catholic, and Mainline Christians together with those who are spiritually inclined but unrelated to any Christian community will gather in Seattle.

Our gathering theme is “Faith and Justice in the 21st Century. The context is the needs of our neighborhoods and cities in a time of economic recession calling us to new forms of engagement. The agenda for the day will be relaxed, giving us all room to share what we hear the Spirit calling us to do in our neighborhoods, in our cities. While we honor the gifts of the traditions in which we live, the organizers of this gathering no longer believe it is God’s will that our traditions divide us as we carry out the mission to which we are called.

Join us at the Mustard Seed House for an evening of conversation with Missio Dei’s communitarian Mark Van Steenwyk and follow Mustard Seed House people.

Mark Van Steenwyk is a member of Missio Dei (an Anabaptist intentional community anchored on the West Bank of Minneapolis that pursues Jesus’ way of simplicity, prayer, hospitality, and peace). Missio Dei is affiliated with the Mennonite Church USA and the Baptist General Conference.

The evening will be an informal time of sharing stories and experiences about new monasticism, intentional communities and radical discipleship.

For more info, contact Eliacín

When? Friday, February 27 at 7:00 PM

Where? Mustard Seed House , Seattle (click to see map)

This is a free event, but spaces are limited. Registration is required. Register here.

[HT -Jordon Cooper]

The conversation started from the question of why we as followers of Jesus should care about the social aspect of the web. While many of us experience the social applications of the web, churches and ministries still jogging the the “information” super highway by making their web presence a mere online copy of their church bulletin or ministry brochure. Before the conversation turned into one about new cool applications to attract more readership to our “missional” blogs or  how to use the web for evangelization and to proselytize, Thomas Knoll who was the “web/social guru” of the night, was wise enough to stir the conversation to the importance of relationships, online and offline.  He was very emphatic on the importance on the latter. From then on we moved from the virtual to the real.

Part of the conversation was dedicated to the topic of gatekeepers and their place  in the church and in the web.  Institutions that in the past were the repository of information and knowledge are not anymore. We live in an age where have access to the same information as seminaries and elite institution of higher learning. Take for example MIT Open Course Ware  which offer materials for nearly all its courses freely available on the Internet. So the raw information is out there for us to get. What is needed is a way to process that information in community and with relational mentors. This is where gatekeepers come to play, gatekeepers can bring life by pruning and nurturing by being open and collaborative, or can squash it by command and control.

There were several online tools mentioned that can foster or enhance relationships that we already have with people – i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Seesmic, Ning among others.  Tools like this serve to facilitate more conversation among smaller groups of friends for an more authentic relationships, instead of the myspace syndrome of thousands of friends who do not know anything about each other. Thes tools if used with a well plan purpose and mission can foster wonderful experience of collaboration and participation among likeminded missional groups and organizations.

The “organized” conversation ended around 9:30 p.m., but many stayed around for coffee and more informal-networking-get to know each other chatting. Some of us hit the road for some good belgian beer and more conversation at the Die Bier Stube.

Bloggers that were present:

Thomas Knoll

Dave Laird

Karen Ward

Steve Lewis

Justin Beader

Alex, Karen Ward, Thomas Knoll and Kimberly Knoll.

A good conversation about the need for more “blessing and release” and less “command and control” from the gatekeepers

Me (Eliacín) Dave Laird and Justin Beader.