Why the Site

In a world of paper and plastic, you read a book, close the cover and quickly move on to something new. If it was really good, you may pass it along to a friend—but sooner or later, it ends up a shelf somewhere.

But what if finishing a book was actually the beginning of a journey—and not the end? What if you were able to keep interacting with the content in fresh new ways? What if new chapters were being written and new ideas constantly coming to the surface?

In a world of hypertext and DSL lines, that experience is possible.

Beyond the Book

Making Sense of Church.com is a living conversation. It’s a place to not only explore the ideas presented in Making Sense of Church, but also add your own insights, your own questions—even your own new metaphors.

To me, Making Sense of Church is kindling; the real learning will happen here, on this site, as we transcend the limits of the printed page together.

At the heart of this site are the message boards. Log in and you may bump into many of the people quoted in the book. Ask them to clarify their points. Question them or add to their insights. Put your own ideas out there and let others listen and respond. Rant and rave about your passions. Share your stories and insights.

Of course, I’ll be dropping by and posting messages as well. After all, I didn’t just write the book to make static observations. Like you, I want to start living out its ideas—to be a fellow traveler, a human and a facilitator. I may have gotten the conversation started, but now I want to hear from you. I want to interact with you and learn from you.

The articles and resources section will take you beyond Making Sense of Church to related books, newsletters and magazines. You’ll also find the stories of individuals and groups who are making the transition to the emerging church.

The links section is the place to find and share new Web destinations. As you make your way to other Web sites and discover great new resources, let us know so that other readers can check them out as well.

An Invitation to Learn

Just to let you know, I’ve chosen not to edit or censor the posts on this site so please be respectful. While there’s little tolerance for those attacking an individual, there’s lots of latitude for different opinions, theories, theologies and points of view. I’d encourage you to keep an open mind and listen to people’s hearts—not just their words—wherever possible.

As the conversation progresses, feel free to invite your friends, co-workers, family and others in your community to join with us as well. You know what they say, the more the merrier.

Looking forward to it,
                                     Read the Introduction to the Book

Making Sense of Church
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Spencer's intro talk
from Soularize in a Box
35 min.

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Buy The Book Making Sense of Church is a snapshot of TheOoze community conversation as it tries to make sense of God in the emerging worldview. It represents a gathering of individuals with different points of view, theologies, life contexts, and feelings. Author Spencer Burke, creator of TheOoze.com, provides the framework by sharing his own stories of struggle with the transition form "institutional" to "emerging" church. Using metaphors and message board postings to illustrate each chapter.    more>>>
Sample Chapter - "Teacher to Facilitator a conversation about Learning"
Download Chapter #3
"It is rare that a person writes a book to explain his obsession. It is rare that a person’s obsession is to explore the complexity of how a 2000+ year old body called the church is navigating a series of tectonic changes in the global culture. Some obsessions are more interesting, more complex and more urgent than others. This ranks high on all counts. This book is neither a prophetic diatribe nor a happy faced cheerbook about the church and its culture. It is a serious reflection from a man who sits in the center of many conversations about the topic and knows better than to attempt a neatly tied solution. It allows the reader to enter into the confusion and emerge unscathed in the body, but changed in the heart. It will result in a greater depth of understanding of a very complex issue and a greater hope in God’s character as the one who is controlling the affairs of both the church and the culture."
~ Brad Smith,
Executive Director, International Urban Associates

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