Huh?! Who or what is "Off the Map"? And are they really over the edge? I can certainly answer the first question. I'll let you draw your own conclusions on the second one.
Who is Off the Map?
Off the Map is a non-profit organization that describes itself this way:
We present stories, ideas and related practices through live events, our websites, published multimedia and our monthly e-zine called Idealab.
They are into: "otherlyness" or the spirituality of serving, reinventing evangelism, exploring, explaining, edutaining (educating and entertaining), and listening.
Jim Henderson, founder of Off the Map, recently released a new book called Jim & Casper Go to Church: Frank Conversation about Faith, Churches, and Well-Meaning Christians.
Intriguing.
Be Kind
This past year, Henriet and I have attended three Off the Map (OTM) conferences. Each conference has delivered an "edge" of its own. At the first conference, it seemed that no matter what the question was, the answer was always "be kind." To be honest, the sheer simplicity of that message seemed to annoy me at the time.
There was a whole lot packed into these two small words during the conference, but the gist was that Christ followers can sometimes really suck at just being kind. For some, it's more about being RIGHT - about their beliefs, opinions, worldview, [insert your own words here] - than being KIND. We were encouraged to: Stop listening with our mouths and start listening with our hearts.
A simple yet provocative message. One that has stuck with me. Without annoyance.
Almost an Atheist
It was also at this first conference that I became acquainted with Helen Mildenhall. I would like to write more about Helen and her story in a future post, but here are a few interesting points: Helen is a former Christian who is "almost an atheist" now. She is the blog manager for all the blogs sponsored by Off the Map. She hosts Conversation at the Edge, a blog for Christians, atheists and anyone in between.
I have followed Helen's OTM blog for almost a year now. One thing I have to say is that she is one of the most articulate bloggers out there, and she knows the Bible better than many Christians. She participates in "hot" discussions with astonishing grace and kindness. For Helen, it's not about being right.
An almost atheist running the blogs for a Christian site. Certainly edgy.
Off the Map Live
The last conference we attended - Off the Map Live - was in November. Besides the thought-provoking sessions I attended, the highlights for me were meeting John Smulo in person, someone I had met in the blogosphere, and hearing Richard Twiss, president of Wiconi International, speak for the first time.
This post is so after-the-fact, so I'm going to defer to what's already been written. The conference blog posted some thoughts from Richard Twiss after the conference. It gives you a good sense of who he is. Also, Henriet and John wrote about Richard:
- Henriet: Richard Twiss Rocks
- John: Off the Map Live Friday Afternoon
Is Off the Map "over the edge"? In my book - absolutely! And it's a very good thing. Even if I get annoyed every once in awhile.
I am now on a 4-week break from school. On December 7th, I officially completed three more courses in my MAGL program at Fuller Theological Seminary:
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