One could even say that Conversation IS what the Church is engaged in; and it is a constant thing. Conversation with God, conversation with the body of believers, the Church; conversation with the world, and conversation with the history of God’s people, and the history of all people (and I believe that our conversations so identified can be the way to move toward ALL people being God’s people….not in the sense of bringing them to a tightly defined cultural understanding ; but to bring to bear the good news of the Kingdom on any culture/people who can use a little good news.)

The word “Conversation” is the instructive paradigm I choose because I am again looking at the idea that the Cluetrain Manifesto has defined it for Business. “Marketspeak” and/oir “corporate speak” are quickly being dissed by the “customer” as inauthentic , self-serving; profit-driven attempts by the sellers to create a need with their product or service in mind. This “undercover manipulation” strategy disguised as “reaching out to the customer” and “we support you” is increasingly being recognized as self-serving, and “markets”, according to the Cluetrain authors, are moving toward conversation again, with the help of the Internet and the Web.

The institutional Church has taken in many of the practices and philosophies of business, and , unfortunately, some of the distortions and inauthentic expression as described above. But for me and several scattered others, the Church is held to an even higher standard, and authenticity is an absolute requirement. People are tired of sameness; of “mass appeal”; conservative groups seek uniqueness as a form of rebellion against this “bland ecumenism” . The fault is not with ecumenism, but with Bad Ecumenism; inauthentic ecumenism; overly concerned with universal palpability rather than a focus on community; and a “community” that clearly lifts the idea of the person as of inifinite worth; and of specific giftedness, and of crucial vocation. The place where gift and call meet is vocation, and this is a key role of the Body of Christ: to enable the discovery of gifts, in a community committed to providing a place and accountability to each other.

As I will reflect over these coming days, I believe that much of this can be enabled, enhanced, and even transformed online. Many are concerned about accessibility; and the information “have-nots”; but we, the “haves”, if we become convinced of the possibilities as I have, then this becomes an issue of mission; to provide resources for technological enhancement and move this information age toward a kind of commodity, at the level of something like education. Not to put mediums and resources ahead of basic education, but as logical steps toward continuing to enhance education. Not to place technological sommunication tools ahead of bnasics such as food , water, and health, but to utilize it in coordinating efforts of those among the haves to help distribute and educate the recipients of help, and provide the technology as a means of making the recipients self-sufficient; to provide them with the same tools for growth and enhancement of community.