June 8, 2009 by

An Online Community for Disenfranchised Believers

2 comments

Categories: church, community, link love

This morning, my blogger friend Glenn, a former institutional church pastor, just launched a new site you should check out.

Communitas Collective describes itself as “a place for the rest of us.” It’s a social online community site specifically designed for people who are leaving (or have left) institutional forms of church and are trying to navigate their relationship with Christ without that map. Since that idea comprises quite a lot of what I talk about here…I guess it makes sense that I would be excited about this.

In looking around the site, while it’s just up and running, a couple of things in particular stood out to me and particularly impressed me:
  1. It pretty much avoids labels like “emergent” and “missional”, which already come with a bit of baggage attached. (I personally draw from the emergent/missional stream and have friendships there, but have never felt the badge or culture there quite fits where I’m at.) This lack of labeling is a plus in itself, because it welcomes people who aren’t in any category. (In fact–that’s exactly what it’s for.)
  2. It doesn’t seem to promote any agenda other than connection and support. It’s not selling an idea. The vibe seems to genuinely be to help people on their journey, not gather them for a cause. I felt the invitation to connect, not a pitch to join a club.
  3. It sports a healthy balance between interactive social community, articles and resources without being preachy. Glenn has, in fact, recruited several other of my blogger friends to contribute content to the site.
In short…I like it. 🙂 Go over there and see what you think.

Musician. Composer. Recovering perfectionist. Minister-in-transition. Lover of puns. Hijacker of rock song references. Questioner of the status quo. I'm not really a rebel. Just a sincere Christ-follower with a thirst for significance that gets me into trouble. My quest has taken me over the fence of institutional Christianity. Here are some of my random thoughts along the way. Read along, join in the conversation. Just be nice.

2 Responses to An Online Community for Disenfranchised Believers

  1. glenn

    Jeff, you're a cool dude! Thanks for the link love. Your take on the CC vibe is right on and exactly as intended. You and your readers are welcome in this new community!

    Grace & Peace

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