Our next venture

Dear all

Time to plan "The Mob 2"

Excuse the bland visual nature of the newsletter. I'll attend to the bells and whistles after the holiday season. It's not much of a priority right now :) Getting something off the ground as a one-person crew means just that: priorities!

What, then, are the priorities right now?

• Getting ready for live meetings (Zoom-like, not "TikTok-like") on SIDECAR. I want to get serious with those in January. If you haven't subscribed to SIDECAR, you may want to do so before the end of the year, since the one-time fee of $10 will double in January. Many of you already have both, SPEAKEASY and SIDECAR. The former (this thing right here!) is mostly about me communicating to you, the latter about us co-creating and staying in touch with each other, away from algorithms and the digital shenanigans out there.
• It's time to plan our second "The Mob". As you probably know, that name for our in-person meetings actually has biblical support (which of course we don't need, but it's a fun thought!). The word ekklesia that our NT translations typically render "church", was actually a street term back then - have a look at Acts 19:32-41 where the term is used three times, and it simply means "the mob". That text is a lot of fun, especially where the mob is so confused that they forgot what they were meeting for in the first place! Who says the Bible isn't fun (just read Jonah!). If anyone tells you that the term ekklesia literally means "the called out ones", ask them what - in that case - "understand" means literally. That way you don't need to actually point out the absurdity of the "called out ones" myth that is so widespread! 

Back to the issue of the next "Mob". You know how the last one was predicated on combining intellectual (theological!) work with the hands-on activity of creating and messing around with huge amounts dough and baking authentic Italian panettone bread. That basic two-pronged approach is so much fun compared to classic talking heads meetings - so we'll keep it! 

One idea is to do the next one in a bar in Des Moines, IA. Instead of baking panettone, we'll learn all things mixology and how to design and actually make fun cocktails. Fair warning: I may not try any of yours - what if they're terrible :) 

I doubt that we'll be turning water into wine, like Jesus, but at least we'll turn mere ingredients into very cool cocktails! And yes, the bar will be closed - just for us! At least for the hours that we need it to be ours only.

Some have asked whether The Mob can be streamed. Let me know what you think, but my strong inclination is not to do that. These are small communal meetings with a purpose, and I can't see what would be gained by the intrusion of streaming them. But I do agree that it will be good next time to post some snapshots on social media. Other than that, not everything needs to be splashed all over the web.

Please let me know your thoughts on any of this. And with that, Merry Christmas to you all!

~Thorsten