RESOURCES by SPENCER BURKE
For the past 10+ years, Spencer Burke has been at the forefront of the emerging Church movement, including creating and maintaining TheOOZE.com – one of the earliest expressions of this transition in the Church. TheOOZE.com has become one of the largest relational networks where people of all Christian traditions interact in a web-based community (numbering over 150,000 users a month from over 90 different countries).
Spencer also hosts an offline gathering – a learning party called Soularize – which offers participants a safe place to experience and explore the emerging trends in theology, Church, the arts and faith.
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Speaking and Consulting
Spencer continually integrates his passion for the Church, arts, culture and technology, sparking new thought and conversation in his audiences and clients. Whether speaking to 10,000 or dialoguing with 10, he encourages people to view their business, ministry and relationships in new ways, leaving them ablaze with the possibilities. Humorous, inspirational and surprising are words people use to describe his story-telling speaking style. Groups respond to Spencer’s pastoral heart and futurist thinking. In these times of hope and challenge, he brings a voice tempered by a wide background of learning and experience, and integrates the latest trends and technology.
Spencer is available as a consultant, host, and keynote speaker for…
- > Conferences
- > Leadership Events
- > Denominational Meetings
- > Weekend Church Services
Books by Spencer & theooze community
A Heretic’s Guide to Eternity – BUY NOW
Distinguishing between religion and spirituality, Burke offers what he calls a new way of looking at God, one centered on the idea of grace. He emphasizes a God who is looking to save the world, not a God who seems more intent on condemning certain practices. Quoting from both the Bible and contemporary rock lyrics, Burke argues that traditional religion is coming to an end-that people are looking for transformative religious experiences, not dictates to be followed. He further insists that there needs to be a change in how religion is presented to the masses. For Burke, God is to be questioned, not simply obeyed. His challenging thesis will appeal to many people today who have given up on organized religion but still seek some connection to spirituality.
Out of the Ooze: Unlikely Love Letters to the Church from Beyond the Pew – BUY NOW
We need more than statistics. In a day when millions of people are walking out of church and more churches are closing their doors than opening them, we need to discover what is really happening. Spencer Burke, creator of TheOOZE.com, brings you face-to-face with pastors and elders, committed attendees, back-pew sitters, and people who have walked out of the church looking for something more. Their unlikely love letters give you an opportunity to hear firsthand from the whole body of Christ. Out of the Ooze marks the beginning of an annual series publishing the best of each year’s articles exploring the themes of faith, social justice, art, and ministry.
Making Sense of Church: Eavesdropping on Emerging Conversations
About God, Community, and Culture – BUY NOW
Our culture is rapidly changing and people are searching for new models and paradigms to find meaning in their lives. As in all transitional periods, this search takes place in grass-roots conversations where the ‘new’ is taking form. No other place so uniquely captures this struggle more than the message boards at TheOOZE.com, the premier melting pot of emerging spiritual conversation. Making Sense of Church is a snapshot of this ‘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 writing for each chapter and acts as a “guide” to the accompanying e-mail postings that supplement the chapters.
Stories of Emergence: Moving from Absolute to Authentic – BUY NOW
(contribution by Spencer Burke)
Imagine coming to a crossroads where you’re no longer sure who you are, why you do what you do, why you believe the way you do. You’re not even sure you care. Where do you go? Follow the stories of people who were steeped in their beliefs–a former fundamentalist, a former Pentecostal, a former liberal, a former feminist, a former communist, and several other “formers”–and walk with them on their journeys out of those beliefs. See what twists and turns arise before them, and find out what they learned (about faith, themselves, their beliefs, the world) as they emerged on the other side. This diverse group of Christian leaders discloses and shares in vulnerable, uncommon ways, allowing you full access into their doubts, fears, convictions, and unanswered questions. Each takes you on a path from absolute to authentic: from a place of false conviction and thin resolution, through struggles and growing pains, to a new place that’s much more about process than about having “arrived.” When it comes to journeys of faith, we often don’t know what lies at the end of the road. It’s difficult to take the first step when we are so unsure of the destination. As you read these stories, you’ll find there is room to challenge your fears as well as your faith.
