ReImagine

Founded in the year 2000, ReIMAGINE is a 501(c)(3) publically supported non-profit organization governed by a Board of Directors.

FOUNDERS

Dr. Linda Bergquist, is a Bay Area Church Planting Strategist with the North American Mission Board, and an adjunct professor at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary.

Dieter Zander, started New Song Church in West Covina, CA,  founded Axis at
Willow Creek Church in South Barrington, IL and is currently pastor of Arts and Spiritual Formation at Bay Marin Community Church in San
Rafael, California. He is the coauthor of the book, Inside the Soul of A New Generation.

Rod Washington, former pastor of BayMarin Community Church, is currently studying for a Ph.D. in Social Entrepreneurship at Columbia University, New York.

Ken McCord, is a pastor, entrepreneur and business consultant in San Francisco.

Dave Lantow, is a pastor and business entrepreneur in San Francisco.

Mark Scandrette, is an author and speaker, studied theology at Bethel Seminary in St. Paul and is the
former director and pastor of Lakeside Baptist Church and Ethinic Ministry Center in East
Oakland.

CURRENT BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

Keoke King, is the director of the Metro Team, a Bay Area division of Campus Crusade for Christ.

Tim Locke is an Administrator for Innerchange, and part of the leadership for
Church of the Sojourners in San Francisco, an urban monastic community.

Caroline Pappajohn is Enterprise Director of New Door Ventures  - a nonprofit faith-based organization that helps at-risk youth in San Francisco prepare for work and life.  Prior to joining New Door in 2002, Caroline spent 10 years in high-tech startups, and  began her career in the public sector as the legislative assistant to Senator Arlen Specter. She received her B.A. and MBA from Stanford University. Caroline is  Orthodox Christian and an active member of the Annunciation Cathedral Greek Orthodox Church in San Francisco, where she helps with the annual Greek Food Festival, teaches Sunday school, and is a strong advocate and volunteer for Community Link, a ministry that seeks to bring community, love and support to shut-ins and others who are experiencing isolation or loneliness.

Why do you talk so funny?--using so many strange phrases like "the greater wholeness," "integration" and "the way."

We think language is really important and shapes the way we see God, the world and ourselves. We are challenged to talk about faith in terms that are understood in the culture where we live and relate faith to the questions people are asking. This is not an easy task since we also try to stay connected to people and communities of faith in places that are more conventional than the progressive edges of the Bay Area. We like to use language in a poetic way that sparks imagination and opens futher conversations. Sometimes this means that we are misunderstood-- but we think its worth the risk.

Are you Christians?

It depends on what you mean by Christian. The word "Christian" can mean so many things in our world: a national identity, political or institutional allegiance, belief in certain doctrines, etc. In the first century A.D. the word "Christian" was used to described someone who lived by the power and example of Jesus. In that sense of the word we are definately seeking to be Christians.

Is reimagine a church?

Well, yes and no. We are a community of people deeply committed to being formed by the message and power of Jesus. We meet together regularly to eat, pray and take common action. We like to think of our gatherings as a laboratory where we experiment with how to seek the kingdom of God and the way of Jesus in our daily lives. We don't have a conventional "worship service" but we do invite people to meals and conversations. With everything we do we try to be participatory and collaborative.

Why in San Francisco?

San Francisco functions as the psychis center of the Bay Area and an epicenter for creativity and innovation brithing new ideas and new ways of living.  The intensity of this context forces us to embrace an aggressive path toward the future -- living the way of Jesus in a increasingly diverse, plurastic and globally connected environment. 

Who was Jesus?

People have been asking this question for a very long time. Even among his disciples there was a lot of confusion and curiosity about his identity. Once John recorded Jesus as saying, "My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me. If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own." (John 7:17) We come to know who Jesus is by having an honest encounter with his message and by wrestling with what it might mean to follow his way. Jesus inhabited an empowered way of life characterized by love, surrenduring himself to crucifixion as the ultimate demonstration of that love. Ever since that time people have tapped into the power of transformation he unleashed through his resurrection.

Can I come visit your community?

If you live in the Bay Area the best way to connect with us is through participation in one of our Learning Labs. Visit our Events sections for current and upcoming gatherings.  If you are visiting from out of town, you can contact info AT reimagine DOT org to set up a time to connect with us.

How can I get involved?

(see the Offerings and Events section(s) of our website)

How are you funded?

We are a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization supported by the generosity of friends and faith communities. We occasionally supplement these donations with workshop and retreat fees and seek grants for some of our initiatives. Our staff workers are primarily bi-vocational and often volunteer their time and expertise to ReIMAGINE.

Do you want people to become Christian?

We think that Jesus invited us to follow him because he was showing the way to fulfill the creator's deepest dreams for our lives. We want to experience "the kingdom of God" that Jesus proclaimed--greater wholeness for ourselves and our world. We believe that conversion is a life-long process of learning to trust and discover how to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God.(Micah 6:8) In our experience people believe in Jesus when they encounter the reality of the message relationally and experientially. Anyone who wants to explore and inhabit the message of Jesus is welcome to participate in our community and projects.

How is ReIMAGINE connected to Emergent Village and the Emerging Church Movement?

Through Emergent Village and our own local conversations we encounter many spiritual seekers who are desperate to find a way of faith that makes sense within the complexity of contemporary society. We believe it is important to have conversations about how to integrate our understanding of the gospel, church, culture and our humanity. In the midst of current cultural shifts many people are drawn to conversations around questions like, "What is the gospel of Jesus?", "What does it mean to be the church?" and "How do we best seek the kingdom of God in our time?" Emergent village is a relational network where people from many different faith traditions have found a safe place to process these questions. The non-parochial nature of the network makes it a neutral place for skeptics and seekers to explore faith. ReIMAGINE has been an active contributor and host for Emergent Village conversations over the years. The "Emerging Church Movement" is a catchall phrase used by commentators to describe a wide and divergent variety of new faith expressions. We believe that ReIMAGINE's unique context and perspective provides a hopeful and distinctive voice within the emerging church movement. We support the development of catalytic leaders and vibrant communities who show signs of the kingdom of God.

Does ReIMAGINE have a statement of faith?

We see ourselves as part of the continuing story of the Judeo-Christian scriptures, the ancient creeds and the historic legacy of the church of Jesus Christ. As a community we emphasize and pursue orthopraxis, a congruency of right belief and right living-- resonating with the Apostle who said, "Watch your life and doctrine closely, perservere in them." (I Timothy 4:16). We recognize that how we live is equally important as what we say we believe and aspire to have our lives be our statement of faith.

What exactly do you do?

We like to think of ourselves as an incubator or laboratory for new expressions of Christian faith and practice. We invite people to explore the message of Jesus through new information, experiential learning, and transformational relationships. We host workshops and conversations and encounter groups. We initiate community-based projects. We offer internships, mentoring and leadership development. We help catalyze new leaders and generative communities of faith. And we have alot of fun doing it all together.

If you feel like there is a question that we've overlooked that you would like addressed and would be pertinent to a wide audience please let us know.

Blessings. 

The Jesus Dojo

If we want to believe Jesus' message and become the kind of followers his early disciples were, we may have to shift our expectations of what spiritual education looks like-- leaving the metaphor of a lecture hall to enter "The Jesus Dojo." A "dojo" is a Japanese word meaning "the place where you learn the way." Jesus once declared, "I am the way, the truth and the life," implying that he is both a savior AND a teacher for life-- he provided the way to God and teaches us how to live in the way of God. We enter the dojo through new experiences and by moving from ideas to action.

We believe transformation spiritual formation happen through:

• time, space and intetionality. 
• New vision and understandings
• Rigorous self examination
• intentional group encounters
• new decisions, behaviors and patterns
• guidance and mentoring
• pain and suffering
• surrender to work of the Spirit

We have found that collaborative projects are one of the best ways to integrate the message and teachings of Jesus into our every day lives. Projects put us in a posture of taking action first and and then reflecting on our experiences in light of scripture and history. By taking action together a greater sense of community is often achieved. On a quarterly basis we initiate group projects that explore spiritual formation and missional living.

OUR CURRENT PROJECTS:

We're in the middle of planning our fall and winter projects -- check back in a couple weeks.

PAST PROJECTS:

HAVE2GIVE1: Fall of 2005. In this project a group of thirty people wrestled with the radical nature of what Jesus taught about money and material possessions. Inspired by sayings like: "Sell your possessions and give to the poor" and "if you have two coats give one of them away" we decided to take action by embarking on a project to divest of half of what we owned to give the money to address issues of global poverty. We took inventory of our possessions and made an attempt to give away or sell half of our belongings (cd's, books, clothes, bicycles, cars and other household items and collectibles). As a provocative statement we distributed "spare change" and postcards at the Union Square shopping district of San Francisco on the day after thanksgiving. (put picture of the card here).  This HAVE2GIVE1 project helped us to more deeply embrace values of the kingdom: contentment, gratitude, simplicity, abundance, frugality, generosity and trust.

BARRIO LIBRE: Fall of 2006. This was a project in advocacy inspired by the example of the life of Jesus. Jesus modeled the ancient command and practice of advocacy: “Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow." He recognized that human suffering is related to systems of power and inequity and thus advocated on behalf of the weak. He confronted the dominance of civil and religious authorities and their oppressive control over the poor and simple. And he taught his followers to live subversively under foreign occupation—paying taxes and carrying the packs of Roman soldiers, but honoring another kingdom and king. And Jesus warned adults that they would be held responsible if their choices lead children into sin. The struggle for justice ultimately led to his persecution and death. Through his example Jesus invites us to be healers through the practice of advocacy.

The summer of 2006 marked a dramatic return of violence to the Mission District and Portrero Hill neighborhoods with night time gunfire, thefts & assaults and frequent homicides. New immigrants and poor people struggle to make ends meet and often don’t have the language, skills or confidence to advocate for themselves.
We recognized that many of our neighbors needed us to speak for them so their voice could be heard.

Barrio was an experiment in neighborhood safety and advocacy emphasizing small acts of care to address conditions of blight and apathy that precipitate violence. Over the course of two months we met weekly to walk the neighbohood picking up trash, removing graffiti, meeting neighbors and praying for peace for our streets. We also developed the propaganda campaign "Barrio Libre!" (neighborhood freedom!) to encourage and empower our neighbors to have a greater sense of community pride, ownership and efficacy. This project continues on a seasonal basis with available volunteers.  (picture of posters and trash pick up)   

MURALS: On a yearly basis we create a community mural to be displayed in our neighborhood. Murals have important cultural significance in the Mission District and convey a message of beauty, hope and community pride.

THE BOON PROJECT: 2001-2004 A three year exploration into the intersection of Christian spirituality, community building, creativity and the arts. The BOON PROJECT included a series of juried gallery shows, film discussions, art happenings and a weekly open studio workshop with a wide variety of participants including at-risk youth and working artists.

We think that conversation is an important spiritual practice. The ancient Israelites were instructed to constantly "talk" about how to love God and one another: "When you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." (link) On the road to Emmaus two friends walked together, discussing the life and teachings of Jesus and struggling to make sense of it all. In their conversation they were met by a stranger and their hearts were strangely warmed. The presence of Jesus came in the midst of their dialogue. We hope conversation leads to community, solidarity and common action. Below are a list of ways you can participate in conversations with us.­

THE THEOLOGY SALON:

Where: Sugarlump Coffee (24th and Bryant)
When: October 26th, 7-9 pm
Contact: adam@reimagine.org

We are approaching the dawn of the next Presidential election and Government is taking steps it never has in the financial markets.  Join us as we use Shane Claiborne's new book, Jesus for President, as a basis for discussion on Jesus & Politics.

The salon will be held at Sugarlump Coffee Lounge in San Francisco.

RSVP to adam@reimagine.org

The Salon is a gathering of theologians and thinkers in the San Francisco Bay Area who meet in order to share and discuss their ideas and get peer feedback from one another. In the tradition of "The Inklings" (the literary group of C.S . Lewis's and J.R.R. Tolkien that met in a pub for readings and criticism of their own work). 

HOSPITALITY NIGHT: During the summer our hospitality night will involve community members facilitating an activity around one of our vows. More Details.

LEARNING LABS: We offer a variety of experiential learning workshops on various aspects of the life and message of Jesus. These workshops are based on the research, vows and experiences of our community and can be tailored to specific group settings. Our workshops are geared toward introducing new information and providing a context to practice the concepts that are introduced. We have a regular rotation of public offerings and/or you can contact us to schedule a personalized workshop for your group. info AT reimagine DOT org