Hey buddy, first off I gotta apologize for misinterpreting some of your comments from earlier. Epic fail on my end.

Anyways, I’m curious as to what you’re advocating here, are you saying that our online networking isn’t inherently worth what we put into it, or simply that online =/= real interaction? I’d have to agree on the latter, but I think we can all agree that these blogs have meant a lot to us, and will probably mean a lot to those that come after us.

From what I see, missional should be the end goal for all of us, but I’m not quite ready to forsake this medium I’ve held so dearly and gotten so much out of. The question is, how do we help push those flesh and blood relationships back to the forefront?

Do we encourage everyone to join a cohort? Or do we organize some kick ass missional stuff, like working with food not bombs, instead?

You’ve still got a lot of people that look up to you, that respect you, and that want to know your thoughts on this stuff. Let’s hear ‘em.

It’s interesting you know, we you stop and think about it. This emergent conversation has grown up and exploded right alongside social media…almost in stride with it. I think a lot us have failed to realized how much the two are intertwined and how much the latter effects the former.

I for one, know that I don’t “do” enough. And I’ll be the first to admit it. But I sure like to talk about it. My normal excuse has been that I’m really not in a good “setting” to do what I’d like to do. Which is bullshit.

I don’t know, sometimes I wonder if social media has diluted this “conversation” to the point of it being impotent. There’s just so much noise…and sewage to wade through sometimes.

I don’t really know where I’m going with this, I just think it is important for those of us who are still talking to reflect on how the one has effected, and in some sense, determined the quality and content of the other.

Hey, Josh, I’m really having trouble understanding your thoughts in this and the previous posts. Not to mention your comments on other blogs in this meme of ‘death/disappointment’. Hope you can help me out, as I’m sure you’re making sense, but I’m just not following it after several readings and much thinking about it.

I’m a big fan of the podcast, and have been since the very first episode. You guys have done a tremendous job, and attracted an unbelievably huge following (seriously, my hat is off to you two). But herein lies my confusion.

Your podcast was built on the emerging/emergence movement/conversation/whatever. You guys provided a major inroad for hundreds of thousands of people to hear about those ideas. Yes, ideas only occasionally lead to action, but what can you do to prevent that? Ideas also lead to action, at least in your case– I could be wrong, but in your suggestions and example toward holistic living, I think I hear some Sharp, some Bronsink, some TSK, some Scandrette, etc. etc.. So is it fair to defame the whole emerging movement/convo/whatev, and everyone in it, now that you have– as you describe it– ‘moved on’? Haven’t ideas lead to action?

Your podcast was also built on publishing. Your guests are mostly authors, and many folks listen to your podcast because they want to hear from people with some platform and notoriety. You and Nick courted authors, got free books from publishers, and generally leveraged that little corner of the world to get the message out. Indeed, you were so good at this that you’ve got a pretty powerful platform yourself: I’m reading your blog rant against blogging because– like many, many other people– I’ve connected with you online. So where is the sense of consistency, and honesty about how you’ve gotten where you are? Or are you effectively saying that podcasting and blogging were a big mistake that you’re repenting of now?

More generally, I’m confused by the apparent sense of inhospitality I’m hearing from you. You’re leading by example at literal hospitality in your home, etc., but you seem to be slamming the metaphorical door in the face of newcomers to this conversation. You and I were welcomed into EV– through conversations, books, gatherings, and chances to hang out. People who had been around longer than us got to know us, and encouraged us and helped us. So to now say, ’screw the newbies’ seems to really miss the point.

Like I said, I’m sure none of these thoughts/questions are new to you… they’re just the pieces that aren’t making sense for me as I follow your thinking here. So could you help me to understand you a bit better?

mike. super fair question. let me think on it for a day or two and give you an appropriate response. but fair enough questions and fair enough critique. i don’t know that i disagree with your fearless feedback. and i’ll work on answers to your questions.

solid thoughts. I’m glad I’m totally out of the loop on this stuff and just doing what I’m doing.
Thanks for lending some insight to what’s happening.

I only miss certain people’s voice on the net only in the fact it pushed me and helped me know I was not totally alone. Again, living in a small town is very difficult to do a lot of things. The biggest thing is that where I live they have the “lay down, get comfy and wait to die” mentality. In other words, I live in a very depressed and couldn’t be happier to be depressed area. I don’t make it up. The majority where I live is about how can they feed off the government and other “gimme programs”. SO….sometimes having voices out there that are encouraging helps me to not feel totally defeated.

And in saying that I don’t mean I want to suck every bit of energy someone has. Or ride on someone’s coat tails to feel I’ve accomplished something. Just wanted to make that clear.

On the other side, I’ve slowly started cutting off certain social media out of the fact it was becoming a surface way to connect with me. As I said in my blog, take a lil’ more effort to care about me.