About
What is Resonate?
A network of people seeking out Jesus Christ in a world and country that is transitioning from the modern to the postmodern era. It is a group of people who are looking at new ways of living out the faith in holistic ways.
Resonate is Christian
Resonate draws people of all walks together around the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are beginners ourselves – imperfect but growing people who are learning to live life with God in the way of Jesus. We represent a generous orthodoxy, rooted in the Scriptures and consistent with the ancient creeds of the church.
Resonate is Canadian
Despite living north of the world’s most powerful nation, Canada has not become America "lite". In pollster Michael Adams book, Fire and Ice, he describes a country with very values, that come from a very different history and predicts a divergent future from the values that define the United States. While we appreciate and respect the discussion that is happening regarding the gospel and culture in the United States, we believe our context is quite different and it runs much deeper than how we say the letter “Z”. Those deeper differences shape our Canadian worldview, history and values. Those in turn shape the way we see Jesus, the church, and our faith.
Resonate is a friendship
Resonate is a network of warm and encouraging relationships. It isn’t an organization. Technologist Howard Rheinhold coined the term "smart mob". It is a group of people who are self organizing via the use of connected technology. Resonate is exactly that. A group of friends using connected technology to span the vast distances between us. While it appears chaotic at times, it also reflects the friendships and relationships that we have in our lives.
We prefer to use peer operated technology, the kind of tools that keep control to an absolute minimum. Resonate itself isn’t nearly as important as the relationships that are formed and the people who participate in it.
Like all friendships, we try to help when we can. We have some resources on the site and have created a collaborative spaces for image and worship media sharing via the online photo sharing community Flickr. We hope that you not only find them useful but you contribute to the collaborative spaces as well.
Resonate is Regional
While Canadian population is largely urban, our country has a lot of rural geography to fill in the gaps. With only 30 million people spread over the world’s second largest country, it isn’t the easiest or cheapest country to traverse.
To facilitate the face to face meetings and gatherings of Resonate, we have organized around some urban centres where we have contact people that people can connect with. The contact people are just facilitators and fellow sojourners on the same journey that you are on. While we may all be a different points, we recognize the value of traveling together and meeting together.
Along with those gatherings, we also partner with others to host the Cultivate Gathering.
Why the regional connection points? Resonate is for people on the edge of culture. Not just the ones that can afford to grab a flight and fly to a conference. We also are kind of chatty and we like to get together over pizza, coffee or whatever and talk. Whether it be in a restaurant or in a living room, we enjoy relational connections.
The plan is a quarterly get together in these cities. The gatherings are not designed to accommodate an agenda but rather be a gathering of friends. An opportunity to give people a chance to talk together, learn from each other and a safe place to ask questions, even if there are no easy answers. Church tradition and our own experiences have taught us that the road to God alone is rarely traveled successfully by yourself.
Resonate is a national conversation
If you are reading this, you are online. So are we. Resonate is using the power of the web to connect with each other across the country via e-mail, instant messenger, virtual meeting spaces, voice over IP, webcams, and through weblogs. Technology is making it very easy for us to talk, share, learn, and have a good time with each other online.
While we use all of the communication methods listed above. We have a couple that we are fond of.
Resonate Canada E-mail Discussion List
Hosted by Yahoo! Groups (no point in reinventing the wheel), you will find people talking about theology, spirituality, the contemplative traditions, the arts, what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ and maybe even how the Saskatchewan Roughriders are doing. The conversation is just moderated enough to keep out spammers but more than open enough to allow people to talk openly and honestly about tough questions.
Resonate is made up people from very divergent backgrounds, Christian traditions, and places in their spiritual journey’s. What you take for granted may not be shared by all. While we value spirited discussion, we also value listening, learning, and respecting others.