ambivalent/bruderhof

Cliff and Mark had a good post-and-comment about the Bruderhof's decision to go new-media- incommunicado today (i too will greatly miss the Daily Dig). Then later tonight, I got to hear Mark talk about it with great thoughtfulness on his part....

Here's my two cents, now that I've reflected a bit:

I wonder -- by withdrawing from public discourse via the Net, will the Bruderhof eventually go further, embracing the way of the Pennsylvania Dutch, where you'll hear the Amish say, "[we] want nothing more than to simply be left alone"? Or is this really only a political statement of resistance against impersonal forms of communication?

As folks today come alongside and [probably rightly] applaud and/or sympathize with today's action, I remain a little decentered by the broader implications of moving away from "being in conversation with the Other".

Media (books, internet/blog/podcasting/vlogging, magazines, cinema, radio, semaphore, Morse code, telegraph, smoke signal) allow conversation to happen without requiring the other to come to one's home turf. It allows dialogue when pilgrimage is not possible.

Mediated life, if we're to continue meaningful conversation among those with whom we've begun conversing, may be as much of a concession as the Amish using refrigerated 18-wheelers to take their milk to market.

But we're talking about a two way street here.

What is the correct thing to do [now] with the robust resourcing this group has offered others outside their walls (a quick Google for bruderhof reveals these bruder-sub-sites which all went black today as well: Bruderhof  Peacemakers Guide - Fighting For Peace; the Bruderhof Grief Companion [a place to share your loss and find material that other grieving people have found helpful]; the Bruderhof Saving Childhood Forum, Bruderhof Forgiveness Guide - Learning to Forgive; Bruderhof Generation Connection .... opportunities for inter-generational interaction, Bruderhof Peace Barn... and more).

I am not here to judge the Bruderhof leadership. i stand impressed with and influenced by the sites they published for a season. But shall we not ask these questions of our conversation partners as they pull back from conversation -- or at least from conversation on facile terms? What is to be said about proclamation, about joyful tidings, about lights avoiding bushels?

I hope we can host a couple from Bruderhof in our community one day soon, for i long to communicate more, and a barrier to communication has just been erected.

Comments

[Mark Menjivar]

Paul,
Thanks for the comments. I agree with you that the amount of resources that are no longer posted is a sad thing to lose, but I do not feel that an unmanagable barrier to communication has been put up. This morning when I recieved the email I couldn't believe it. I went to the Bruderhof website and still couldn't believe. I was hoping that some crazed conservative hacked into their system. So I googled them. Same. I counted my losses and moved on with my day. Later I got to thinking, this is really a bold move. I wonder why? So I called. My call was answered on the first try and I was able to talk to a person for 25 minutes! No appointment! In that conversation I was able to learn so much about Sam and his family (wife Sara, kids Asha:4.5, Adam:3, Luke:1), about Bruderhof, about why they have stopped doing internet and what they hope for. We even discussed someone from their community coming to stay with us for a few weeks. I am so glad that I had the urge(grace) to call and learn. I truly believe that some kind of web presence will come back, but they have done a great job of accomplishing what I believe they wanted. We had a great conversation over dinner tonight. The blogs are going crazy I am sure. Sam told me that by noon today they had recieved 20-30 phone calls and over 2000 emails. Discussion is happening and with it I pray that deepened relationships come.
I do think that there is a balance between the internet and face to face community. Where that balance lies leaves me puzzled at this point.
Thanks Paul. I hope that you don't pull your blog because I love the balance that it creates between sharing meals and managing busy work days.

[virusdoc]

This is really depressing. I've been getting the Digs for years and even corresponded with one of the Bruderhofians for several weeks after a particularly troublesome Dig topic. I remember being very saddened a few years back when I learned they were closing their Plough publishing house. One of their books--Cries from the Heart by Johann Arnold--was very moving for me. I hope they have good reasons for pulling out of such a fruitful ministry, but frankly it seems to be a selfish move. Sure, I could be a better spiritual mentor to my family if I never interacted with the outside world. But what's the point of the gospel, if it is not salvation of all humankind?

[timsamoff]

> But shall we not ask these
> questions of our conversation
> partners as they pull back
> from conversation

I have a brain-full of thoughts I could spew about this right now, but I'll try to keep it simple. I think the Bruderhof leadership is doing this of us by removing their internet-based communication... What I mean is, they have taken part in a communication that has seen little response (i.e., we take and consume the Daily Digs and other Bruderhof-oriented information, but rarely stand up and fight for the things that the Bruderhof stand for). Therefore, by removing these things from the conversation, they are asking, "where were _you_ when _we_ were talking?" So, it's kind of funny that we are the ones who are acting hurt when they are the ones who were never heard.

Now, in saying these things, I will admit that I will sorely miss my Daily Digs -- I even wrote my own Blog lament on the subject. But, in turn, I sort of understand where the Bruderhof is coming from.

What we need now is someone who can step up and take over where they left off -- that kind of newsletter technology isn't hard to come by (although sending out daily newsletters is a more difficult task than I'd want to take hold of). I've been talking to the guy at http://www.bringbackbruderhof.com/ and I think he has some plans.