Al Lindskoog is a social coffeeholic (but is also known to drink alone). He is a YWAM staffer in Victoria, Canada’s paradise on the West Coast. Life is an eclectic mix of connections with people on the street, post-moderns and even a few conservatives. He has become a reader again in recent years with too many books and blogs to keep up with. He also blogs sporadically at www.al-muses.blogspot.com. He is challenged and exhilarated by trying to be a bridge between some of the disparate cultures of our times. His heart is to be the church, not just attend one.
Alien Drums is, of course, a pseudonym. He writes anonymously because he works for a protestant denominational body and simply cannot write his own thoughts openly. This grieves him deeply, but he values his ministry and believes this veil of anonymity is necessary. He is in the midst of organized religion, but thinks beyond that traditional box. The pseudonym was derived from the round “drums” on communications towers. This moniker reminds him there is “something out there” — a spiritual world to be discovered. So he seeks to listen to those Alien Drums, to seek to hear the sounds from beyond, however imperfectly that may occur. He blogs at Alien Drums.
Cindy Bryan lives in the country in Central Alabama with her husband, daughter (whom she homeschools), dog, and horse. She loves to grow flowers and organic vegetables. Life is full. She no longer defines herself by her church or church activities, although she still worships with a mainline protestest congregation. She hopes to one day find some solution to her dissatisfaction with the traditional church organization, but until then, she has adopted a quiet form of waiting which focuses on the people, but not the process, of church.
Cory Sanders is a married father of two who spent 5 years in full time ministry. During that time he has worked in almost every facet of ministry and developed an overall disdain for church politics (internal warfare) and antics. For the last three years Cory has been leading a house church in the Chicago suburbs called The Fringe Network consisting of a handful of families that chose to embark on a new phase of the churches’ never ending journey of merging holiness and relevance, ministry and authenticity. On the side, he works a full-time job, plays guitar, spends time with his family, and fantasizes about a time when the Detroit Lions will win a game. Cory blogs at Reactions.
Erik Guzman is The Merry Monk of Love…a whiskey mystic, a silly son of God, a sword saint and a divine DJ. Visit TheMerryMonk.com for some messy monkery. Erik is also Executive Producer at Key Life Network. He can be heard on the nationally syndicated talk show Steve Brown Etc. and as announcer for Key Life. He has a wife, three children, a BA in Mass Communication and an MBA. He’s also a drummer, 3rd degree black belt in Aikido, and Master of Theology student at Reformed Theological Seminary.
Erin Word lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband and two sons. Some of her favorite things are coffee, conversations, and tattoos. Erin has found wholeness in the wide open spaces outside of religion. She believes everyone has a valuable voice (providing it is kind) and an interesting story (as long as it is honest), so don’t be shy, talk to her. Her writing can be found at Mapless.
Gary Means lives 30 miles south of Seattle with his wonderful wife, Jan. They have two sons, one in Chicago, and one at WWU. Gary, now 55, has been part of the institutional church for 31 years. Currently he’s asking, “What does it mean to practice Kingdom hospitality in the suburbs? Is it possible to create a network of small refuges (not church plants or house churches) where people can gather to explore what it means to have meaningful faith in Jesus Christ, even in the midst of doubt?” The goal would be to create safe environments where people can share the faith journey, finding unity in our questions without expecting uniformity in our answers.
EDITORS NOTE: We, the team at Communitas Collective, are very sad to report that Gary Means left this world unexpectedly on November 13, 2010. He was an inspiring contributor to CC and his presence is greatly missed. Please pray for Gary’s wife, Jan, and his two adult sons.
Glenn Hager is the originator of Communitas Collective and The Collective Podcast. He is a former pastor of twenty years and enjoys encouraging people, community service, networking, blogging, reading, playing guitar, bicycling, travel, a good movie, and a good laugh. He lives in suburban Chicago and is married with two grown children and three grandchildren. He says that he is beginning to learn how to surf the waves of transition. Glenn blogs at Breathe.
Helen Mildenhall is like and unlike the rest of the team. She shares their interest in community and has similar past church experiences to many of them. However she is not currently living a faith-based life and that makes her an outsider. She’s trusting Glenn that it’s helpful to have an outsider voice here. Helen lives in Illinois with her husband and two teenage children and is webmaster for Off The Map. She enjoys music, photography and people (most of the time). You can find her personal blog at Love is the most excellent way. Helen is also our web developer.
Jeff McQuilkin is a minister-in-transition, a one-time career minister who, in his hunger for a more relevant expression of faith, moved further and further from traditional circles until he found himself an outcast from institutional Christianity nearly by accident. He recently moved with his wife Shelby and son Josh to Denver, Colorado, after leading a house church in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma for almost 10 years. Jeff is a passionate musician and songwriter, and a compulsive blogger. You can catch up with Jeff at Losing My Religion.
John Smulo is the owner of Purple Cow Websites. He was a pastor for 10 years in Australia and California, where he also was on faculty at a theological colleges teaching apologetics, ethics, and evangelism. Over time, John developed a deep struggle with the way church and western Christianity was expressed. Feeling he was more a part of the problem than solution, John no longer participates as a pastor nor as a congregant in a local church. John blogs at Smulo Space, and runs Christians Confess and Missional Apologetics. He is married to the love of his life, and he lives in California with their five children.
Joy Schroeder is a recovering conservative evangelical finding new hope through an unexpected faith community–Emerging Desert. She resides in Mesa, AZ with her husband Jim and their 4 daughters. Her blog is Give and Take.
Kathy Escobar co-pastors The Refuge, an eclectic faith community in North Denver, deeply committed to those on the margins of life & faith. She has five kids, loves chaos, and sees beauty in the ugliest of places. She blogs at The Carnival In My Head. Kathy has co-authored two books, Come With Me andRefresh: Sharing Stories. Building Faith.
Kevin Shinn is the president of 55 Degrees, Inc, a company that is dedicated to helping people find a place of employment in which they can thrive, and is also chef and owner of bread & cup, a restaurant in Lincoln, NE that specializes in simple food and drink that is locally sourced and intentionally prepared. He spent 18 years in collegiate ministry before leaving it to start his business idea that had been germinating for 10 years. He is married to Karen (19 yrs) and has two teenage children. Follow his other writings at Bread & Cup.
Kirsten Strand has been married to Scott for 15 years. They have two sons, Erik (11) and Brian (9). They relocated two years ago from Naperville to East Aurora in order to be indigenous servants in the under-resourced community God has called them to. Kirsten is the founder and director of Community 4:12, a community development non-profit associated with Community Christian Church whose purpose is “Uniting People to Restore Communities.” Kirsten enjoys running, biking, being outside on warm, sunny days (still a Florida girl at heart), and evenings at home with her family. You can find her blog at Community 4:12.
Michelle Kirkland lives in South Georgia with her husband and three young children. She has spent most of her life in evangelical churches and has spent the last two and a half years deconstructing. She has experienced and recovered from a loss of identity that comes from walking away from a lifetime of beliefs and is living proof that there is life outside of the doctrine. Michelle blogs under the pseudonym One Voice of Many at Diary of a Doubting Believer.
Pam Hogeweide lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and two teenaged children. She is a freelance writer who specializes in writing on issues of faith and progressive Christian spirituality. She has been published in numerous print and online publications and is currently working on her first book project. Pam blogs at How God Messed Up My Religion; she also is a contributor for Off the Map and Shapevine, two faith organizations that help fuel forward-thinking Christ followers. Pam is also a religion correspondent for The Examiner, a journal that utilizes citizen journalists as insider sources for over 100 cities nationwide.
Sue Stevenson lives in Melbourne, Australia. She has held to some form of Christian belief for the past 18 years. Entirely convinced that the religion of Christianity should die, and not so convinced that Jesus is quite who we’ve made him out to be, she nevertheless is pretty spun out by the fact that he remains as compelling to her as he has always been. She enjoys reading, writing, creativity and nature and blogs sporadically at http://discombobula.blogspot.com
Toni Cranmer lives in Ontario, Canada with her husband, daughter, cat and dog. She thinks it may be beneficial for the church to lose the bible and reconnect with how God spoke to man, before the written word; God can be found whispering in the wind, in the changing of the seasons and in the hug of a child.
I love people who feel like outsiders because I believe they are the key to moving forward. Outsiders are often just visionaries under pressure who are on their way to becoming entrepreneurs. So, I encourage them, invite them into community and conversation, get them in touch with insightful people and one another, and walk beside them as they move from complaining to dreaming to changing the world. That takes the form of podcasting, writing, networking, and consulting. The rest of time, I like to ride my bike along the shores of Lake Michigan, wail on my guitar, get together with the kids and grandkids, go to outdoor festivals, travel, eat, and read. 
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