Off The Map (OTM) is a non-profit organization founded in 2000 by Jim Henderson and Dave Richards.
We present stories, ideas and related practices through live events, our websites, published multimedia and our monthly e-zine called Idealab.
Otherlyness… the spirituality of serving
Many of us find ourselves defending a religion we don’t identify with. We feel trapped in a historical convergence. The only thing we know for sure is that we believe in Jesus, his story and we want others to experience him as well. We feel no need to defend the “historic claims of Christianity” but we do feel passionate about trying to live a life that attempts to imitate the values and practices of the founder of our movement. We want his story to be told through us.
The desire to tell this story in public has led us to plant a new spiritual movement called Otherlyness the spirituality of serving. This work resonates with us on the deepest level. It energizes us and pulls us into a future that will make the way of Jesus publically known. Through Otherlyness we will contribute to seeing the world healed in the way of Jesus.
We’ve Reinvented Evangelism
We seek to make evangelism (helping people to connect with God) doable, practical and fun for ordinary Christians what we call reinventing evangelism. We encourage people to notice and serve others in non-dramatic, ordinary ways. We want Christians to become known for a way of living that is generous and intentionally otherly at its core.
We Explore
We explore new ways of thinking about and practicing what it means to follow in the way of Jesus. We share these ideas publicly using the Internet with writings, stories, video/audio and live events.
We also interview idea explorers, thought leaders in the church and outside of it … leaders who are passionate and have developed practical approaches.
We ask these explorers to talk with Christians about how we can improve our approach toward our mission of connecting people with God. How can we be more real, better listeners and generally less weird?
We ask the people we are trying to influence (the people formerly known as lost) to coach us on how to be authentic, without pretense yet still on a mission to see them reconnect with Jesus. We explore the tension between being intentional without being manipulative.
We connect with Spiritual Explorers (people who are trying to make sense out of life and suspect God might somehow be involved)
We Explain
We create mental maps which help people connect the dots between new and old ideas and enable us to navigate the unfamiliar and live to tell about it. These spiritual practices provide helpful directions on the journey to connect with the people Jesus misses most.
We Edutain (educate and entertain)
We seek to move people’s hearts — not just fill their minds. We produce live events that are unusual in their interactivity and creative expression.
We package hard issues in surprisingly approachable ways. We care too much to simply provoke people to get mad. We assume that in their hearts people are well-intentioned and have simply forgotten why they do things the way they do. We use humor, research from real people, and connections to the story of God/Jesus to nudge people back to a better reality.
We Listen
We care about what you have to say. If you’ve been to church lately, post a rating on ChurchRater and tell us about it. Visit our blogs and join in the respectful dialog. Your participation at our events and on our sites is welcome whether you’re atheist, Christian, or something in-between.
