Welcome back, Pilgrim. Here’s what’s happened in town since you’ve been away…
Welcome back to the Reformer Newsletter, where we can take a dive into various projects and activities from around web3 and across the Christian community. You have joined this network to contribute to our collective mission of building for Christ’s Kingdom, and we will use this newsletter as a platform to enable that.
Well we just passed another annual anniversary of a truly destabilizing moment in Christendom with yesterday’s Reformation Day. Looking back, it is easy for us to get caught up in the inevitability and historical impacts of this event and forget the chaos it caused. The Reformation changed the spiritual, political, and day-to-day lives of an entire continent, and resulted in many deaths and deep divides across the Church. However, it also unleashed an explosive force of creativity and grace that filled the newborn Protestant Church with life, resulted in reforms in Catholic circles, altered how European kings related to their subjects and the religious leaders in their domains, and much more. Technology played a massive role in the catalyzing and spread of the Reformation movement, with the printing press allowing the ideas of the Reformers to outrun their own physical presence as well as the attempts of the establishment to crush them.
What if we stand at the brink of a similar moment, for the Church and the World? What if new forms of technology might actually be providing us opportunities to reexamine our prior assumptions, revitalize failing institutions, even pioneer new ways to spread the Word and serve the Church? You already know that this is a core belief of Reformers as a project, and our community seeks to provide space for believers to do exactly this in collaboration with one another. Today we’ll take a quick trip through a few corners of the Reformation as it might apply to us today. How might our imaginations be stirred to carry the torch forward? Semper reformanda, WAGMI, etc.
Around Web3
Technology, Reformation, and Social Freedoms: Here’s a secular historical and economic look at the way new information was spread during the Reformation with a few gems to be mined. Look for the vital connection with information freedoms…how might we best use the freedoms we have to serve the Church?
The Reformation Will Not Be Centralized: Pr0ph3t wrote this week on the Reformation and the possibilities for individuals to make a difference in today’s splintered society. It’s not all going to be easy, but there is going to be major opportunity.
How Musicians Will Get Their Revenge: Look we know it’s a different selection of links this week. But bear with us, read Ted Gioia’s fantastic analysis, then substitute “digital artist” or “small publisher” or “decentralized organization” every time he says “musician.” See it yet?
The Only Crypto Story You Need: You want crypto? Well, you’ve got it. A truly mammoth breakdown that took up an entire issue of finance magazine Bloomberg. The only other time they’ve done that in the publication’s history was their What is Code issue in 2015. It’s been a long time since we’ve said this, but…probably nothing.
Martin Luther and Technological Disruption: Yes, we know the link is from the World Economic Forum. Please keep the conspiracy talk to a dull roar. The reality is, we need to understand that us Regenerates aren’t the only ones thinking about the possibilities of all this technology. Whatever your opinions on governments and their interaction with the Church and web3 tech, it’s worth spending a little time chewing over this one.
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The Call
The Reformers is a community of Christ followers who want to continuously explore new tools which can extend the reach of His Kingdom. If you want to lean in and support that mission, check out a Reformers NFT, become a patron of the community, get news and updates to start building with us, and help us run this race with endurance.