Radical Inclusion

I have never been to Burning Man... but it is sort of on my bucket list.  There is something about the event that calls to me.  I'm not sure that I'd enjoy a full week of desert, dust, and weirdness, but I would guess that in order to really experience it, you need to experience the entire event.  And that has kept me from going. 

If you don't know about Burning Man, it is a crazy bohemian hippie gathering in the middle of the desert that takes place in late August to early September.  There are lots of interesting and bizarre people, art, music, and a unique ethic based on 10 principles - 
1. radical inclusion
2. gifting
3. decomodification
4. radical self reliance
5. radical self expression
6. communal effort 
7. civic responsibility 
8. leaving no trace
9. participation
10. immediacy

As you can imagine that makes for a very interesting social experiment.  And from what I understand, it has worked for the most part... until this year.  Last year was a very good year with great weather and good press.  It also sold out.  This year the tickets went on sale and the immediate requests were 4 times the capacity of the event.  Radical inclusion bit the dust.  As the organizers said, "Radical inclusion does not mean we can all fit in the same place at the same time."  Still, if there is one thing radical inclusion cannot mean it is, "sorry, you can't come." 

All of this has me thinking about church... if there is a principle we should be embodying it is radical inclusion yet, we rarely do.

for a wonderful taste of Burning Man, here is part of the problem, a great video that went viral this year.