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A Pastor, a Blogger and a San Franciscan Walk Into the LA Auto Show

A few weeks ago, my wife may have given the biggest eye-roll of this blogger’s life.

I had just told her that General Motors had invited me to be part of a group of bloggers and social media hacks to be part of what they are calling the “Influencers Program.” Basically, we are a gathered group of folks who, may or may not have any expertise, who are being asked to talk with car folks, see some cars and talk about what we see and hear. Never passing up a chance to get a glimpse of strange new worlds, November 27-29, I will head to the 2014 LA Auto Show to be an “Influencer.”

One can see why my wife’s eyes rolled

Over our three days at the show we will have the chance to see behind the scenes of the show, get up close and personal with the cars and hear from GM executives as well as designers, engineers and marketers for Chevrolet, Buick and Cadillac.

As far as the cars that GM will be showing us:

Chevrolet. The 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV Production version will make its global debut at this show, with an industry-leading tech announcement on MyLink. Additionally, making its first auto show debut from SEMA will be the Chevrolet Hot Wheels Camaro production version. The Chevrolet Code 130R and TRU140S concept cars will make their way to LA for the first time. Also on display will be the 2014 Chevrolet Impala, Malibu, Spark and Traverse production models.
Buick will showcase the updated 2014 Enclave and the all-new Encore. GMC will feature the updated 2014 GMC Acadia and the new GMC Terrain Denali.
Cadillac will showcase the production version of the 2013 ATS featuring CUE, Cadillac’s in-vehicle experience that merges intuitive design and auto industry-first connected technology.

I am not sure how much I will blog while I am there, but I will definitely be instagramming and tweeting. If you are interested in all that is going on at the show, here are the links and hashtags to track.

Follow me on Instagram: @breyeschow
Follow me on Twitter: @breyeschow

Some Hashtag: #LAASGM, #SparkEV, #LAAutoShow, #GMCTradeSecrets
Some twitter accounts to follow:@Cadillac, @Chevrolet, @Buick, @ThisisGMC
A few other influencers: @mommymentor AKA Amy Barseghian and @BeccasCrazyBoys AKA Becca Ludlum.

I am most excited to meet some other folks who are engaged in this kind of work, hear about such things as the 2014 Chevy Spark EV which will make it’s debut and learn about an industry that, quite honestly I have very little knowledge about. I will also see how/if there are any natural intersections between what I experience and questions of culture and faith. And yes, there is a chance that I will get to drive something cool.

Please stop rolling your eyes

So . . . if you want to be there with me, want me to try and get a picture of something or have a question for someone, feel free to get at me via twitter and I’ll do the best I can.

*Other than travel, room and board, I am not receiving any compensation for this trip. There is also no expectation of positive reviews or endorsements.

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I am a heretic and I talk to my cat, Gustavo — It’s on the internet, so it must be true

Usually, I do not respond to folks who engage name-calling. When folks attach words like “apostate,” “heresy” or “theological celebrity” to me, especially when left by people named “guest” or “anonymous,” my guess is that they are NOT interested in having meaningful conversations. Also, I know that there is no way I can respond with, “I know you are, but what am I” with any modicum of graciousness.

Yesterday, though, I received an alert from Wikipedia that someone had just made some edits to the article about me. The word ”Heretical” caught my attention.

It was corrected pretty quickly by a friend on mine who I will now refer to as Wiksignor Landon Whitsitt. But oh yeah, I screenshot it before it could be corrected.

The first change was in the description of what KIND of minister I am:

And the second was describing the kind of heretical work I am involved in and why.

And then this morning, yet another change was made. This one is one more absurd than the first two; while I may talk to my dog, I am allergic to cats

Now I have no idea who is doing this. All that he article history says is that these updates are being posted by an anonymous user with the ip address: 151.201.12.39. My guess is that the person probably knows me or has some connection to me. I am not that well-known, so I also bet that it is a member of my own denominational family . . . though that would make me very sad.

In any case, I lift this up not because I want folks to defend my honor. Heck, I DID work on a controversial collection sacred texts. Plus, I’m working on another new book project, so this is buzz-creation with which I have no issue. I just wish somewhere he/she included some reference to a past affair with a troubled movie star or told of the time that I risked my life and ignored my allergies to save my grandmother’s kitten from a burning building.

Oh a boy can dream.

Anyhoo . . . I lift this up because I think whoever this is missed a prime opportunity to actually lift up the fact that some may indeed believe that my work is controversial, even heretical. You see, wikipedia is NOT about trying to win or lose, but about a group of people doing their best to get as close as they can to the objective truth about any particular subject. I have edited my own article to correct or add information, others have approved or rejected those changes and in the end there is a decent view of me.

So 151.201.12.39 , if that is indeed your real name, you could have put something like:

Bruce was part of a church council who has compiled a controversial group of ancient texts titled “A New New Testament” by Hall Taussig. These texts and his involvement have been characterized as heretical by some and welcomed by others.

There could be links back to other wikipedia or published articles on the publication, the author and/or the word “heretical” — all helping the reader to discern the truth about this person named Bruce Reyes-Chow. In some contexts, passive-aggressiveness and mean-spirited snark are the norm and might persuade, but on wikipedia, 151.201.12.39 has probably undercut any chance to actually convince people that I am indeed a heretic, which I assume was the hope all along.

So if you want to leave snarky comments and call me names on my blog, I have no problem leaving up them for people to see, but that kind of of unsourced opinion does not play on Wikipedia. Conflict and disagreement are not bad and I do not believe that I am above any of it, but the kind of arguing and discourse that goes on in most places on the internet is simply not part of the wikipedia experience . . . and I wish the rest of life.

Again, I am not looking for people to defend my honor with colleagues or pile on the trolls. What I hope for is that, even in times when we disagree with one another so deeply on issues of the Christian faith, we can do so always knowing, believing and living the challenge that it is to be the Body of Christ. This is my prayer and I’m sticking to it.

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