New Church: Part 1

Part 2, Part 3

My Geek and I have been getting antsy at church. We want more. We've found some friends who feel the same way. We feel like we're wasting time sitting in pews and going to meetings. Too much time in the building and not enough time with people. We're postmodern in our thinking and lifestyle. Our creativity is bursting at the seams to see what we can do with this passion, energy and possibility. What if..?

So, in January we started a new home small group. (I really see this as a home church.) There is no real plan except to always be moving forward by exploring and experimenting with what it means to be the church of Jesus Christ. Many of our first discussions were about our identity and what we want to accomplish. But as we evolve, there were some simple things we wanted:

• As long as there's at least two of us, we meet.


• We have a starting time but we don't care what time you show, just get there!


• We end when we're done. It's usually late. But it gives us time to build those relationships.


• Since we meet on Friday evening, we decided to brown bag it to make it easier for families to come. No one has to cook, just run through the drive-thru of your choice. Eating together is a great fellowship time.


• Everyone pitches in. This is not a pew sitting church. We got things to do.


• No child care. If the kids run through the room or want to join us, that's fine. They're not made to feel like they're not included. It's important that they hear us discussing spiritual issues, however difficult. They always want to join in on our art projects.

Right now we're building trust and relationships. Although we'd all met previously at church during the "Sunday school hour", meeting in homes has changed things. Church is sterile and restricting. There's a time limit and everybody knows how to act for an hour. When you come into someone's home, you get personal and there's no where to hide. You tend to act more like yourself.

It's mid-April now and we're still learning about who we are and challenging what church and worship really are. We're in training. We've gone rock climbing, created life maps, studied the Sermon on the Mount and even shared cocktail recipes. We're learning to get into each others lives instead of just passing each other with fake smiles on Sunday morning. The same thing we need to do out in the world.

Are you having a revolutionary church experience? Tell us about it.