When Church Stops Working - Part 3

We ended Part 2 of this series, When Church Stops Working, with these words:

Wherever we see the good news of lives being made whole….

That. 

Is.

Church.

This means we have to have much bigger eyes, some creativity, an expansive consciousness, a heart that beats and breaks for the universe, and an ability to ask the ongoing question, “Who is being left out of this beautiful thing called life?”

Jesus didn’t come to earth to create another religion. He came to wake people up! We have to transcend our views of orthodoxy, get beyond Christianity as the best thing since sliced bread, and reengage the world with tangible shalom written all over our complex hearts! We get to partner with what spirit is doing within us, around us and in others to unveil life to the fullness: light, hope and healing to the nations. That’s good news!

Can I get an old school, Amen?

When I say, “church,” what comes to mind now that you’ve been trying to process a new way to live?

Okay, let’s get practical. 

I’ve got friends who plant seeds in local, urban gardens and cultivate a harvest of veggies that are given away outside coffee shops, breweries and local parks! 

I know people who organize peaceful protests in the city and mobilize the crowds toward social justice on behalf of people of color.

I have a friend who brings people downtown to feed the homeless every day. 

One of my buddies organizes online communities through diverse, theological topics, bringing people together to chat over fantastically critical topics.

I’ve got friends who sing hymns in bars with pints of beer held high!

Speaking of pubs, the interfaith/ inter-religious/nonreligious communities that engage in meaningful dialogue every week across the nation via Brew Theology is another excellent example of damn, good news!

Whether it’s bringing neighbors together for dinner, creating opportunities for communities to extend themselves on behalf of the poor or volunteering with friends at the local school, it is time we allow ourselves the freedom to say that spirit is moving in all kinds of fun ways; no institution or religion has the sole keys to these movements of love. 

We all have something to give regardless of our religious heritage, whether it’s our time, food, skills and/or conversations. As the saying goes, “build a longer table, not a higher fence.”

Sadly, the “church” has been notoriously known for the latter, which is why people are looking for love and belonging in other places. So, let’s have grace around the table! 

Let’s eat.

Let’s drink.

Let’s remember the critical words from the apostle Paul, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” 

These powerful words should infiltrate the souls of humanity. The dream is to be one humanity! That, my friends, is a beautiful dream. In all of our particularities: race, gender, sex, religion, etc…. we are one!

Let’s end with some of my favorite and inspiring words from Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh:

We have different roots, traditions, and ways of seeing, but we share the common qualities of love, understanding and acceptance… the most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When we are mindful, touching deeply the present moment, we can see and listen deeply.” 

I’d love to hear from you! What kinds of fringy, good news LIFE is happening in your city, town, neighborhood? What ideas do you have moving forward?

The Fruit?

Brew Theology brings different worlds together; these worlds collide in an intentionally beautiful posture of respect, openness and grace.

This practiced value of open, tangible pluralistic dialogue would’ve felt foreign to many religious kids growing up with an agenda to convert someone over to their “superior” side of perceived truth. These colliding worlds are still very odd amongst many religious folk that are looking to "win" someone over to their team. Due to this norm from many people’s dutiful heritage, when guests visit our gatherings in the Denver community they desperately want to know, “Can I, in all seriousness, be genuinely honest here?”

This is a question newcomers have in the back of their mind, and we’ve sincerely heard people voice this question on several occasions.

So many people are suspicious with the important question lingering in their soul, “Where’s the bait and switch?”

I (Ryan) remember a friend of mine who now contributes to our gatherings by writing content and coming on some podcasts, asking me the 1st time we met, “What are you really doing here? Is this just one of those emerging thingies where you are going to start a worship service and try to convert everyone to Jesus?”

“Is there a secret agenda?”

“C’mon! Really, Ryan?”

My answer is a bold, resounding and heartfelt, “No!”

And for some people this answer is unsettling because many of us have come from a tradition that is so bait-and-switch agenda driven that if what we are doing isn’t leading someone to Jesus (or one's version of Jesus), we wonder if it’s worthwhile. That’s the worldview, the subconscious, and the embedded truth that many have yet to fully deconstruct.

Ultimately, Janel & I want to see these kinds of rich and deep, conversational communities that we experience in Denver pop up across this country because real, beating-heart-people across the faith spectrum profoundly NEED it today. Yet, I still hear from people who think I’m running an evangelistic ministry. Sure, it’s “good news” (if you wanna look at those words in their truest rootedness), but not an ounce of it is conventionally churchy and there is no proselytizing – no bait and switch game here. I had an hour-long conversation with someone who finally asked, “Okay. So, respectful dialogue is great and all, Ryan, but what’s the point? Is the goal to just let people BE and not have an agenda of leading them to Christ?” Another person asked, “Where is Jesus in the conversation?”  I had another ministry leader ask me, “So, where’s the fruit in all of this?”

#Facepalm

Don’t give me the fruit business, man! Those questions are foundationally missing the entire point and it may take a few high ABV barrel aged beers to finish those tough conversations.

But if you wanna get all fruity (and I’m not talking about the new fruit beer craze), how ‘bout the fruit is the fact that hardly anybody really does THIS open, interfaith dialogue community thing well in our polarized country, and we ARE doing it… I wanna scream, “The fruit is IN the conversation!”  The conversations create deeper and more honest community for the common good! Can I get an Amen? Although, if I used the word, “fruit” with our BT people, they may start throwing fruit at me.

I’ve said this before, but sometimes it is critical we say the same message time and again before it really begins to sink in… There are many churches with incredible and gracious people across America (And I sincerely mean this because I do have hope and love for the church, and I believe many churches are doing incredible things in the world...) that have massive budgets, killer buildings, top-notched staff and great marketing that says, “All Are Welcome” (Yes! I do believe many of them actually DO Welcome all people with loving, open arms!), yet so many “Spiritual” yet dechurched people are not buying that “welcome” sign anymore. Sadly, it’s been overused and abused. Countless people who have left the church are looking to find belonging, but a place much different from previous places that promised “safe” belonging. And they aren’t looking to find a “one-size-fits-all" model of religious goods. Beloved yet disenfranchised human beings are looking for brave and beautiful places to work out their shit, and get real with other people that are going to allow them to be real in all of their weirdness, mess, crazy ideas and interesting journeys. Unhappy yet sacred humans who are trying to find the spiritual spark in new places are looking to be loved no matter where they stand across the theological, political, economic, racial, sexual and gender spectrum. Let's give people the opportunity to freakin' breathe!

I’ll say it again… The FRUIT is IN the conversation. Let’s collide and #BrewTheology with true openness, and a generous posture to learn and grow from everyone.

#TheologyBeerCamp & J.C.

You had me at 90’s Karaoke (and with a live band!)…

We had the privilege to hang out in Redondo Beach filled with 3 days of Craft Nerdom via Homebrewed Christianity’s #TheologyBeerCamp a few weekends ago. Like many stellar events such as the Spurs winning championships, unless you actually experience the magic with other partners-in-crime, it’s hard to do justice on a blog. Nevertheless, the fact that you are still reading makes me think you want a hopilicious sample-taster of the divine goodness that can only come from…

Unlimited IPA’s

A corn hole tourney

Killer podcasters (including yours truly)

Tripp Fuller’s stream of consciousness

Pete Rollins’ Irish accent

Barry Taylor’s rock-and-roll shirts and radical deconstructions

#Boombastic street tacos

High-gravity theological tailgating and conversations with a variety of other theologians and armchair theologians from across the brewtastic spectrum

Artistic spiritual creations over local coffee

More all-you-can-drink local craft beer

Morgan Freeman’s “Story of God” Season 2 pre-screening partnered with the “The Voice of God” and “The Rumble of God” IPA’s…

90’s Karaoke (Do I smell Teen Spirit? Indeed!)

And last, but certainly not least (for that would be a horrific hate crime), the honor to hang out and listen to THE process guru, J.C. himself, John B. Cobb Jr.!

We are about to unleash a Brew Theology Podcast with John Cobb (Episode 24) on Sunday evening (2/12/17). If you are unfamiliar with Dr. Cobb’s work, you will definitely want to dig in after listening to this Jedi Master unveil some theological #BOOM on the mic. Cobb breaks down a bit of experiential pluralism via Buddhism and Christianity to begin our conversation, engages in some Wesleyan dialogue and carefully navigates through 5 key developments in church history that have blocked appreciation and a priority of Jesus’ own teaching, thus hindering the relational accessibility of moving into a dynamic relationship with Abba/ Father as seen in the life of Jesus of Nazareth.

So, as much as this 90’s teen loves to rock the stage with some Nirvana karaoke, I’ll give John Cobb the mic any ‘ole day. Big shout out to Tripp Fuller for putting together an amazing Theology Beer Camp. I can’t wait for the next one, and I look forward to meeting more of YOU as you join me and other friends… details on that coming very soon!

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“We theologians of an earlier generation know that our style of thinking and communicating no longer works well -- if it ever did. I fear that we are unlikely to learn how to share the wisdom we have received (and still think helpful for others) with new generations. Brew Theology is a promising answer. The old methods consisted largely of monologues. What is needed today, perhaps what has always been needed, is sharing of thinking and feeling and mutual stimulus to grow. It is my personal hope that this will lead to life-shaping convictions and commitments and even to worship. But I also hope that it will never set aside the openness and interaction of Brew Theology.” - Dr. John B. Cobb, Jr. (Global leader of process theology and considered one of the greatest theological minds of the last fifty years, professor emeritus of theology at Claremont School of Theology in Claremont, California, & cofounder of the Center for Process Studies. He is the author of over fifty books, including God and the World. Co-winner of Grawemeyer Award of Ideas Improving World Order.)

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P.S. Snag this original John Cobb, "JC is my Homeboy" T-shirt (front & back) exclusively from Brew Theology. T-shirts, tanks, hoodies, V-neck's, women's, etc. all in multiple colors. You can even get a sticker. You can ask JC into your heart, but now you can wear him on your chest. Link: https://teespring.com/JCisMyHomeboy