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Join us Thursdays at 8:oo PM at Grandma Luke's Coffee Shop in Little Five Points at the corner of Moreland and Euclid Aves. for an invigorating book discussion, some great coffee and dessert.
Our current book discussion is centered on Jim Wallis', God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It. You can read a review of Wallis' book, which originally appeared in The Nation, here.

Schedule

November 2nd--Part 1: Changing the Wind
November 9th--Part 2: Moving Beyond the Politics of Complaint
November 16th--Part 3: Spiritual Values and International Relations
November 23rd--NO GATHERING (Eat Some Turkey Instead)
November 30th--Part 4: Spiritual Values and Economic Justice
December 7th--Part 5: Spiritual Values and Social Values
December 14th--Part 6: Spiritual Values and Social Change

posted by Jake at 10/30/2006 01:32:00 PM

Trinitas

Despite a few kinks that need to be ironed out with the website, Trinitas, the church-plant I am coordinating in Little Five Points, is a go! After a year of listening and observing--over many beers, hands of Texas Hold'em, and cups of coffee--I now have a vision for what a community of faith following God in the way of Jesus might look like in and around this uber-eclectic bohemian neighborhood in the heart of Atlanta. Only now, having become sufficiently enmeshed in this culture, do I feel that I may offer a hopeful vision of "church" to my new friends and acquaintances.

As the months unfold I will keep you all informed of new developments to Think/Pray/Serve/Be with us at Trinitas. Peace.

posted by Jake at 10/30/2006 09:32:00 AM

European Reflections (Part 2)

The second stop over on my European tour was in Copenhagen, Denmark. I met with two brothers, Thomas and Simon Willer who are starting a church in the center of the city called Re:Gen. I picked the Willer brothers as conversation partners because I felt that their ministry to the de-churched in Copenhagen would form a close parallel with the type of ministry I envision in the Little Five Points area of Atlanta.

Thomas and Simon are sons of a Baptist minister—a rarity in Denmark, which hosts only 5000 Baptists and around 35 members per church. After assessing the sociological situation carefully (Thomas is a sociologist by training), they desired to create a missional space that could facilitate Christian community in a manner that was relevant to the culture. They are trying to create a church that emerges into culture in an authentic way (i.e. in a way that is not contrived or coerced). This means that the church really listens to the hopes, dreams and ideas of those in the culture and reciprocates with a voice of its own back into the culture.

Re:gen gathers weekly in a hip, trendy bar that also hosts a nightclub on Friday and Saturday nights. When they arrive on Sunday afternoons to set up for their Sunday PM gathering, others will be there just to hang out or grab a beer. They are transforming secular space into holy space by their presence in that bar. The conviction of the Willer brothers is that they are merely furthering the work that God is already doing in culture. God has already been at work among the people of Copenhagen and they are facilitating a space where those God-seeds can grow.

In his master’s thesis, Thomas conducted research about the longevity of church attendance from youth who are brought up in church. He discovered that less than 50% of those who are actual church goers (b/w 2-6% of the Danish population!) will still attend church when they are 25. This is largely due, by Thomas’ estimation, to an inability for churchgoers to bridge the realties of church with that which they experience outside of church. The church environment that they experience constitutes such a radical disconnect from their ‘secular’ culture that they eventually stop attending church altogether. As an ancillary result, many who remain within church culture tend to batten down the hatches as a defense against culture and the chasm continues to widen. The church that Simon and Thomas are planting seeks to narrow the gulf between church culture and ‘secular’ culture.

posted by Jake at 10/24/2006 02:44:00 PM

Five Guys comes to L5P!!!!

This is the best burger you will find in Atlanta! Period.

posted by Jake at 10/17/2006 12:24:00 PM

European Reflections (Part 1)

My first stop over in Europe was in Weimar, Germany with a phenomenal missionary couple, Rick and Nancy Dill. The Dills have served on mission in Germany for over 25 years and the fecundity of their work in Weimar is palpable. Rick and Nancy first sensed a calling to foreign missions as they were making the move to work with youth at Wieuca Road Baptist Church (the church where I currently serve as Coordinator for Missional Community). After three years at Wieuca, they made the transition and they and their two daughters crossed the Atlantic in obedience to God’s call upon their lives.

After working in Wiesbaden with singles for a number of years, the Dills moved to Weimar to plant a new church right after the Berlin Wall had fallen. What Rick and Nancy found there was quite interesting. Since Weimar was under the Soviet controlled area of Germany, the communist resistance to religion had made its presence known among its residents. Very few people had any interest in organized religion and a mere handful of followers had gathered through the fifty-year communist dominance for corporate worship. Into this anti-religion biased culture came Rick and Nancy.

Their ministry was frustrated a bit by the state church of Germany (the Lutheran Church) when the communist regime ended. The first thing that the state church did to welcome their estranged comrades back into the unified country was to reinstitute the church tax. You need not strain to imagine how the residents of Weimar received this exciting news.

Nevertheless, Rick and Nancy set about their work. Their ministry has been thoroughly indigenous. The Dill family is fluent in German (i.e. they immersed themselves in the language of the local culture). Rick even preaches in German and he has so committed himself to his language study that one can hardly detect a foreign accent. As one who has studied German, I appreciate the difficulty of this task.

The church that the Dills planted is First Baptist Church of Weimar. Their fellowship has grown to over 200 members. Rick explained to me that in the German church context, where less than 6% of the population frequents a church on any given month, FBC Weimar is a mega church. Their church is built upon relationships, not flashy church-growth strategies. As I strolled through the historic area of the city with Rick and Nancy, I was amazed at the number of people whom they new on a first-name basis. It seemed as if every street we passed brought new people who were rushing forward to greet Rick or Nancy.

What I take away from this visit for my Atlanta ministry context is that there is no substitute for quality, authentic relationships. It is imperative that church leaders understand the culture in which they are ministering and have immersed themselves in the language. A hearty smile and a contagious laugh have the power to break through the most resistant and withdrawn people. And only by drawing members of the indigenous culture into the workings of church will the product resonate with people for whom the church is suspect.

posted by Jake at 10/17/2006 12:19:00 PM

What a difference 20lbs makes!

posted by Jake at 10/17/2006 12:16:00 PM

My Office

posted by Jake at 10/17/2006 12:12:00 PM

Back in the USA (again)

I'm back again. Mexico was wonderful. We had a great experience working as a team and, despite a few nasty cases of Montezuma's revenge and some last minute drama of taking our pastor to the hospital because of food poisoning, all was well. Our team of 15 constructed a 12x24' house for a family of three (Alejandro, Carolina and their daughter, Alejandra). This was my first time building with cinderblock and mortar and I have come to realize how much more difficult that construction medium is from working with wood. The days were hot and the sweat flowed as if from a leaky faucet. And I loved every minute of it. If you or your church is ever interested in forming a new missions partner, I highly recommend Ministerio de Fey/Faith Ministry in Reynosa, Mexico. Check out some photos here.

I'm glad to be back with my beautiful pregnant wife and in my own bed:) Peace

Holy Ground