three things

I recently heard about a church plant in Midway...

Midway is the area in Saint Paul that I live in... I remember my first impressions of this area from when I was younger. I grew up in Roseville, which is a city directly North of Saint Paul. There is a main street called Snelling that goes between the two cities, and it is a very interesting drive if you pay attention to the surroundings.

Anyhow..

When I was younger, one of my friends wanted to go to this neighborhood, I think it was to get a piercing. I was probably 15 years old at the time and he was a bit older than me. I remember the change in surroundings as we entered Midway. It was kind of intimidating. I didn't recognize any of the stores... which was unusual, since from a young age you are blasted with so much advertising that you can become more familiar with these corporations than you are with the majority of kids in your classroom. Everything was old and weathered... like they had payed their dues, even the people seemed to be cut form a different cloth. The cozy residential area morphed into a busy concrete jungle. and I kind of liked it.

Years later I found myself living in this area, very close to the tattoo parlor we visited years before. I lived in a slummy apartment behind Ax-man surplus and just a stones throw away from the Turf Club. Across the street from us was a JJ's Fish n Chicken. Our apartment was in the news the morning after a guy was shot in their parking lot.

I ended up moving to a house in the same area with a few of my friends and we have been in this place for a while now.

In all honesty though, this is a great place to live. It is a diverse and friendly area with fantastic people, food, drink, and music. It is On the Saint Paul side of the Twin City divide, 10 minutes away from anywhere you'd want to go, and 20 minutes away from anywhere you'd need to go. I live in a quiet neighborhood and have some amazing neighbors... one guy even asked if he could help us when we were moving a piano into our house. Midway is fantastic.

and a recent church plant thinks so too.

Bloom

That is the name of the church. Check them out.

They are only 4 weeks old and have intentionally planted in this area because there are not many churches doing what they are doing in this area.

They are trying to create a service that will explain the message of Christ to people who have not yet heard it.

Sounds simple, right?

Well, that is kind of the point. The pastors of this church have much experience with larger suburban churches and have been in staff and pastoral positions in the past.

They have "three things" - title that they are going to focus on.

1. Jesus - Understanding who Jesus is, what he did, what the gospel is, and what that means for people today.
2.People - Belong, believe, behave.... approaching people with an attitude of grace and love, regardless of there beliefs or background.
3.Community - Building friendships and networks of support inside the church and also having a positive impact on the community outside the church.

That's it.

But what about a really awesome choir? Or a a dramatized version of "the passion" complete with live camels, or a brothas to mothas ministry?

Well, I am sure that a focus on Jesus, People, and Community will begin manifesting itself in more specific ways.. but they have seen how complicated things can get and feel called to focus on these three things.

refreshing.

I will admit, I was kind of a skeptic the first time I went to the church, so the next Sunday I went back and listened and learned. They are presenting a series that is focusing on the Gospel.

It is called "The Gospel. Period."

You can listen to their podcast soon.

I also had a chance to hear from their pastors as they explained how Bloom started and what heir focus is. I am hopefully going to be able to sit down with them in a one-on-one setting to learn some more.

It has been encouraging.

Partly because it is such a young church and it is planted in my neighborhood and it starts making me dream a little bit, but also because it is so basic.

three things.

This seems like a more rational and sustainable concept than the one-stop super shop Saint Marks International Jesus House Community Church of Hope model...

It would make sense that different congregations would have different focuses that were more specific... It is probably tempting, however, to add things on over time.. even with good intentions. But when this happens, maybe it can end up distracting us from our initial calling or giftings...

While I am speaking about a church body, I think this is true for people as well.

It is very easy to add things on, especially in the United States, where we largely identify ourselves by our achievements or social status. When that is all stripped away though, their is something at our core. A doctor might be a dancer, a poet might be a mechanic, a Director of public relations might be a missionary to China.

Sometimes a musician is a musician though, and when that is the case.. beautiful music, that resonates from the soul, dances through the air to bless others.

What are you? When everything is stripped down and removed and you ask yourself that.. what do you find?

Big questions. It is a interesting society that makes simplifying life so amazingly complicated.

As long as we keep asking questions though, I think we are in a good place. Peace.

-Jreux