Jesus is the Point
Church where we can connect with God without all the overly religious stuff.
It’s been 7 months since we moved to the Silicon Valley. Some days, it feels like we’ve been here forever. Other days, it feels like we just got here! One thing that continues is my constant learnings about how people think about church around here.
Recently, I’ve had 2 conversations that have been really interesting revolving around this loaded word many of us use a lot — religion.
I had a brief conversation with a women who walked by the entrance of our movie theater church. She was headed to Starbucks, next door, and was greeted by myself and a few others from Bayshore. We invited her to come check out our church since the movie she wanted to see with her 2 kids didn’t start for a few hours. She responded with…
“I’ve learned that all I need is God and me and that He is inside of me. I don’t like organized religion.”
To which I replied, “Neither do I.”
When Christians use the word “church”, often people hear the word “religion”. And with that word comes a bunch of baggage.
And then just a few days ago, I needed to get a repair done to my car. The mechanic noticed I still had Washington plates and asked me when and why I moved here. I told him I was a pastor at a church in the area. He showed a little bit of interest so I engaged the conversation a little bit more. He went on to say that his girlfriend was a Christian but he hadn’t been to church in a REALLY long time. I found that he was confused by the idea of me being a pastor because I look like I’m 15 when I’m unshaven. #asiansdontage
I clarified with him that I was the “preacher man” for the church and his interest peaked some more. I shared with him that we met in a movie theater and, again, confused him. Because churches are supposed to have a church building, right?
He told me he might come check it out on Sunday so I just felt the need that I needed to clarify one specific thing with him…
“It’s a really casual environment. I wear what I’m wearing today when I’m preaching.”
Again, he was surprised by this. I’m wondering if it’s because the organized religion he has in mind means you where your “Sunday best” to make sure you look good enough for God. In other words, you gotta kind of fake it.
These people I’m meeting remind me why we do what we do. And why one of our taglines is CHURCH MINUS RELIGIOUS CRAP = BAYSHORE. We want to make sure Jesus is the point. Jesus didn’t come to make us more religious or, seemingly, spiritual. He came to set us free from the manmade rituals & traditions where we try to contain God (Mark 7).
Yes, we might get some nasty e-mails from Christians who are offended by this tagline because we said “crap” or are opposing religion. But it just reminds me of the audience we started Bayshore for. The people I’m running into everyday who want to know God but don’t know where to turn. The rest of us who have a deep desire to connect with God without all the overly religious stuff.
The following books have been key in shaping my thoughts on religion:
- “The End of Religion” by Bruxy Cavey
- “God Enters Stage Left” by Tim Day
- “Speaking of Jesus” by Carl Medearis
