I was a “pastor” for ten years before I started a new career in San Diego just over twenty years ago. I have a degree in Theology. I have friends who think I am liberal, friends who think I am conservative and friends who call me friend.
More recently, my wife, Mary, and I were part of a traditional church that became a fellowship, all quite by accident, or design by God, depending on your perspective. As the church numbers diminished and the minister moved away, we began to ask how we could be a church without enough money to pay a preacher and afford a place to meet. It was a bit uncomfortable to realize that a minimum bank account balance was required to be a church. Even more uncomfortable was, “What good does our little church have to offer to the world?”
Because we did not want to leave the fellowship, we were forced to ask for the first time what is church, what is the gospel, what is the pastor, what is worship, who is Jesus, what is the tithe? Through this process we learned the value of finding the right questions to the answers we had always assumed to be true.
A while later, Matt Metten, my friend and partner in this “journey,” invited a few friends to meet at Starbuck’s for coffee and a conversation. After a couple of years, some have come, some have gone, but it’s still just a few guys having coffee and a conversation. These conversations have helped me rethink the assumptions upon which I had built my faith.
Neither Matt nor I have any ambition to create another great movement of God that will unite the confused world into the latest greatest truest true mega church of God. We just want to extend these conversations to others who are asking the same questions.
I invite you to join us in this conversation. There are no conditions but we hope you will be honest and courageous. Nice would be nice but if you can’t I’d like to know what you think anyway.