A new church

For several years, I have talked a big game about wanting to address issues of race and poverty.  I have read articles and books on racism, sociology, theology and health.  I have engaged people in conversation and watched films on the issues.  But James tells me that my beliefs are manifested by my deeds, not my words.

Rachel and I started looking for churches together when she moved to town last winter.  We visited congregations across the denominational spectrum, looking for a home that prioritized our values of racial reconciliation, social justice and the redeeming gospel of Jesus.  And what we found is that these are really hard things.  Most churches do some things well, but almost every church seemed to fall either to one side or the other.  Some where committed to the importance of the gospel while only including issues of race and greed as an addendum, while others delivered soft-serve Jesus while advocating for social issues.  The struggle is real in my life, and when you multiply it to a church-wide level, things get messy fast.  Through our search, as well as a range of conversations with smart people, we began to recognize that if we wanted to participate in racial reconciliation, we would have to step out of our position of majority and into a place where church was not done the way that best fit our preferences.

A few months ago I came across Community Church Without Walls while researching a class project on West End Community Gardens.  Though we didn't know much about the congregation, we decided to visit.  What we found was certainly out of the realm of our preferences.  Our friends Mikey and Lindsay joined us that first night, and I was thankful they came with us as we looked for a house church on Tuscaloosa Avenue in Birmingham's notoriously poor (and thus, in my mind, dangerous) West End.  The first word that came to my mind that night was chaos.  Aside from the four visitors, the only other white person there was the young, soft-spoken pastor, R.G.  I have always attended churches with rich music; here the songs were a capella versions of "This Little Light of Mine" and "Sanctuary."  The service was regularly interrupted by irrelevant questions.  But in the chaos, there was something good.

We have been attending now for a few months, and for the first time in years I feel settled at a church.  CCWW certainly has its issues, and sometimes the chaos is a bit maddening.  But the people in that community know God in different way than I have known Him.  I think the honesty has been most refreshing. One evening during the message and discussion about "turning the other cheek," a woman provided a real-life example of smacking her daughter.  Teen pregnancies are regular announcements.  Last week, during prayer requests, someone said he had recently learned that there was a hit out on his life.  I don't know how to react in those situations, mostly because I've never seen them in church before.  Who are we kidding?  I've never seen them anywhere before.  I don't know what will come of our experience at our new church, but I know this - I'm seeing God in a whole new way.  So maybe I will remain a big talker when it comes to race and poverty.  But at CCWW, I am hoping to see my words sprout into actions.