We are a community on a journey of trying to find our way back to a kind of Christianity the church seems to have lost somewhere back along the road. Most modern Christianity is either about fulfilling religious rituals, accepting Jesus to get a pass into heaven, keeping a list of rules, or defending name brands (Catholic, Baptist, what have you...). We are firmly convinced that none of those is what Jesus had in mind.

Jesus didn’t come to start another religion that would compete on the field of world religions. He himself said , “I have come that they might have life” (John 10:10)— he came to lead us into a new way of seeing everything and a new way of living. He’s not a quick fix for all our troubles, an escape-hatch from the world we live in, or fire-insurance for the afterlife. He is God among us, and the most whole , clear-sighted, and centered man who has ever lived.

Modern Christian Religion has become just that: a religion, rather than a journey into the most radically hope-filled, joyful and transforming life to be had. We need to rediscover the forgotten way of Jesus.

Our church is 14 years old, but about three years ago we began asking the question, “What would it look like if people who call themselves followers of Jesus started trying to actually live like him in this world, rather than merely believing in him and attending church services?” Seeking to answer that question has changed who we are and what we are about as a church. More than ever we find ourselves seeking to connect intimately with God and to let him grow us in deep ways, but we also find ourselves wondering what the good news of Jesus looks like to the people in our communities and in the world, especially those who are struggling. We’ve found ourselves experiencing richer community with each other, and found ourselves in some great missional adventures of loving people nearby and far away. (click on “Change the World” above).

If you want to learn more about this kind of following Jesus, check out Pastor Fran’s newly published book: The Forgotten Way of Jesus. This book is a map for those exploring or new to the Christian journey, and also an invitation for those who already consider themselves Christians to rethink some of the places our “modern gospels” have led us away from Jesus and his Way, rather than toward them. Copies are available at church and on Amazon.