Where Do We Go From Here?

It was September, 2008.

The Gate had started with a handful of people. Literally, like five of us gathered in our living room. And that had gone on for a few months, but now, it was clear, we needed to go public. A couple weeks before we wanted to start, we still had no place to meet when Hurricane Harry's called us back. The rest of that is history. Then, Hurricane Ike hit, and evacuees staying at Reed Arena kept Breakaway from meeting there- and Breakaway was the venue we chose to tell the world (or, well, Texas A&M and Blinn students) about us. We were postponed 2 or 3 times before that first night at Harry's, but when it finally got set in stone we were meeting that Sunday late in September, we realized we still needed a worship leader. We got one the Friday before that Launch Sunday.

The big night came, and nothing went right during set-up. The sound system at Harry's was incompatible with our stuff. The video wouldn't work. We began to panic. That first night we had 19 people. Some were friends coming to support us, but over half would become regular Gate people. Over the next three years, people came and went, we built a core group, and leaders were forged. Our style changed, we've had four sets of regular worship leaders, we've moved our spot in Harry's at least four times. But some of the people had been there up from the start.

Now, as 2012 is about to kick off, we have graduated the last of the original members of the Gate. The only originals are Kristin and I (and our kids). Essentially, we have had a 100% turnover rate.

Just like we planned.

In the last few weeks, I've been hearing from some our current members, curious about our direction and sudden leadership vacuum. When talking with other ministers and other Christian friends, I am often asked- either inherently or implicitly- the same question: Where does the Gate go from here?

My response has been to smile, and lean back just a little, and say: Now, we experiment.

From the start, one of the exciting things about The Gate has been that we have a chance to start fresh every semester, and about every four years we have a whole new church. It keeps us fresh, it keeps us expectant, and it keeps us busy. We cannot afford to rest and let the people come to us, we must now, more than ever, go to the people. Meeting in a bar is not enough- we must be proactive in sharing Christ. But more than that, we must offer the message of Christ in a unique way that stays true to the TRUTH of Christ, but is able to connect with a generation more than a little cynical about all things Christian.

I've been reading a book, called "You Lost Me" by David Kinnaman. It's a book about 18-29 year olds and the way they are mass-exodusing the church these days. He talks about three types of groups that these folks break down in to. Prodigals no longer call themselves Christians and pursue other faiths. Nomads still call themselves Christians, but are disconnected from faith communities and active lives for Christ. The last group is Exiles, and they are the ones who are still devoted to Christ- as much or more than most regular church-goers. But, they find that the human institution of church is failing and at points hindering them. They are scientists, artists, creatives, and new-thinkers, and the church (in their view) has stifled and downright ignored their passions. Even when those passions are attempting to reach those who need Christ.

I share this little book review because these Prodigals, Nomads, and Exiles are who the Gate has come to College Station for. But now, we need to be the Exiles. We need to be artists, creators, innovators, scientists. We need to learn not how to be good Christians at church, but how to be good Christians in the lab, the class, the law firm, and the dump truck. We need to learn how to share Christ with more than just our memorized verses and hollow platitudes. In fact, to reach this generation, we need to forget the platitudes and bumper sticker theology altogether. And Scripture- which is still sharper than a double edged sword- has no meaning to the masses if we don't provide living examples of it. They want to see it in action, not just hear it repeated to them again.

So, how does that new vision coincide with what has gone on on the road so far?

God provides.

It will probably be last minute. It will probably come from an unexpected source. It most likely won't look exactly like we expect.

But it will be undeniably God.

I've heard that trying to closely follow God is like trying to ride a wild stallion or hang onto the tail of a comet. It's dangerous, it's exhilarating , and it is scary. But to succeed in it is amazing. So where does the Gate go from here?

We're gonna find out what its like to ride the tail of a comet.

Can Bars and Churches Be Friends?

I've mentioned before that my church, the Gate, meets at a local bar/dancehall called Hurricane Harry's. We have developed a pretty good relationship with Lance and Craig, two of the managers who open for us on Sunday nights, so a couple weeks back, Lance approached me with a proposition. On the 12th of December, the bar was hosting a Toys for Tots drive- a 30 band concert- which meant we couldn't meet there that night, but he wondered if we would be interested in helping out.

We agreed to do that, since we were looking for more ways to serve the community, and loved the idea of serving others instead of having just a worship service. We later got asked if we would grill burgers and links for the workers, and charge a little money, some of which could go to the toy drive. We agreed, but decided to make all the money we made go to the drive. Wally, my co-pastor, and I headed it up, with a few of the folks from the church dropping in to help out a bit: Kristin and the kids, Yako, Evan, Nate, Jess, Jon, and Daniel. The attendance was lighter than we'd hoped, and what we didn't realize was that it was going to be cold.

The two of us were literally huddled as close to the grill as possible without burning ourselves. Thankfully, we had some half walls to block at least some of the 10-15 mph winds that were pushing forty-ish degree temps around our heads. Eventually, someone would come out and we'd have to spring into grilling action on a hamburger or a sausage link, we'd chat with the person and collect their money, thanking them for helping out. In the end, we raised just over $168 for Toys for Tots. Not bad for our first attempt.

But there was something else more important going on for us. See, I've seen throughout my life a certain, I guess I'd say animosity, between churches and bars. At best they tolerate each other, but more often than not a church can be heard decrying the evils of the bar. That's not to say that bad thing don't happen at bars, sin is definitely present. Not unlike how sin can be present at a church, you know, when we lie, or connive, or shun the different. I've heard local pastors literally seethe with anger at the bar patrons who leave trash on their lawn- and at times I've been one of those pastors- and lament the very existence of the bars.

Sunday for the Gate was about helping out kids, but it was also about stating to the bars and bar patrons in town that we still care enough about them as people to actually hang out with them. We had really good conversations with the people who came to our grill (supplied by local radio station KORA), and some of them even expressed amazement that we were a church helping a bar. To me, it shouldn't be shocking that a church is trying to help people, regardless of the venue. Christ came to care for people, whether they were poor or rich, virtuous or sleazy, sober or drunk. We let these people who may have had little or no contact with churches see that we Christians are normal people, too. And we got to see that these artists and their fans are normal people, too. There is no need for us to fear them, nor them to fear us. It was a beginning of what we hope to be a continuing dialogue with this section of the culture of Bryan/College Station and A&M. The fact is, I really genuinely liked the people we met, and would like to spend more time with them. And not just if they come to our church.

Because the people of Northgate and the bars that populate it are one big reason why we came here. To love them. To show them Jesus in our compassion, our love, and yes, in our attention to them. And not just if they come to church.

And we are very thankful to have had this opportunity.