Is there a place for those burned out on religion ?

[Pastor Dale Morgan]

Perilous Times

Is there a place for those burned out on religion

TheRecord.com - faith - A place for those burned out on religion

Liz Monteiro, Record staff

WATERLOO — In this church you’ll find plush comfy seats with no pews or crosses on the wall and a pastor dressed in jeans and sporting long hair as he preaches from a movie screen theatre.

Billed as an informal church for people who aren’t into church, The Meeting House is similar to Christian churches on a Sunday morning with a message for its followers but without the “rules, regulations and routine” and the “professional holy class” associated with religious institutions, said teaching pastor Bruxy Cavey of Hamilton.

“It’s a safe place for people burned out by Christian religion,’’ he said in an interview this week.

Cavey said he considers himself a Jesus follower, and Jesus is the only way to the truth.

To others who believe differently, he says they’re wrong. But Jesus says be gracious and love all, said Cavey, so he respects and honours those who believe in another god.

“We don’t have to pretend that all religions say the same thing. That’s cheap unity, playing pretend,’’ he said. “Why can’t we have robust disagreement and still be respectful and gracious?’’

On this Sunday, people stream into the Galaxy Theatre at Conestoga Mall for a 75-minute service. A six-piece band set up at the front of the theatre is playing while the words to the song are projected on the screen.

The theatre is at capacity with 300 people and a demographic made up of young professionals, some university students and couples with young children. The school-aged children are whisked away for their separate classes in other theatre auditoriums.

Lead Waterloo pastor Tyler Johnston addresses the crowd with announcements and reminds members to attend their weekly home church sessions where people break into small groups to talk about the weekly sermon in a more intimate setting.

Johnston leads the crowd in prayer before the donation box filters through the crowd.

Most of the service is lead by Cavey and his pre-recorded teaching shown to the group by DVD. This week’s topic is a “heady” discussion on the problem of evil and good and why we suffer.

But before he speaks, he introduces his sermon with a clip from Mel Gibson’s The Passion of Christ, where Jesus, who is blood-covered after being nailed to a cross, says to God, “why have you forsaken me?’’

In his teaching, Cavey often refers to biblical passages from the Old and New Testament and quotes biblical scholars. He tells the group that as Christians “we worship a suffering God” and that God suffered with Christ on the cross.

He challenges the group by questioning the goodness and greatness of God which should rule out evil in the world but it does not.

“This is a conundrum. You should be bothered by this,’’ he said. “This should trouble your soul.’’

Cavey suggests that a perfect world is a world free of pain, suffering and death. Being on earth is the “best of all possible ways for humanity to enter the best of all possible worlds.’’

In a good world, humans are free to choose to love and follow God, he said.

“A naughty tree and a serpent is not a perfect world,’’ said Cavey, referring to the Garden of Eden and how a serpent tempted Adam and Eve with fruit which lead to original sin.

So until humans reach the perfect world, they should practice “active compassion” in serving others and “loving those who are in need around us,’’ he said.

The Meeting House focuses on giving to others and in conjunction with the Mennonite Central Committee, members are pledging $2.5 million for those living with HIV/AIDS in Africa over the next five years. So far, $1.5 million has been collected.

Members are also in the midst of collecting household items such as towels, soap and toothbrushes for AIDS kits for Africa.

Jen Sutherland said she’s challenged by Cavey’s message.

“Bruxy’s teaching is matter-of-fact and straightforward. He speaks in a powerful, truthful way and he’s funny too,’’ she said.

Sutherland attends the weekly service with her husband Todd and their two children.

Sutherland, who’s been a member of a missionary church, said she is attracted to the Meeting House’s focus on teaching rather than place.

“We are not paying for a building here,’’ she said.

Sutherland said she also likes that she can access Cavey’s teaching through the organization’s website or through iTunes and doesn’t have to be in attendance on Sunday.

“You can connect as much as you want,’’ she said.

Donovan Martin became aware of The Meeting House when he heard Cavey’s teaching on iTunes.

“It’s unpretentious and it’s relevant. He doesn’t give you easy answers,’’ said Martin, 27, who came to the region to attend the University of Waterloo and now works as an engineer here.

Martin said he’s attracted to the Jesus-centric view and appreciates that he can question biblical passages and their interpretations.

The roots of The Meeting House stem from the Upper Oaks Community Church started by Craig and Laura Sider of Oakville in 1986.

The tradition of the church hails from the Anabaptist and Brethren in Christ denominations, with a strong evangelical focus on the bible and the gospel of Jesus.

This continued under Cavey’s leadership when the church network was renamed The Meeting House. The first regional site opened in Hamilton and now the organization has 10 locations, mostly in southern Ontario. There is one northern location in Parry Sound and a location in eastern Ontario in Ottawa.

The 10 locations have an operating budget of $120,000, collected each week from a church-wide offering.

Kitchener’s Meeting House opened four years ago and grew so quickly that a Waterloo location was created about six weeks ago.

“We re-engage people who have left the church, people who are tired of religious structure,’’ said Waterloo lead pastor Tyler Johnston, a 36-year-old father of two.

Johnston, like many of the people who attend the Waterloo location, is among the demographic of young and educated. He has an undergraduate degree in religious education, an education degree from the University of Prince Edward Island and a master’s degree in philosophy from a seminary in Denver, Colorado.

He, too, grew up in a Christian home and stayed committed to his Baptist roots, but struggled with the institution of the church and didn’t feel at home until he came to The Meeting House.

“Religion at best is a failed experiment,’’ said Johnston. “Religion doesn’t get you into heaven, a relationship with Christ gets you there.’’

Johnston said The Meeting House takes people as they are and pastors are not viewed as holy people with sole access to God.

“We are part of a community of screwed up people wanting to know God. As humans we are broken,’’ he said. “We want to create a safe place for people to share in their brokenness and find healing.’’

Through weekly home church sessions, members can get to know one another and as a community, “God will do the hard work in people’s lives,’’ he said.

Susan Streicher is an elder and leads a home church session at Johnston’s home during the week. Participants question suffering and how some suffer more than others. In the living room, sitting in a circle, members find solace in knowing God suffers with them in their daily struggles.

Sharon Daniel, who started at The Meeting House four years in Kitchener, said she finds the teachings appealing and likes that the “topics are more real.’’

“This doesn’t follow the cookie-cutter approach. It’s OK to question, it’s OK to be doubtful. It’s even OK to yell at him (Jesus),’’ said the 31-year-old engineer. “We work at it together and learn from each other.’’

Streicher, a 32-year-old public school elementary teacher, said she likes the sense of community that is fostered and says people at The Meeting House are more like her. Raised in Heidelberg, Streicher attended a Mennonite church but felt disconnected from her church because the congregation was much older.

“We look closely at scriptures. We want answers,’’ she said. “It feels like I’m going to university some Sundays.’’

Curt Beattie said he was hooked with Cavey’s teachings but “church really happens at home church.’’

He said the smaller groups allow people to dig deeper into the Christian message heard from different perspectives from other participants.

“I tried it out for awhile and then when I came to home church, it was a done deal. This is the place for me,’’ said the 31-year-old software developer.

Related Link:

Revealing The Religious But Lost!
http://www3.telus.net/thegoodnews/religiousbutlost.htm