And I don't care what individual preferences say. I really am concerned with something more transcendent and timeless than that, something that speaks into the chaos of the age with some sort of option. The biblical message combined with a familiar cultural context gives the young congregation a strong sense of community. And some members of the church are extending that idea of community into their daily lives, forming group houses with other church members. A Saturday evening dinner party at a Mars Hill community house.
Jazz plays in the background as young people mingle, eating cheese and sipping non-alcoholic drinks.
It's not obvious that this is a group of people drawn together by faith until they gather to pray before dinner. After dinner, the group sits down to talk. They come from a variety of backgrounds. All of them speak in intensely personal terms about their involvement with God. Typical gen X thing to say, but I just want to make it real.