I’ve been to a lot of conferences. Enough to have developed some cynicism about their long-term impact on what I do. I can honestly say that the Verge Conference was one of the very best I’ve ever been to. Most likely it was a combination of the content presented and the questions I brought with me. I’m in a different place in my ministry than I have been in years past, so it changed the way I heard what was presented at Verge.

Overall, what I experienced at Verge affirmed the direction the Fulcrum Community is headed. It seems that more and more church leaders are moving away from “church as we know it” and looking for a more relational, sustainable, and enjoyable way of gathering a community of Christ-followers. I heard several mega-church pastors almost lamenting what they’ve helped create as they aren’t sure it’s really increasing the number of disciples in the world. It’s one thing to gather a crowd with a fancy church show and then ask people to volunteer to help keep the show rolling. It’s another thing altogether to make disciples of Christ who see themselves as missionaries with a ministry all their own.

I came away with three big nuggets that are a combination of what I heard at Verge and what we’re learning at Fulcrum. As we continue to clarify our mission and strategy, these may prove to be helpful to us. At the very least, they may help us put some flesh on the ideas of community, outreach, and discipleship.

Essentially, we can accomplish our mission by: throwing parties, doing good in the community, and taking Jesus seriously.

1. Throw Parties: Dinner parties, block parties, special event parties, birthday parties, cookouts, poker nights, and anything else we can think of. Parties create inclusive community, but only when we keep inviting our friends and neighbors to join us. When our parties cease to have outsiders present, it’s over.

2. Do Good in the Community: Beginning with our neighborhoods, we look for opportunities to serve our neighbors. We start small and close. From there, we expand our ministry throughout the city to larger and larger projects.

3. Take Jesus seriously: He’s the point of all this. We listen to him and do what he says. We read his word and let it start messing with us. We invite our friends to the same. We all learn to follow Jesus together.

What would a community of faith look like if it spent most of it’s energy on these three things?

One of the interesting things about meeting in a coffee house is that we occasionally have people walk in during our gathering looking to buy a cup of coffee. Star Co. is usually closed on Sundays and the sign out front says so, but when people are walking down the street and see a room full of people drinking coffee, they make assumptions and come on in.

This has to be an odd experience for them. Imagine walking into your favorite coffee house and immediately having four or five people turn and greet you and say “We’re glad you’re here.” The look on their face usually tells us whether they’ve come for Cafe Fulcrum or for a cup of coffee. Some, when they learn they’ve stepped into an “event,” turn around and leave. Others, brave the awkward friendliness and step to the counter and place their order. One guy was standing at the counter and people kept chatting him up and finally he said, “I’m just here to get a latte for my wife.” We offered him a free breakfast taco to go with it.

It bothers me that we’re putting people in an awkward situation. (As an introvert, one of my personal core values is to avoid public embarrassment whenever possible.) We’re trying to address it with some additional signage that explains what we’re doing while inviting them to come on in an join us anyway. On the other hand, this is also one of the reasons I love having our gathering in a public space–we just never know who is going to walk in.

At the Cafe last Sunday, we had a couple walk into the world’s friendliest coffee house and order something to eat and drink. As they were waiting, they asked the barista what was going on. They also talked to a couple of Fulcrum people. They ended up staying for the entire gathering. They sat at the back and ate their food and drank their coffee and listened to what I had to say. Afterward, I got to meet them and invite them to the next Cafe. I love the idea that they came in for coffee and ended up hanging out with our community for almost an hour.

But that’s not all that happened on Sunday.

Another couple came in and never made it past the mat in front of the door. I was at the mic teaching and they quickly figured out what was going on. They immediately turned around and walked out. As they did, the man said to his companion, “F—ing church!” The guys at the back of the room thought it was hilarious.

This is exactly where our community needs to be: in between the seekers and the cynics. Some walk in for coffee and end up staying awhile. Others walk out cursing us before we can even offer them a free cup of coffee and breakfast taco. I’d like to believe that Jesus and his little band of followers experienced something similar when he was preaching in the marketplace.

By the way, I’ve heard people curse as they walk out of church before, but it’s usually after they hear my sermon, not before.