Austin City Life
Austin City Life meets on 6th Street at a club called The Parish (or The Parish room). It's an upstairs club that features live music during normal working hours. The name, of course, is perfect, for the gathering of Christians as well (although they have only been meeting here about two months, so I don't think there was anything purposeful in it).
It's a little odd to enter a church from 6th Street, climb stairs, and walk into a bar. However, somehow this works. It's warm and inviting. I was greeted immediately upon entering by several people, a coffee station was set up, and music was playing overhead. At least two of the people I spoke with appeared sincerely interested in how I found the place, if I'm looking for a church home, etc. In fact, I found myself kind of dancing around the fact I was here to chronicle this experience on the blog. I was also given a free copy of the book, Don't Waste Your Life, by John Piper. Although the website of the church states services begin at 10:00, people stood around and visited with one another until about 10:15 or 10:20. The church is mainly made up of young people and families. I saw some babies (they had two births this week), teens, and young adults. There were a few people over 50 or so, but not a large number. Overall, I would guess there were about 80 people in attendance (but as I've said before, I'm horrible at estimating numbers - it could have been 60 or 100).
The band that led worship was pretty amazing. I want to first say, up front, I'm not a big fan of female lead singers. Most of the music I grew up listening to, and even music I listen to now, is tilted more towards guitar and male singers. This band has two young ladies who sing and they were simply awesome. One of them had one of the most soulful, beautiful voices I have ever heard live. The other harmonized beautifully. I used the word "soulful" because the music was simply that - it moved the soul. I found myself a little surprised at how deeply I was moved by their voices, the lyrics, the music, and the people worshiping. We were invited to worship in whatever way we felt comfortable - stand, sit, hands raised, hands down, etc. As they played, people appeared completely oblivious of any judgment or pretense and just worshiped. I saw a couple of people on their knees, others stood and raised their hands, others sat quietly in their seat.
Let me take a sidebar here for a moment. One of the reasons I conduct this journey is because I love observing how people relate to God. I love joining them and being a part of that experience. I had difficulties observing people in this particular setting because I felt myself caught up in the experience part. I simply closed my eyes and felt the presence of God moving among His people.
After the music ended, one person got up and shared an experience she had ministering to international students at University of Texas. A visiting pastor got up and shared what was happening in their church in Belton (a church that shares a kinship with this one). One of the points being driven by the various people at the church was they had two purposes. To love God and, through that love, love people. The pastor, Jonathan Dodson, mentioned more than once the yearning to love those in the Austin area and see the culture of Austin changed by that love. He said that the city of Austin didn't need to hear the Gospel anymore. It needed to see it and it will see it through the love of the people who follow Christ.
Jonathan's sermon was the beginning of a series about the Three-Dimensional Gospel. In brief, the Gospel has three dimensions. It has a theological/doctrinal component. It has a personal component. Finally, it has a social component. The doctrinal component changes what you believe. The personal one changes who you are. The social one changes where you live. He made the point of stating that having only one component of the gospel indicates we aren't experiencing it to the fullest and it distorts the purpose of the the Good News. It is quite clear from his sermon and from activities going on with this church, that remaining outwardly focused is a very important part of their walk with God. For example, they have mission trips to Uganda and Mexico coming up. They talk openly about impacting those around them. The sermon made a point to indicate that a personal transformation alone, without an impact on people around you, is not enough. They talked about loving others and demonstrating that love. John is great to listen to. He is extremely sincere, kind of quirky, and really has a heart for what he does. There is nothing pretentious about him or the people in this church. The place is laid back (wear jeans, not a tie), open, honest, and much deeper that one might expect from a place that meets in a bar.
Putting together the whole experience, I think this church manages to do something I don't see very often. They deliberate deeply, not avoiding hard discussions and study, yet they don't take their Christianity at just an intellectual level. There is a very sincere, deep, quiet way in which they worship God both in spirit and in truth. That's not always easy. Churches often either are too caught up in their programs, too caught up in their theology, or too caught up in making their worship experience perfectly choreographed. This church just lets it happen and let's God do the rest. It's so peaceful and moving, I don't think one can go there and not leave unchanged in some way.
