Coffee Shop Church

Tori and Sarah Ro and I stumbled into a poetry reading by complete accident. We intended to go to Beatnix coffee shop, but Sarah and I had homework we intended to do and Tori had a book she intended to read. Yet when we got to Beatnix my previous agenda went out the window. I realized almost immediately that this was a moment I didn’t want to miss.

I was amazed at the variety of people that had gathered for this event. There were people of all ethnicities: black, white, Hispanic, and Eastern. There were people of all ages: children, grandparents, people in their 20s, and 30s. There were people of all educational levels: elementary school children, college drop outs, graduate student, people with master’s degrees.
I was amazed in the variety in the poetry itself. Some of the poetry was passionate, some of it calm. Some about life’s most serious and tragic moments, some about the little joys of every day. There were poems experiencing the possibilities that come with a sunrise. There were poems about climbing a tree and flying a kite. A man dedicated a poem to his sister about the pain and anguish of a hurtful past of abuse at the hands of their father. A middle school girl read her self-written poem about the inevitability of selling the purebred puppies she had grown to love. A middle aged man read a poem about racism and American and Christianity. A fourth-grade girl recited a poem she wrote about love. There were poems about sensuality and romance. There were poems about friends and strangers. There were poems about being the person you want to be and about living each day with the joy and intentionality as we do during the holiday season.

The thing that struck me the most was the overwhelming feeling of love and acceptance that pervaded the room. There was a tangible feeling of joy throughout. The poems weren’t all sickly sweet and happy, about how life is always good and full of flowers and rainbows. The content was reality, whether that was happy and contemplative, or raw and painful. The joy that pervaded the room was because of the deep value people were giving to one another and their expressions of themselves. All the poems were given in a different style: some read, some memorized, some sung, some almost rapped, and some almost in a one-person play. Some people were clearly experienced while others were reading their poetry in public for the very first time. Yet every person was praised for their willingness to be vulnerable and express their hearts and bare their souls before others. I liked some poems better than others, but that was not the point. No one was trying to write a poem that would please me; they were simply trying to express themselves and their thoughts as they struggled through the journey of life. They weren’t inviting me to critique their poems, they were inviting me to enter into them.

Today, I realized that I had accidentally stumbled across one of the best examples of what a community of Christ is supposed to be like I’d ever seen. The attitude was warm and inviting. People were excited to be there. They looked forward to seeing friends and meeting new people. The dress was casual but the art expressed was of the highest quality because it was genuine and heart felt. The community didn’t shy away from the harsh realities of life, but yet was able to talk about them in such a way that was family-friendly and respectful to others. God was in and among everything that happened, though it was clear everyone there was on a different stage of the journey. Some boldly claimed to love Jesus and be doing his ministry. Others wrestled with the traditional concepts of God and Jesus and sought to discover Him in a new way. Some only referenced the wonders of His creation. Yet all were on a journey of seeking God in their own way and no one claimed to have all the answers or to be beyond sin. No one claimed that their life was complete and they didn’t wrestle with the demons of their past or the fears of loneliness in their present or the uncertainty of the future. The whole experience was inspiring and healing. When it was over everyone lingered. There’s something about the combination of vulnerability and community and art that makes you never want to leave. It was one of the best examples of loving God, embracing beauty, and living life to the fullest that I’ve ever seen.