Earning The Right To Be The Church

Benji and Abbi married in the summer of 1998.They began their professional ministry life working in a Nazarene church and in the summer of 1999 became leaders of a Christian Ministry in Glacier National Park. Many other adventures followed including a stint in the Virgin Islands. Eventually Benji began a graduate program at Asbury Seminary while Abbi worked at a photography studio. After receiving his Masters in Missions and Evangelism, they moved to Seattle to start On The House- a self described “community living room” in the decidedly alternative neighborhood of Capitol Hill.

When did you move to Seattle and what brought you there?
We moved to Seattle in June of 2002. We knew we were to find an urban area and even a specific neighborhood where people hadn't heard or didn't want to hear Truth. After many applications and a few interviews we landed in this city when the Nazarene denomination agreed to give us a salary to be able to live here and attempt to follow God's lead as missionaries in the city.

You leased a space, called it On the House and opened it to the public. Why?
We started off inviting people into our homes and attempting to make it a sort of gathering place, but that never really took off. Besides this, meeting people is very difficult. Overall, people tend to keep to themselves and only associate with those within their small sect. So, basically, what we did is move our living room into a commercial space. There were several other factors that led to this decision (a place to build community between all the different groups was just part of the motivation). Put as plainly as possible, we believed we were to just be Christian to our immediate community--this meant that we were to love them through
serving them. This neighborhood is the artistic center of Seattle so we found (God reserved for us) a place which would be very artist-friendly. The joint has high ceilings for great acoustics, much wall space for the
visual arts, we have a large screen for local film, and a stage of open mics. Further, lounging around art, entertainment and a cup of coffee is what so many like to do here so we created a place where people could do that for free. ALL is free. The shows, the coffee, everything; and it is unheard of here that an artist could get a show and keep all the money s/he makes (no commission). We did this to try to become a visible part of the community and take an active part in helping meet needs in the area.

Describe the neighborhood/people group where On the House is situated?
It is a very artistic community comprised mostly of people in their late twenties. There are many colleges and universities nearby yet the people roaming the area are not in school. It is sort of a college party place for
those out of college. It is very liberal, to say the least, there are loads of bars that pack out nearby, three large gay clubs and the only lesbian bar in the city are within blocks, as is the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered (LGBT) community center. Anything goes here, except claims for one Savior of course.

You also run your day job out of there. Tell us about that.
Abbi started a vintage children's portraiture studio in the same space, upstairs (SimplyPhotography.us). This operates from 9 am to 4 pm and Onthe House takes place on the weekdays from 5 to 10 pm. The photography presently provides for about half of the rent while the rest is coming in from outside donations.

What kind of people, events or groups have used your space?
CD release parties, poetry book signings and shows, open mics, improvisational movement and music, local film screenings, visual art shows, small group discussions and language groups. The people that utilize the
space are mostly either artists (followers of poetry, music, visual art or film), loners, or people falling on rough times and can't afford a warm room or cup of coffee elsewhere.

You don't charge them anything right? What kind of responses do you get?
We had several people right after we opened just tell us "thank you", or "thank you for the gift." As people find out its service foundation they usually show their own caring or selfless side. There is always the skeptic who's very suspicious but even they, if they come back, are eventually softened as they learn more of us.

How is On the House changing your views of people who don't know Jesus?
I am reminded continually how each person really is a different case altogether. There is no way to lump all these lost folks into one broad category (i.e. the postmodern), arrange a formula to crack into their world, and turn them into believers. Many are very close to God already, many are honest seekers, many are just self-seeking, most are plagued with self-righteousness, most have (or know someone who has) been wounded by the church, so many have very bad, inaccurate views of who Jesus was/is, God is, the Bible is about, or what Christians believe.

How has it affected your views of God or church?
It has really helped me and encouraged me as I realize that when the church understands and is involved in lovingly serving their neighborhood, hearts are changed. Concerning God, I am constantly in awe of Him--how He provides for us in so many different ways as we took on this project knowing we didn't have the money for it (and still don't but it comes in when we need it). Why he chose me, an introvert from a small town, I may never know (it's probably because I know that when something happens it won't be because of my amazing people skills).

You say you're earning the right to be church. Tell us what you mean by that
statement?
I remember saying that we are earning the right to be heard. People have selective listening and when it comes to politics or religion their filters are in full effect. They hear only what they want to hear or what already agrees with what they believe. When people really listen they do so only to those whom they know and trust. So in earning the right to be heard we are essentially just trying to build a mutual trust, find commonality, and show what we believe by how we consistently live.

Do you think of yourselves as a church already? Why or why not?
We absolutely see ourselves as the body of Christ. Although we are but a few, we are very much extending the serving hands of Christ as we reach out to those around us. However, we are not a church in the sense that whenever people come in to the building we are unloading the Bible on them and trying to get them to immediately drop their "sin" and "accept Christ" (they don't know what that means).

So you think that church is supposed to be shaped by its culture. What about being separate from our culture's dangerous/sinful effects? Where do you draw the line?
We have to be very careful how we talk about this and the words we choose to use. We believe that church is to be shaped by nothing else and no one else but the character and work of Christ. However, how we communicate the person and work of Christ MUST be shaped by culture and put into forms and words they will understand. This is a key message of the incarnation--He put Himself on our level and lived as anyone else would in that particular culture, speaking with their words. So when attempting to relate to our people and be seen as one of them yet very different, we do run in to some difficulty. Being only a couple sheep among a multitude of wolves we are very vulnerable and susceptible to the effects of a sinful culture yet we hold fast to the promise that He who is in us is greater than all that. It's a routine of putting on armor and praying continually, as we are being guided by the Spirit. When keeping in step with Him we are also convinced that we must strip the gospel of everything that we have added to it as we do everything short of sin to bring God into the sight of these people.

Tell us a story of someone who has started a relationship with God by coming to On the House.
After being open about three months, a young girl, almost 20, came in (we had met her a few days earlier) by herself and asked for Abbi whom she only knew by name. She somehow felt that this was a safe place because she unloaded on Abbi her situation--how she was pregnant with the child of a heroin user and she was not in a good relationship with her mother. She was on the verge of becoming a homeless, pregnant teen. We said she could stay with us a couple weeks (the maximum time in our apartment) as she looked for work and housing. We prayed much for her situation and it turned out that she wasn't pregnant. She got on her feet and about a month ago agreed to be a follower of Christ. She keeps on attending a church with us as we are beginning to see some positive changes in her behavior.

What are some of the events that are currently lined up for On The House?
This Thursday we have a folk/rock group playing, Friday is the November art opening show with the artists, Monday is an event called the Examination Series where people will gather to discuss poetry and the works of Rilke, Tuesday is an open mic.

How long do you plan to be working in Seattle at On the House?
We're here until the cows come home.

What have you learned through this experience that you wish someone had been able or willing to tell you earlier when you were being trained for ministry?
"Expect to be used for the impossible." Many times there is too much emphasis on our abilities or gifts as "ministers" and we lose sight of the fact that we don't want to be used for what WE can accomplish but for what He can accomplish when we let Him.

What could potential church planters/ community starters learn from your experience thus far?
Service really is at the heart of ministry. "Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and [then] followed him" Mt. 20:34.