Århus Café Church: A Company of Believers

Yesterday was a big milestone for our church plant. The story so far.

A day of new beginnings

At some point in the latter part of 2000 a handful of young Adventists in Århus began meeting every Sabbath afternoon to pray, sing, study, and talk together. Little did we know at that stage what it would eventually become.

Our weekly gatherings continued, but over the following years a vision evolved of planting a new church for postmoderns in Århus. Inspired greatly especially by seminars with Peter Roennfeldt and by the Café Church in Copenhagen, and in accord with the vision of the church in Denmark, the committed members (a coalition of the willing) formed a core group. After 18 months of prayer, study, discussion, and hard work, this group had established the vision and fundamental strategy for the church we felt a calling to build. Based on the documents resulting from this work, the project was launched in 2003 as Århus Café Church.

Leadership

We had bought new furniture and turned the room we were meeting in into a café. Our weekly meetings were not just meetings anymore but actual church services. Our music team evolved. Small groups were formed. And from the onset the leadership of this aspiring church did their best to prayerfully stay focused on the vision.

None of us were employed. Which is why we were very grateful for a large gift from an unknown donor which opened the door for many of us to receive valuable leadership training. Our structure is somewhat ‘flat’ and democratic, and at no time has the project rested solely on one person’s shoulders. We see this as a strength; every person is useful, but no one is irreplaceable, and all of our work takes place in teams.

Any church planting project will meet its share of challenges. We have had several discussions with the mother church with which we still share a building. Sometimes fruitful, sometimes excruciating. Fortunately our relations are better now than they have been, and the backing of the Union has been an important source of support.

Where it got us

Currently weekly attendance ranges between 20 and 40 people, and a lot of these are committed to bringing the Gospel to Århus and showing the world the love of Jesus. Small groups, worship nights, public discussions, homeless project, are just some of the things going on. We are trying out a new leadership structure which will hopefully give us more time to focus on spiritual leadership.

Recognition

And now, it is with great joy that we can call ourselves a Company of Believers, organized under the Danish Union of Churches. At the church service yesterday, church planting coordinator Thomas Müller and president Ole Kendel conducted the formal recognition of Århus Café Church with 15 founding members.

The status as Company of Believers is the stepping stone to be a formally integrated church in the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

The road ahead

At this occasion, yours truly received ordination as elder in this newly formed group. This is a humbling responsibility, for who am I to do the work of the almighty God? A great task still lies ahead of us. But the recognition from the Seventh-day Adventist Church – as a group, and for me personally – confirms that we are on the right track. That what we are doing is God’s vision for this city. I pray that we will continue to grow under His guidance.

www.aarhuscafekirke.dk (in Danish)

An Axis of Evil in the Church?

As previously mentioned, there are big discussions taking place in the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Denmark, although many of the worries are probably not exclusive to this country, or to this denomination. A lot of church members are honestly worried, but by presenting a world view that mimics that of a certain U.S. president, I believe these ‘concerned brethren’ are doing more harm than good.

The problem arises when everything you dislike is lumped with each other, all belonging to the same conspiracy. Some people might make a list including ecumenism, praise music, church planting, new methods, spiritual gifts, lay ministry, speaking in tongues, feelings, the Holy Spirit, healing, Natural Church Growth, and many others. Some of these may be bad, others are certainly not. But to some people, the distinction is lost, and everything is brandished as an “Axis of Evil”.

This term, famously used by U.S. President George W. Bush in his 2002 State of the Union Address, did much the same in world politics. Potentially unfriendly states were linked together in a supposed conspiracy, proving to be mostly false. Furthermore, one might suspect that involuntary membership of the group actually creates ties which were previously non-existent. North Korea and Iran probably have a better relationship now than before joining the Axis of Evil.

An early notion in Adventism was the call to ‘come out of Babylon’, based on Revelation 18:4-5, “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues; for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes.” However, as George Knight points out in A Search for Identity, Adventists have interpreted Babylon to be many different things, among these all other churches, Catholicism, or even the principle of church structure.

Incidentally, earthly Babylon is pretty much modern-day Iraq, founding member of the Axis of Evil. I don’t believe that symbolic Babylon should be interpreted as the Axis of Evil is. It would be a mistake if we as Christians see the church as George W. Bush sees the world.

I find hope in the Third Angel’s Message, in Revelation 14:12, “This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God’s commandments and remain faithful to Jesus.” This is our calling; staying true the Word and remaining faithful to Jesus Christ, acknowledging that salvation can come only through believing in Him.

As humans, and as Christians, we should not spend our time judging others. In stead, we should rejoice and be happy. “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.” (Revelation 14:7) All glory belongs to the Lord. So does judgment.

The Da Vinci Code Revealed

The hype about Dan Brown has somewhat diminished since the movie of his novel turned about to be a disaster. The sometimes vehement opposition from certain religious groups has, fortunately, ceded somewhat. In a post little over a year ago I argued that the big fuss is misplaced, since the book is fiction – nothing more, nothing less.

The debate is not dead, though. And some of the questions that the book posed may be valid and interesting. Starting tomorrow, my church, Århus Café Church, will do a series of talks about the book and the theories related to it (as Tvesok has also mentioned). Questions such as the validity of the Bible, the nature of Jesus, and Christianity itself will be the basis for four evenings with a presentation by Lars Dorland and rich opportunity for debate.

It will be interesting to see how many people show up. And hopefully also interesting to listen to the discussions. If you live in Århus, feel free to drop by.