Welcome to Jesus Collective
Who are we and why do we exist?
We believe we stand in a new movement, a new reformation perhaps, which focuses on Jesus at the centre as the revelation of who God is, as the inspiration for how we live and lead, and as the giver of the Spirit who guides and empowers us.
At Jesus Collective we exist to amplify this movement, provide resource and relationship for those who choose to participate in a more hopeful Jesus-centered Christianity.
Phyllis Tickle once suggested that every 500 years or so, Christianity goes through an upheaval. These upheavals happen because the old answers no longer hold true for a large number of people, and the church at large has to re-explore and recontextualize to meet new cultural moments with the relevancy of Jesus.
Below are Five Markers for a Jesus-Centred Transformation that we believe are a result of the Spirit’s movement in this new moment. We are seeking to deepen and apply these markers to our Kingdom work in creative hope-filled ways.
You can also listen to our introductory podcast episode where we unpack these 5 Markers and apply them to our secular age – listen to the podcast What are the markers with Meghan Larissa Good.
A Different Way of Reading Scripture
- Theological contrast: The truth about God is averaged from portraits across the Bible. Jesus is God’s “soft side” but not the exact representation of God. Every verse in the Bible carries equal authoritative weight. An idea is “biblical” if you can find a verse anywhere that seems to support it.
- Secular contrast: The Bible is outdated, supports violence and oppression, and is anti-science. There is no way to know the truth about God or ultimate Reality. There is no way to arbitrate between conflicting, private intuitions about good and evil, right and wrong.
A Bigger Gospel
- Theological contrast: God is only interested in saving souls, not creation itself. Christian faith is mostly about consenting to the right ideas. Jesus is Savior from the world but not Lord of life within it. We are saved only as individuals and the church is incidental.
- Secular contrast: Religion is private matter, only within the hearts of individuals. There is no authority outside of myself. The only salvation is the self-help kind. The highest good is individual freedom or self-expression rather than a beloved community.
A New Relationship with Power
- Theological contrast: Christendom — we try to make the world better by compelling others through force to live like Christians, regardless of what they believe. We build God’s kingdom when we exercise power over others to bend them to our perception of God’s desires.
- Secular contrast: History is a highly polarized power-competition where everyone tries to seize control at the highest levels and impose their will on others. The ends justify the means. The only sort of power that exists is power over others.
A Clarified Mission and a Fresh Empowerment
- Theological contrast: Disconnection between love of God and neighbor. Jesus makes us right with God but has little to say about human relationships or human systems. Or, alternatively, we reconcile the world under our own strength and power. Jesus is an inspiration for our work but little more. Christianity as a moral enterprise but emptied of its spiritual power.
- Secular contrast: Teaching the ideals of ‘liberalism’ will allow everyone to tolerate each other across vast disagreement. Everything will work out if we can just get “those people” who are the problem out of the way. The world is without God’s activity or any power but the human sort.
A New Approach to Disagreement
- Theological contrast: Endless fracturing in churches and denominations where everyone must agree on nearly everything to worship or do mission together. A spirit of judgmentalism. Fuzziness in which a community sticks together due to history or relationship but without any common mission or purpose or shared faith identity.
- Secular contrast: Full inclusion in the group requires strict purity tests. Failure to subscribe to any one piece of current “orthodoxy” can result in exclusion or splintering.
In Case You Missed It
“Jesus Collective sets a safe and welcoming table for diverse leaders and churches to unite around the centrality of Jesus together and equip us to be the church in an increasingly post-Christian world.”
Maggie John, Anchor & Producer
“We’re approaching a critical, historic turning point in the neo-Anabaptist, Jesus-centered movement. This is our Kairos moment; Jesus Collective is a network whose time has come!“
Greg Boyd, Author and Teaching Pastor
“We are at a watershed moment in time, and I’m eager to partner with others who also believe this to be true. Jesus Collective is helping to connect like-minded churches and pastors with their love for Jesus, his mission, and his church at this exciting time in our history.”
Tara Beth Leach, Pastor & Author
“Being a Partner enables us to bring insights from the global south in the shaping of Jesus Collective’s approach to propagating a Jesus-centered view of life and Christian community, while being encouraged by the experiences and lessons of others from different contexts.”
Edem Morny, President
“At Commons, we’re fascinated with the Bible but we worship Jesus. We’re a young, growing church, and Jesus Collective offers us a place to find like-minded friends for the journey who share a desire to place him at the centre of everything.”
Jeremy Duncan, Lead Pastor
“As a diverse, urban church that cares deeply about incarnational living centred around Jesus, we’re kind of like Jesus Collective writ small. We love being part of a wider network that’s seeking to advance this movement in step with the Spirit. We’re in!”
Rod White, Spiritual Director
