Where were we? Oh yes, stained glass, white steeples, and very thick brick walls.

Our last attempt to do what God had laid on our hearts, within the walls of our current church, was when we asked for support to start a casual Saturday evening service to more effectively reach the unchurched in our community. The pastor understood the need, but other leaders expressed a lot of concern and ultimately rejected our request. I recall the statement, “Someone might raise a hand in worship and our people just aren’t ready for that.”

It was at this dead end Randy and I decided we were done. Done with the traditional-style, believe before you belong, come just as you are– but better  method of gathering. I was tired of inviting people to church yet feeling the need to take them to our local K-Mart first to get them dress clothes so they would feel comfortable. I was tired of seeing egos flair over arguments that had no bearing on our mission as a church. I was done seeing a town hurt and die in their ignorance of a loving God. Looking back, I see how I was even suffering from a life focused on the wrong ideals of Christianity. I had stopped growing spiritually and it manifested in many different ways. So what did we do? We told our church family in a kind email of our plans to move on, and thanks to my husband’s stellar note-saving skills, here is a snippet of that exact correspondence from Randy with one of the church leaders.

Dear Church Leader, (Name deleted to respect the recipient)

I really appreciate all you have said.  I really respect your opinion as well as your heart. I know you want what is right and best for God’s Kingdom and you don’t let personal issues get in the way of that. I have done my best to find a way to reconcile all the involved parties and through that process I have come to better realize where God is leading my family in all of this. We see a distinct need for a contemporary worship option with Baptist doctrine and innovative outreach options for our community. It seems clear that it won’t happen within these church walls any time soon which is regrettable.  I am praying that the church can find its identity through this and can become united behind it and their leader. I feel that my battle is with The Enemy and I don’t want to battle any longer against my brothers, as wrong as I may think they are on some issues.  There is much more I could say and I would be more than happy to visit with you sometime. I am proud to call you my brother and look forward to continued interaction with you and your family in whatever ways that might be possible. I will continue to pray for wisdom, peace, and love…” In Christ, Randy Jones

His reponse:

“Dear Randy,

Just want you to know that you have my support. I also want you to know that I thought you handled yourself extremely well at our last couple of meetings as you and others came under ruthless attack. Like you, I’m about fed up with church politics.I want you to know that I will be praying that the Lord will give you the strength, wisdom, and resolve to stay the course in this battle.I believe that you are the most articulate spokesman not only for our pastor, but also for the church.

Your Brother in Christ, (Name withheld out of respect)”

We were very thankful for that response and support, but to be honest we would have been more appreciative if people who felt similarly would have spoke up in public as they did in private. It was a lonely time, but i’ve learned not everyone is so willing to sacrifice their comfort nor their means of earning a living, if employed by the church, to follow what their heart says is right. So we packed up these kind sentiments and went on our way. Randy, myself, and our little family stepped into the great unknown with just a whisper from God calling us toward MORE. Uncertain of what that MORE was, we felt God was desiring to complelty redefine what church was to us and in order to do that we had to completely stop going to an organized traditional church for a short time. I hear what you’re thinking. What? How could that possibly be the answer? Aren’t we supposed to not forsake the gathering? Yes. You are correct and I felt those sentiments when that first Sunday came and we just stayed home. I worried about our future. I worried about our kids. So much of my faith was due to the amazing Baptist church I grew up in and the leaders who poured into me and the community I had there. How would my kids grow to love the church as I did? There weren’t any options open to us that felt different than what we were running from, but we kept listening to that whisper and did what we could to be obedient. We started watching LifeChurch online as a family on Sunday mornings and Randy came up with a fun idea for our gamer sons, a weekly gathering centered around their love for computers, games, and all things web-related. We named it CyberTribe. Every Friday night, we opened our home for however many boys we could invite. We fed them, set up every gaming console we had in the house (and we had a lot) and offered them a short devotional. (That’s Baptist lingo for a casual Bible Study). Here is a pic of one of those nights.

We challenged these guys to serve the community, we had a golden controller for the gaming winner every week, we made a viral video, we were interdenominational, we had guest speakers, local restuarants like The Brick Pizza (You didn’t think we would forget you, did you?) donated food, it was amazing.

One boy who later attended The Edge Church said, “CyberTribe was the Edge Church Beta Edition.” Spoken as a true gamer. We loved it. We loved every boy who came. God answered a prayer for our kids and it was a raging success. But as I’ve said since then, why are we ever surprised at how people respond when we fling the doors of the Church wide open? People have always flocked to Jesus’ love when it’s paired with open arms.

But no movement of God happens without sacrifice. One thing I’ve learned from my time in ministry is there is truth in the old adage; No good deed goes unpunished. I’ve determined Satan makes sure of this to try and deter us from pushing forward. We had 40 some odd boys float in and out of CyberTribe for those six months in our little 2000 sq ft. home. Some of those guys we still know today and some we never saw again, but if there was one guest I could go back and banish, it would be the little bed bug who hitched a ride into our house, because that is a curse I would not wish upon my worst enemy, but I would do it all again for those special evenings because it was the beginning of our Come Just As You Are ministry…bed bugs and all. I share this so you can know that when you do things that threaten the enemy’s camp, he doesn’t hold back punches nor pestilent plagues, so be ready. The challenges will come. Someone recently threw the idea in our face that because we encountered so much conflict during our season as pastors that it must mean we weren’t doing ministry right. I nearly fell out of my chair laughing. If ministry is a breeze for you, I will throw down the challenge that maybe you are the one not doing it correctly. The enemy only sits down on those who he sees as an impotent threat. So I hope your ministry is plagued with many battles because that’s one way we know we are making a difference, and by the Grace of God, those battles will turn to victories. If you’re wondering how that pest issue ended? Well, Bedbugs-0. Aimee-1. Praise God!

Are you still with me? I learned from my blogging days that a good post needs to be about 500 words or less. This one will not be good by those standards, but we have a lot of history to wade through and I’m on a roll so let’s go one step deeper. 

The Domain Name Heard ‘Round My Little World

By the time God called us to do something different, I had become quite the outspoken housewife. Feel free to read the post linked HERE, for that history. I had a following on Facebook and a decent amount of blog subscribers. So when our lives drastically changed, it was natural for me to write about it. Mind you, at this time given our recent church experiences, I was very emboldened, disillusioned, and sitting on a decent pile of righteous anger. Up until this point, most of my blogging and column writing was of a non-religious nature because it was being peddled in a handful of small-town newspapers. Therefore, I knew I needed a fresh page for these spiritual experiences to land on. I remember sitting on a plane, staring out the window, listening to worship music, and just begging God to let me be used to change the injustices we had witnessed. If I could have taken a sledge hammer and physically removed the man-made obstacles we had erected over the years that frustrated me so, I would have done it in a heartbeat. But traditions don’t crumble as easily as brick and mortar. So, I asked for help, or maybe more specifically asked God if I could be of help. 

I fervently prayed for God to use any talents or any online following I had, no matter how small, to shake up the spiritually dead in Christ. Remember in Episode Two when I asked God a question and He answered? Well, when you ask God to use your measly hands to start a mini-revolution, he sometimes answers those requests too. 

Then and there, the name for my blog came in a whisper that scared me to death, but thrilled me to my little warrior heart. I knew it would have the power to be divisive, but I also knew division wasn’t always avoidable to make change. I mean, look at the ministry of Jesus. After weighing the consequences for about three seconds, I made up my mind to be obedient to the calling and the cause. The fear melted away and a divine confidence, or dare I say stubbornness, took up residence. It truly was then that I knew our Jones future would never be the same. At 30,000 feet in the air, as close to the heavens as I’ll ever be this side of eternity, the Breaking Baptist blog was born. The moment we landed I bought BreakingBaptist.com (I don’t own it today so don’t blame me for what you may find if you Google it.) and the rest is now history. I urged readers then to hear me out on the name, and I ask those of you skeptical today to do the same.

Your homework is to blow the dust off those old posts under the Breaking Baptist tab at the top of my blog to save us some words next time. So much emotion and history there and so many people who joined our launch team for The Edge told me they came because of that blog. For that reason alone, I will always be nose to the ground humbled and thankful. But don’t for a moment think it was easy or didn’t come with a price because plenty of people had plenty to say about that blog and I took some hurtful blows during that time. It was a tough yet very exciting season. It divided family members, friends, fellow christians, but it also united a very special group of people that will forever hold the most honorable place in my heart, The Edge Church Launch Team.

Until next time…and here’s that Breaking Baptist link. Enjoy and read with an open mind and feel free to share your thoughts.