Christianity Snagged

Most of us have done it.  A sharp corner of a cabinet or a splintered edge of an end table catches an article of clothing; the individual threads separate in an instant, hanging-up on that fixed pinnacle as you move in the opposite direction.  Unable to withstand the strain, the material ruptures, snags, and begins to unravel.  Whether a sweater or women’s stockings, the article of clothing is broken down to its most elementary parts.

Jess Bousa is doing it right now, but the sweater Jess Bousa is unraveling happens to be the traditional model for the Church.  As a young, ambitious graduate of Valley Forge Christian College and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, author of two books, and credentialed minister with the Assemblies of God, Bousa has currently set his hand to church planting in Hartford County, Maryland.  Unlike one accidently snagging his or her shirt, Jess Bousa, while preparing for a church launch next September, is knowingly exposing the elementary parts of the Christian faith.

Approaching the community with the mindset that few people, if any, will argue or resist the meeting of the needs within the community (i.e. feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, healing the sick), Jess Bousa’s first strides were to start The Good Cause Foundation.  The Good Cause Foundation states that it “is a brand new non-profit, community based-organization designed to decrease needs by increasing generosity. We believe everyone has something to offer his or her community.  Through dynamic partnerships with individuals and organizations, GCF is destined to change the world for the better in Havre de Grace, Maryland, and, through it, to the world.”  GCF is attempting to meet the needs of the community through scholarship programs, baby showers, and other not so typical “outreach” means.

Admittedly, Jess Bousa does not spend a lot of time inside the walls of the church; Bousa recognizes that one cannot effectively build relationships with the un-churched and unbelieving from inside a church office.  One of the goals for this church planter is simply to make opportunities in which he, and individuals on his team, can be with the members of the community that have little to no interest in attending church.  Whether it is through throwing a baby shower for a young mother in the community or opening up a coffee house, the idea is to just get them in the room and show them the love of Jesus Christ through relationship.  The same individuals that are first accepting of a good cause have in turn become accepting of the Good News.  Arguably, Jess Bousa already began the process of discipling the members of his community.

Unlike women’s stockings, the Christian faith is not ruined when it is “snagged” and broken down to its most basic parts.  In fact, one might argue that it is in the simplicity of the faith that one finds its true meaning.  Jess Bousa is showing a small Maryland community a snagged and simplistic Christianity, a walk with Jesus that strips away all of the religiosity and emphasizes true relationship.  Jess Bousa is doing it; perhaps more of us should be doing it.