Overview Of My Motivation
Throughout the years my passion for muscle cars, motorcycles, entertaining people, and enjoying music like rock and blues has grown. Just like how Jesus met me in a pub,
I hope for others to experience the grace of Jesus in similar settings. For traditional churchgoers, the idea of a pub as a church setting may be challenging. It may even challenge those who stereotype believers to see that you can pursue these kinds of passions and love Jesus at the same time. A pub can even be a space for those who have fallen away from the faith because of different theological views or have been hurt by the church. With different people, from different backgrounds and passions, the pub would be another avenue to experience the Gospel.
We, people, are looking for answers. We realize that we can't find all our answers through politics, the economy—not even society. So why not seek answers in a pub while drinking your favorite drink and listening to music in the background?
Have you ever thought about going to a pub on Sunday rather than going to church? Or do you feel uncomfortable going to a church because you feel foreign and don't know if someone will judge you? Well, the pub can give you the comfort, time and space to feel welcomed to hear the Good News.
I would like to build a place where every person can feel like themself, even amidst complicated conversations and conflicts. In fact, I've already experienced flying beer bottles and humans through a crowded pub before.
I am confident the pub can withstand harsher conflicts, no doubt.
It may sound as if this concept could be similar to an “emerging” ministry from a liberal-minded church. However, in emerging movements, the emphasis is put on validating feelings as truth rather than the Good News itself. They often adapt the truth to the current political, traditional, cultural and social issues. Prioritizing these current trends to dictate the Gospel can lead to an incomplete and watered-down Good News. The pub—on the other hand—although it would offer a more liberal environment, would still hold on to the core foundation of truth.
In the past, I hated the church and “Christianese” society. It drove me further away from God. So I have a lot of empathy for those who don't want to deal with “church, gospel, and theological stuff”. Many people are disappointed with the church or in their own communities. Another example would be that existing churches are just not fitting your personality. This is natural because we are all different…
…and sometimes the church seems to pump out “cookie-cutter” Christians.
How would people encounter Jesus in my pub? Unlike any traditional pub, my goal would be to host forums, debates and interviews across many topics that would marry these passions of music and motorcycles with Jesus and faith.
