In my last story in this series I told you about my struggles with organized religion and how fake and boring it could be, my haunting realization as the leader of a faith community that what we were doing wasn't actually making a difference, and my search for ways of gathering that were more natural and authentic. We left off with me reconnecting with my house church roots, getting into Scripture storytelling, and seeing some beautiful things start to happen. Before I move on to the story of how the Yeshua Groups network emerged I have to confess that I don't feel like I spent enough time explaining why I came to believe so strongly in the simple practice of telling the stories of Scripture and talking frankly about them. It really is important though - not only because it's the tie that binds our diverse groups together, but because without an understanding of "orality" you're not going to understand yourself or how the world is changing right now. I'm not going to get into that here but I do hope you'll sign up for a short weekly email from me talking about this ancient craft here: https://is.gd/20N8EK
So. Where were we? My life moved on from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan where I had those first storytelling experiences but I held them dear in my heart. More than that, I carried a dream to one day start a movement where people could experience for themselves the exhilarating energy of what I had discovered. Years passed and then, in the summer of 2017, I knew it was time. I started by prayerfully writing out questions and answers. "What's my vision?" A movement of groups that get together to tell the stories of Scripture and talk about them. "What are some words that I want to describe our groups?" Fresh and raw, real and honest, simple and organic, open and informal. "Why are I doing this?" Because I want to make the world better and more beautiful for as many people as possible and I believe that this is the most effective way of doing it. Because everything people do springs from the stories they tell themselves and if you can change their stories then you change their lives. Because I believe this is an idea whose time has come. There's more, but that's a glimpse.
But the baby still didn't have a name! I chose "Yeshua Groups" because there's something about the Hebrew name of Jesus that feels fresh and original, similar to what I wanted for our groups. Not to mention he was always telling stories. My hope was that these groups would be a place where people could encounter Yeshua himself, far from the clutter and clamor of religion. It just so happened that it was the 9th of Av when I created a Google account for the network and received an email back saying "Welcome Yeshua". This felt special because Tisha B'av is the lowest day on the Jewish calendar, but is also the day on which one tradition says the Messiah will be born. In addition to the name "Yeshua Groups", I also chose the campfire to represent us. If you've ever gone camping and sat around an open fire with your friends then you know why. You relax, eat, tell stories, laugh, and peer deeply into the flames. It is life at its simplest and its best. There's something about the campfire that captures how we humans naturally relate and what we most long for, and that was what I wanted for our groups.
For the next several months I worked furiously. Crafting a website, getting set up on social media, compiling a list of best resources and creating online groups for our leaders. We announced Yeshua Groups at the end of October and the months after that were even more of a flurry as I interviewed potential leaders by phone, experimented and improved our processes, created a volunteer system, and then took on 30 volunteers whom I dubbed 'the Legends' because we were making history. A couple of my favourite highlights from this time? Dr. Bill Bjoraker, the foremost champion of Orality in the Messianic Jewish movement, lent his presence to our leader groups. And, some folks here in Albuqerque whom I hadn't even met before started a group that became a source of many beautiful experiences that would have made all the effort worth it, just for that.
And that was how Yeshua Groups was born. There have been highs and lows since then but I'll keep those for the next story and leave you with this. About a year after the birth of the network I sensed that we needed a statement summarizing what we were all about in under one minute - something precise and poetic, something that people would read and remember. I spent a couple months crafting the Yeshua Groups manifeso before it came out on the front page of the website, and it's still there guiding us into the future. I hope it inspires you.
WHO ARE WE? Yeshua Groups is a network of groups getting together to tell the stories of Scripture and discuss them "campfire style". That doesn't always mean building a bonfire but it does mean talking freely, laughing, eating, and having fun. In the same way that a fire throws both light and heat we're learning to sit together in the light of honesty, respect, freedom, and acceptance and are feeling our lives warmed by our growing faith, hope, love, and joy.
WHERE ARE WE GOING? Imagine a circle of friends getting together regularly to interact honestly with the stories of Scripture and see their own stories in light of them. See how they enjoy each other's company and how their lives are made better by the culture they're creating? Now watch that group inspiring new groups and changing the world one story at a time. That's the dream. And our goal? To see Yeshua Groups like this thriving in every one of the roughly 4k cities in the world with a population of 100k or more.
HOW ARE WE GETTING THERE? Our mission is to train storytellers to do three things: tell the stories of Scripture in a way that sparks conversation, start groups where the fire can grow, and train more storytellers. We're doing that by reaching out to new storytellers by word of mouth and social media, training them through the resources on our website and online groups, and sending people their way by publishing their stories and putting them on our map.
P.S. If you ever need to find the manifesto again, it's here: https://yeshuagroups.com