ABOUT

Nexus exists to present an alternative and fresh expression of the Christian Path. For many, life is difficult and faith is hard. And so for the restless and the weary, the confused and curious; for the disillusioned and disenfranchised, those about done with faith and those just beginning to explore; Nexus is passionate about exploring the Christian Path in honest and meaningful ways.

At Nexus, we are pursuing the way and path of Jesus. We understand the teachings, life, death and resurrection of Jesus to be the path of life. It is the way of justice and mercy, love and grace, reconciliation and redemption, death and resurrection, and the never ending quest to become more fully and authentically human.

At Nexus, the following collective practices represent the way we are trying to embody walking the Christian Path together in community.

Spiritual Growth & Character Development

We are striving to grow, develop and mature.

The Jesus Path we travel is designed to help us grow and develop into fully flourishing human beings who love God and others. As such, at Nexus we are interested in nurturing the spiritual growth and character development of everyone who chooses to journey with us. To achieve this, we will explore the ancient tools and practices of our tradition as well as provide opportunities to “faith our practices” so that our ordinary habits and routines are shaped by Jesus and his path. 

Belonging & Participation

We are striving to be an equitable community of mutual dignity & respect.

We understand all people to be made in the image of God and as such, we will work to affirm the worth and dignity of everyone. We strive to be a church community that practices welcoming, accepting and serving all people without qualification. We want there to be no barriers to belonging or participating at Nexus, regardless of economic power, gender, mental health, physical ability, race, sexuality, age or ethnicity. We are striving to treat everyone with respect and dignity. 

At Nexus, our primary expression of this practice is found in the ritual of Eucharist/Communion, where our “Table” is open to anyone and everyone. From its beginning, the Table has served as the practice of having people who would never normally associate with one another sit together as equals. We see this practice as a subversive political event for all who participate. In the words of Richard Beck, it brings “real people—divided in the larger world—into a sweaty, intimate, flesh-and-blood embrace where ‘there shall be no difference between them and the rest.’”

Hospitality & Forgiveness 

We are striving to invite others into our lives, give others our trust and be willing to be vulnerable and forgiving.

We seek to be a community that both gives and receives hospitality and forgiveness.  We understand that the Jesus Path is travelled best with company. We choose to not walk alone and invite others into our own personal journeys of faith, recognizing that growth and development comes through the wisdom and guidance of others. We acknowledge the tremendous vulnerability this requires. As such, our desire is to provide opportunities where relationships can develop to the point where we allow others to speak meaningfully into our lives. This must be done by invitation alone. We will encourage each other to extend this invitation, to give others our trust and risk being vulnerable to help us grow and develop. To grow, to walk the path, we must invite others in.

This practice is risky though and we are always in danger of becoming encumbered by the wounds, hurts, disappointments and pains we accumulate in our lives. Our most primal human instinct is to lash out at those who have hurt us, and we are always at risk of becoming jaded, cynical, and bitter. At Nexus we believe the Christian path calls us to the never-ending practice of forgiveness. It is a practice that calls us to transform those hurts inside of us and resurrect them by giving back love, joy, and peace. To travel the Christian path well means continually practicing the giving and receiving of forgiveness. 

Presence & Place  

We are striving to be present wherever we are.

We want to walk the Christian path together fully alert, awake and aware. We want to travel the path with eyes wide open trusting that God’s Spirit is always at work around and ahead of us.  As such, we are striving to be fully present and available to whoever is with us and wherever we find ourselves (at home, in our neighborhoods, at our places of work and play and within the Nexus community). 

Generosity 

We are striving to live generously.

We want to practice receiving all of life as a gift, believing all good things to be gifts from God. As such, we practice travelling the path with open hearts and hands, ready to receive, but also ready to generously give to others from what we have been given, whether it is our time, money, energy, resources or capabilities.

How does Nexus understand and employ the use of Scripture?

By following the Jesus Path we give special attention and prominence to the Gospels and grand narrative of Scripture, even as we recognize that there is much to be learned from many paths, traditions and voices of wisdom. We are in constant dialogue with Scripture as our identity shaping story. Scripture shapes our vision of life, God, ourselves and of God’s dream for the world. We seek to be a compelling advocate for the Jesus Path by bringing other culturally authoritative and interesting voices into conversation with Scripture.

Is Nexus part of a denomination or specific Christian tradition?

While we are not affiliated with a particular denomination, we seek to humbly take our place on the ancient Christian path recognizing that it has been travelled by many for over 2000 years and continues to be travelled by millions today. The Jesus Path plays hosts to many denominations and rich traditions.  As such, we seek to learn from those who have travelled it before us and those who continue to travel it today, even as we recognize the path requires fresh understandings in every time and place and that God’s truth and wisdom can be found in many places, peoples and paths.