Blogged Arteries

When “gardens” is the topic of discussion, different people will bring up different thoughts and points of view.  Some may talk about the garden they have in their back yard.  In this garden, they boast, are plump tomatoes, tall cornstalks, delicious green beans, etc., etc.  There is undoubtedly a significant group who would mention a garden of sorts near their home where they go to read, relax, play sports, or whatever to reenergize them from their stressful lives.  I know I have a garden like that.  Other people, more in the religious mindset, are bound to bring up the Garden of Eden.  I think most people have at least heard of this garden.  This is the garden where God placed the first man and woman to live and take care of the world.

Now, according to these contexts, when we boil down the basic elements of a garden, we get a comforting place where work must be done in order to cause growth to occur and fruit to come forth.  There may be other vital aspects of a garden that I am ignorant of, but for my analogy, this works. 

Now, based on our defenition of a garden, I want to introduce to you another Garden.  In the beautiful, broken city of Baltimore, MD, there is a new kind of church plant called The Garden.  The name alone is a new kind of church name.  And along with the type of church plant, and the type of name, the church itself is a new (yet ancient) type of church.  I say new because it is fresh, relevent, and different from the way churches have been in the recent past.  I say ancient because the Garden seeks to do church and life with the same passion and love as did the early church way back when Christianity started.  In the Biblical book of Acts, we read about how the believers met in each others houses.  This new movement was fresh and relevent and different from the norm of that day.  The religious up and ups of their time were arrogant and prideful.  They walked around in beautiful clothes and wouldn’t even talk to the sick and homeless because they considered themselves too good.  But when the new church was planted by Jesus, they helped the sick and homeless and did whatever necessary to show God’s love for all mankind.  The Gaden - Baltimore has the same desires.  They seek to live out the whole great commandment (Matthew 22:37-39), as well as the great commision (Acts 1:7-8).

I’ll write more on this later, but if you live in the Baltimore area, and for some reason read this blog, check out the Garden Community.  It will be worth your while.