One night last month, Pam, Jessie, and I went to the Church Basement Road Show in Nashville, which was hosted by St. B’s church. Tony Jones (pictured left), Doug Pagitt, and Mark Scandrette led the event, which combined an “old time gospel revival” setting with a different kind of message that invited people to imagine a Christianity that was more anchored in the life and message of Jesus.

Tony, Doug, and Mark are all friends, and each of them have had an impact in my own spiritual journey. Back in the day, I had managed to construct a “Christianity” that was a prison, and in their own way, Tony and Doug started a hole for me that I kept digging in, which lead to freedom. In Tony’s case particularly, he gave me permission to admit, let go, and seek alternatives to the insanity of some of the “Christian theology” i had absorbed along the way. Doug supplied a living example of what this alternative might look like in daily living. At the time, both were very helpful. In the case of Mark Scandrette, we both spoke at an Emergent gathering, and became friends. He is a unique combination of authenticity, passion, creativity, and compassion. He was one of the few people at this gathering who seemed to genuinely care about me as a person, and enjoyed the simplicities of friendship.

It seems odd to be saying that it seems like what their roadshow is mainly doing is placing Jesus Christ back in the center of Christianity, and imagining a life of living as Jesus. This is no small thing since many streams of “Christianity” subscribe to Jesus in name only. These guys are associated with the “emerging church” movement, which seems to stir up controversy among some people. We all know we can make a religion out of anything, and i’ve seen how some have made this “emergent” mentality into their new religion, and repeating the same mistakes that humans make when it comes to religion. On the other hand, this “emergent” mentality expressed by these guys, and others like Brian McLaren and Chris Seay may be one of a very few links for some people to Jesus. From what i heard and saw last night, a person who may be drawn to this expression of Christianity would be a person who:

- feels like they don’t fit or benefit by the “traditional/cultural” forms, practices, and expressions of Christianity, and have an aversion to the “one size fits all” mindset.

- can’t relate to a mental/heady Christianity but are prone to the idea of a new way of life based on the values of Jesus.

- doesn’t thrive in the typical systems and infrastructures of organized church.

- feels marginalized in the typical Christian class system of professionals (pastors, church staff) and amateurs (”lay” people), and desire to be empowered.

- desires relationships of love and acceptance, where hard questions can be asked and explored without fear of rejection.

- thrives in the freedom of creative expression, and imagines Jesus more as a revolutionary who lives on the street in solidarity with marginal peoples, as opposed to a politician wielding power from an air-conditioned high-rise office.

(Publisher's note: If you missed the show when it was in your area, you can catch it on video here.)

Jim Palmer is the author of Divine Nobodies: Shedding Religion to Find God (and the unlikely people who help you) and Wide Open Spaces: Beyond Paint-by-Number Christianity. He is the founder of the Pilgrimage Project, an initiative encouraging the freedom to imagine, dialogue, live, and express new possibilities for being an authentic Christian. His background includes inner-city service and international human rights work. He has an M.Div. from Trinity Divinity School in Chicago. He and his wife, Pam, and daughter, Jessica, live in Nashville. Through writing, blogging, speaking, conversation and friendship Jim offers a unique voice in dialogue about knowing God and spirituality.