OPEN LETTER TO THE CONGREGATION OF
Dear Keystoners,
It's been years since my
wife and I have been a regular part of "The Gathering" at
Keystone. We've visited perhaps 3 or 4
times in the last 5 years from out of state.
Since we left
crazy
But you know what: we still feel like Keystone is our "home church." I’ve been thinking of that a lot this year.
Why is that? We've been in other neat churches. We're in a great church now. We've even been involved in two other church
plants since Keystone. What makes
Keystone special to me?
Here's what:
1) The "experimental church" thing is so
fun.
I love the idea of trying new things and doing church in a new way. I love that The Gathering doesn't "start" or "end" like
most churches. I love that you can just
sit around a table, drink a coffee, and chat with friends during the discussion
time, and that’s a part of the “church” thing.
I wonder why churches don’t experiment more – and I like that Keystone
still takes risks.
2) The pastors are special people. I feel that
Rob Paterson has a special preaching gift and there are only two or three other
preachers whom I enjoy hearing break open the word as much him. I like that an edgy church plant like
Keystone has a “scholar-Bible-preacher” and that’s cool with its people. Rob doesn’t pull punches when he preaches and
I dig that. It also reminds me that just
because a lot of people come to hear a preacher doesn’t mean he’s any better
than the next guy. Some of the messages
I’ve preached to 20 people in a southern
3) Its small. I’m in a big church now – more than a
thousand people. But decisions in a big
church are slow. It’s more like a barge
than a speedboat. Changing things takes
several years. I always got and still
get the sense that a little church plant could change things on a dime. They’ve got way less to lose in a way. Of course, sometimes I wonder if little
churches like Keystone take advantage of this enough. But I love the idea that they could
change. The other day a guy attending a
new church plant of about 200 people in Ohio told me, “at the end of the
gathering someone gives the benediction, and then they say, ‘well, that was
fun, should we do this again next week’? and people
look around and nod their heads and so they do it again the next week.” That kind of mojo in
a new church is fun—and I think Keystone still has a bit of that, even though
it’s been around for 7 years now. Maybe
it’s getting the 7 year itch for change too and I like that. Small churches can change things drastically
and it actually helps the kingdom, and I miss that.
4) It’s full of unchurched types. I love that Keystone is made up of people
that didn’t get church before they went there.
I love that some of the board members haven’t been that “respectable” in
the eyes of the denomination. I love
that the average age of the members is under 40. I love that new Christians “co-create” what
the church is like… and that its leaders are open to that change. I also love that “old-time-Wesleyan-types”
don’t budge the mission of the church.
They can clamor all they want to make the church into a carbon copy of other
denominational churches but the people there don’t listen. It’s like they are deaf to becoming something
they’re not—like asking a dog to become a cat.
I dig that. I think I listen to
the clamor too much now, and I’d like to go back to ignoring it.
5) We were there the first year. Maybe this is
the biggest reason Keystone still feels like home. We were there the first time we had a little
“organizational meeting.” We were there
the first real deal “preview service.”
We were there when the 16 people signed the document becoming members
and the oldest board member elected was 38!
We were there when the church saw its first person come to Christ (a
woman still in the church today). We
were there when Rob and Bethany felt called to give themselves to the mission
of the church. We were there when he was
unanimously elected to be the pastor of this new congregation. And my son was the first child dedicated by
the church. Maybe for all these reasons
we still feel like Keystone is home.
That awkward, sometimes struggling, sometimes thriving, always thinking,
always innovating little church plant off of I-465 and Keystone in Indianapolis
still feels like home. Maybe it’s true—what
they say: “You always remember your first love.”
And you know, Keystone is where I fell in love with her. The Church that is. I’ve loved her ever since. Thanks to Keystone.
David Drury
Former member 1998-2000