Growing

Tillandsia, commonly called "air plants," are the most transportable residents of the plant kingdom. They can grow in the unforgiving desert, the sunlight-starved forests, and even rough mountain terrain. They are unique in that they do not have roots and they do not require soil. Rather than using roots to plumb the soil for nutrients, they rely on their leaves to collect nutrients from whatever surrounds them. You often will see tillandsia attaching to other plants, the group hug of the plant world. This isn't to say that they are parasitic in nature; they don't latch onto a nearby plant unannounced and unwelcome, draining it of its own resources. They simply connect, and allow their leaves to collect everything they need from the dust and moisture in the air. Their grip is light and leaves no mark after they have gone. In fact, they are just as happy hanging onto a piece of driftwood or a seashell or your windowsill as they are another plant. One website said you can even hang your tillandsia from the ceiling, by a string.

I can't help but find correlations between this eccentric little plant and our eccentric little community of faith. As we've spent these past few months considering a number of possible locations for our near future, I have been struck by how incredible portable we are. Deep Ellum, Design District, industrial warehouse, or storefront along 75, there seems to be the sense that no matter where we go, we will be just fine. We do not want to be bogged down by an enormous building. We do not wish to shove our roots into a chosen plot of land and decide to stay there, come what may. Our hope is to be nimble, simple, flexible, open to the Spirit, and connected. Regardless of our location, we will continue to stretch out our arms like leaves and find the nutrients we need by doing what we do best- connecting with one another, reaching toward the Spirit, hands outstretched towards the world.

We are not a community of faith that is defined by our location. We are defined by our relationships, our community, the places we serve. These things are delightfully portable. And they are also incredibly strong. I have been struck in community discussion after community discussion in the strength of what makes us Journey- that "thing" that holds us together, keeps us united. It only makes sense, considering that the One we follow is infinitely accessible in\n this God-saturated earth. The Scriptures tell us of a God who is with us in the lush Garden as well as the years of wilderness wanderings; a Savior who reveals himself in a small, quiet stable and walks toward us in torrential thunderstorms on the sea; a Spirit who hovers over the formless deep and swirls in our presence as tongues of fire. God is with us on every juncture of this human journey.

As breathtaking as the oak tree may be, if Journey were to be a plant, I would choose the tillandsia every time.

- Danielle Grubb Shroyer, Journey Pastor

The Complete Blogging the Bible

This week marked the end of a Journey that took a little over a year and that covered hundreds of years and thousands of miles in the story of a nation. I'm talking about reading the entire Old Testament.

Every week David Plotz of Slate.com, a self described "proud though not terribly observant Jew", read through a section of the Old Testament and posted his thoughts as he read these words for the first time. It was this way that for a year I tuned in for my weekly trip through time into this book that we call the Bible and discovered the fascinating though often times quirky, and strange stories that are in our sacred book.

If there is one thing that we value here at Journey is experiencing the Bible in ways that we haven't before, and finding ways to engage the deeply rich narrative embedded in the pages of this book, and it is in that way that Blogging the Bible tapped into that very core and although I am sad that the series is over (although I'm crossing my fingers for a New Testament run), I am glad to say that it was a very enriching experience and one that I hope others get to be a part of.