Bruxy Cavey didn鈥檛 just encapsulate 鈥渢he fullness of the Gospel鈥� in 30 words for students at 黑料正能量鈥檚 Oct. 24 convocation. He also shared a three-point lesson from his own experience as a D.J.-wannabee-turned-pastor:
鈥淏e open to the plot twists,鈥� he said, even while being faithful to the reasons behind what you鈥檙e doing. 鈥淏e open to what friends and family are saying to you, are seeing in you.鈥� And, he said, give yourself 鈥減ermission to fail.鈥�
Case in point, he said during his 黑料正能量 visit: Paul, who wrote the Book of Romans 鈥� a summary of his theology 鈥� to lay the groundwork for fundraising in Rome for an anticipated trip to Spain. Paul never made it to Spain, but succeeded in another way: 鈥淗e wrote Romans, and the church has been blessed for 2,000 years,鈥� Cavey said.
Cavey, who is also speaking at an Eastern Mennonite Seminary chapel service Thursday and interacting with students in multiple other venues, is the senior pastor at The Meeting House. From Oakville, Ontario, the Anabaptist 鈥渃hurch for people who aren鈥檛 into church鈥� provides programming to various sites across Ontario and elsewhere, with community connections taking place through a network of house churches.
His books include Reunion: The Good News of Jesus for Seekers, Saints, and Sinners (Herald Press, 2017) and The End of Religion: Encountering the Subversive Spirituality of Jesus (NavPress, 2007).
Cavey said he never wanted to be a pastor 鈥� a 鈥減rofessional holy man鈥� 鈥� but a radio disc jockey. First, though, he had questions about himself, and so studied psychology. Then he had bigger questions, and got a master鈥檚 degree in theology. Then he accepted an invitation to speak at a small church that his sister attended; the church ended up inviting him to a meeting to explore the possibility of becoming their pastor. He accepted the invitation, but, he broke down and confessed at the meeting, with a bad attitude: he鈥檇 come only because he wanted a funny story for his future grandkids. The gathered body counseled him, however, and 鈥渂reathed into me a vision of my future that I didn鈥檛 even know myself,鈥� he said.
Now Cavey鈥檚 work is dispersed via The Meeting House鈥檚 to 19 sites, primarily in Ontario. Additional small groups that use its content are in Asia, the Middle East and Europe.
The Gospel in 30 words, he said, is that 鈥淛esus is God with us, come to show us God鈥檚 love, save us from sin, set up God鈥檚 kingdom and shut down religion so we can share in God鈥檚 life.鈥� Living as part of that kingdom has 鈥渢his-worldly implications starting here and starting now,鈥� he said.
聽鈥淲hat kind of life do you want to live in for eternity?鈥� he asked. 鈥淎 life of peace? Start now鈥�. We are reconcilers. We rush to help the reconciliation process where there is brokenness.鈥�
The convocation opened with a performance of two songs by , a Bridgewater, Virginia, native who attended Eastern Mennonite Seminary and is now based in Nashville. She released a four-song EP Honestly earlier this fall.