Bruxy Cavey didn’t just encapsulate “the fullness of the Gospel” in 30 words for students at Eastern Mennonite University’s Oct. 24 convocation. He also shared a three-point lesson from his own experience as a D.J.-wannabee-turned-pastor:
“Be open to the plot twists,” he said, even while being faithful to the reasons behind what you’re doing. “Be open to what friends and family are saying to you, are seeing in you.” And, he said, give yourself “permission to fail.”
Case in point, he said during his EMU visit: Paul, who wrote the Book of Romans – a summary of his theology – 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: “He wrote Romans, and the church has been blessed for 2,000 years,” 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 “church for people who aren’t into church” 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 – a “professional holy man” – 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’s 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’d come only because he wanted a funny story for his future grandkids. The gathered body counseled him, however, and “breathed into me a vision of my future that I didn’t even know myself,” he said.
Now Cavey’s work is dispersed via The Meeting House’s robust online offerings 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 “Jesus is God with us, come to show us God’s love, save us from sin, set up God’s kingdom and shut down religion so we can share in God’s life.” Living as part of that kingdom has “this-worldly implications starting here and starting now,” he said.
“What kind of life do you want to live in for eternity?” he asked. “A life of peace? Start now…. We are reconcilers. We rush to help the reconciliation process where there is brokenness.”
The convocation opened with a performance of two songs by Jennifer Crawford, 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.