Some of you have asked me,”Tony, what are you up to now that you are no longer getting a paycheck from the church system?” Well, I’m glad you asked! Let me share a bit of the journey.

Creating space for community to thrive has always been my passion. Leaving the comfortable though was a little daunting. Every individual that steps out of the comfortable and into the unknown understands this feeling. There’s anxiety, fear, excitement and a ton of other emotions that all spiral around in your stomach for weeks. Do I go back to teaching? How do I make a living? What school should my kids attend? Am I finished as a community builder? I had a friend ask me over coffee an important question.

“If you could build a community with no restraints, no one telling you what you can and can’t do, what would it look like?”

And it hung there. It hung there for a week, then two, then three.

Truth is, I’ve thought about this my whole life and it didn’t fully occur to me, until he asked. I realized then that I am in just the right place in my life to give it a go. I could work on creating the kind of safe place I’ve always wished for. I could help shape the kind of place that goes beyond dogma and into something far more reaching – something superbly and beautifully human. So what are the qualities that would make a community one I’d want to be a part of? After weeks of discussions during barbecues, meet ups and coffee shop story hours, a group of friends and I came together and developed these pillars of belief along with a way in which we will organize ourselves avoiding certain unhealthy pitfalls we’ve experienced in the past.

1. We believe everyone is welcome around the table. Whatever your gender, age, sexual orientation, class, political/religious beliefs or race – all are radically accepted.
2. We believe truth isn’t stagnant but something we continue arriving at. We call this present truth and because of this stance we don’t need to demonize the sciences or attempt to make certain stories fit into molds they were never intended to fit.
3. We believe the Christ path, the one Ghandi, Martin Luther King Jr. and so many others took, is the path toward life. Recycling anger, violence and injustice with love, acceptance and mercy is the only way we can truly experience freedom. Hate only fuels more hate but love can restore the world.
4. We believe that we should be part of the community not a structure set apart that demands others to come to them. We choose to meet in a coffee shop where we help support the owner. We also choose to meet the 1st and 3rd for gatherings at 102 Cafe leaving the 2nd to be a day of community support. Yes support, not outreach. Outreach implies that we are safely inside looking out which causes communities to become antagonists rather than friends. We are an authentic expression of love which doesn’t stay on the sidelines begging others in but joins hands where the hands are found.
5. Authentic community. The word authentic has become a buzz word, a clique. One can worship once a week and never really enter honest community and conversation. We choose to take once a month to “potluck” together in homes not churches, at block parties not building structures. We host block parties where neighbors and co-workers are invited in without the stringent creeds and evangelistic strong arming of the older generations.  We do this because we simply want to get to know our neighbors and community better.

And so every 1st and 3rd Saturday morning at 10:30 am you’ll find me and a group of other misfits, other heroes walking a new kind of journey into wholeness there at 102 Cafe in Garden Grove. We take time to tell stories, share poetry and song, and create meaningful experiences. You’ll find me on the 2nd Saturday of every month supporting community through soup kitchens, retirement homes, whatever else our Garden Grove community has a need for. And on the 4th Saturday, you’ll find me at a local block party or sitting around my fire-pit sharing food, drinks, and stories.

If you’re interested in joining us the address is 12908 Main St, Garden Grove, CA 92840 102 Cafe. Bring a few extra dollars and support Lui and his staff as well as give a donation to our non-profit at www.revealhim.org

If you’re interested in doing community support activities, please e-mail me at [email protected]

Quoting one of my favorite epic narratives,

It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.

As a group of us step off into the unknown, the beautiful unknown where growth, change and movement happens, feel free to step alongside and walk with us in this beautiful journey.