Welcome Friends.
We at 1820 Life are a collective of people from different religious backgrounds who are falling in love again with the person and teachings of Jesus. We believe the Way of life laid out by Jesus is the best hope for our lonely hearts and our hurting world.
With his emphasis on values like compassion, reconciliation, gentleness, forgiveness, and love, there is something uniquely perfect about the teaching of Jesus that equips us to address our current relational epidemic of loneliness, separation, and isolation.
Our desire is to help encourage three things...
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CONNECTION: Creating opportunities for small groups of people to gather and build community.
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CONVERSATION: Our teaching materials invite people into relational learning and purposeful friendship.
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COMPASSION: Our ultimate goal will be to help people become more Christ-like, especially in the grace, mercy, and peace we extend to one another and the world around us.
This is what Jesus called discipleship. We call it the 1820 life.
Why 1820?
The number refers to a Bible verse, Matthew 18:20, where Jesus says:
"Wherever two or three gather in my name,
I am there in the middle with them."
~ JESUS (Matthew 18:20)
In context, these groups of two or three are on mercy missions to help lost sheep find their way home. We love that image! And Jesus says that when we gather together in compassionate, Christ-centred, gracious spaces, when we come together to love the lost and the left-out, he is spiritually and fully present with us. That's why we sometimes refer to Jesus as "the Ghost of 1820" - he haunts us in the best way possible! (For more on this verse, see our first devotional study.)
We all need more of this 1820 experience in our lives. We need to be pursued with grace when we wander. And we need to be on the lookout for others who need compassion and kindness rather than judgement and condemnation. (See our Small Church page for ways to get connected.)
We are not affiliated with any specific Christian denomination, but we have grown out of Anabaptist roots. We're like Mennonites minus the horse and buggy. Urban Amish. We value peace, simplicity, and community - and we think that Jesus is the best source for our inspiration, encouragement, and equipping. We also draw inspiration from the hippie oriented Jesus Revolution of the 1960s/1970s. And some of us are old enough to have lived it!
The writings on 1820 Life are a group effort. Our lead writer, Bruxy (aka, Boo), does the initial research and writing. He sets the example for more personal discussion by including a "confession" section in most of his studies. Then the articles are submitted to a few groups for discussion, discernment, and input. Changes are made that reflect this community feedback process (sometimes called a "community hermeneutic"). And hey - that includes you! We would love to hear your feedback about the site in general or specific articles. You can comment on the posts or send us an email. Contact information is on our "Contact" page.
Beyond this, you should also know that we are human, and rumour has it, so are you. So, we already know two things about one another:
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We are infinitely valuable, wildly creative, amazingly powerful, glorious and God-like image-bearers of our Creator.
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We are broken, weak, flawed, and far from perfect. Something is wrong with everything about us. It's like there is a flaw in our code. To some extent, we all self-sabotage and pass on our hurt to others around us. It's a pickle.
We know these extremes about our identity because we have seen it, and because we have lived it. We are exploring both of these human realities on this site, using the teachings of Jesus as our guide.
And you're invited to join us on this journey! For information about getting connected, see our Small Church page.
Grace, Mercy, & Peace,
The 1820 Board of Directors & Advisory Council
Now here's a hug...
