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OVERCAST Temp: 51 °F Wind: WNW at 7 mph Wednesday, February 19, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend January 3, 2003 Jim Larsen is all set for the first meeting of his "Un-Church" Sunday at Pioneer Hall in Ashland. It'll have singing, prayer and fellowship, but no preaching, he says. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Un-Church begins services If you value a preacher who doesn’t preach, this group may be for you By BILL VARBLE Mail Tribune Jim Larsen figures a lot of people would get closer to Jesus if it weren’t for churches. In a newspaper ad labeled "The ‘Un-Church,’" he makes this pitch: "Do you believe in Jesus, but you don’t want someone telling you what to do?" Larsen is not trying to talk himself out of work. He is a preacher in his day job, after all. He says he’s reaching out to people like a man named Joe who recently told him, "I’m OK with God, I just don’t like churches." Larsen’s idea is a community of non-churchy believers complete with singing, praying and fellowship — but no preaching. The first meeting of the un-church is set for 8 a.m. Sunday at Pioneer Hall on Winburn Way across from Lithia Park in Ashland. For those who like an old-fashioned sermon with their fellowship, Larsen preaches later in the morning each Sunday at the Christian Church of Ashland at Second and B streets (he tells people trying to find it, "It’s a Shakespeare church — 2B or not 2B"), where he’s the pastor. Although the un-church is non-denominational, it is explicitly Christian. "I’m a pretty conservative guy," he says. "I believe the Bible is true. There’s a great number of people out there who have some kind of connection with that but don’t dig the church scene." He says such people tell him they’re turned off by the bureaucracy of churches, or their worldliness. "Can you see Jesus as a televangelist strutting around in a $1,000 suit?" he asks. Larsen envisions un-churchy believers hanging out on a Sunday morning, toasting bagels and singing old songs like "Amazing Grace" and "I’ll Fly Away." At least one minister says that’s not cause for alarm. "It sounds great," says the Rev. Caren Caldwell of the Ashland Congregational United Church of Christ. "All churches are going through the question of how to reach a new generation. The literature tells us the younger generation were raised in such a way that they don’t trust institutions. "I think it’s right in the ballpark for where a lot of people are at." It’s not the first un-churchy foray for Larsen, 55. At 4 Sunday afternoons, his Church of God of the G.O.D. (the Great Out Doors) meets in Lithia Park for pizza and other goodies. A local inn donates food left over from lavish Sunday brunches. Sometimes there’s what Larsen calls a "collaborative sermon." "John Lennon had it right," one man said to start it out. "All you need is love." "Then we go on from there," Larsen says. "When we get done, maybe I’ll have a line to add." But no sermon. Alpha, another Larsen outreach, meets Sunday evenings in Pioneer Hall for soup, sandwiches and more talk. Some of those who come are homeless, others are people who were just walking through the park. One couple drives up from Yreka, Calif., most Sundays. Larsen grew up in Wisconsin and earned a doctorate from Pepperdine University in California. He preached in Medford for years before suffering what he says was a severe case of burnout that led him to live in a treehouse in Alaska for a couple of years and work as a river guide. He says being taken as a regular guy and not a preacher broadened his outlook. Now he’s out to reach people who aren’t otherwise being reached by clergymen. The un-church may be unstructured, but it’s not designed for agnostics or those of faiths other than Christianity. "Some people have asked why not open it to other things," he says. "That’s OK, but it isn’t what this is. There are other venues for that." Reach reporter Bill Varble at 776-4478 or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy webmaster feedback A D V E R T I S E R S