Following Jesus Together in the Inner City

By Stephen Lawson

I live in an intentional Christian community called the Lotus House in north St. Louis. When people hear this, sometimes I”m sure they imagine me as an orange-clad Tibetan monk, running a rake through sand making intricate designs. But our name has nothing to do with New Age philosophy or Buddhist-inspired practices. Our house is named after our street, Lotus Avenue.

Quite simply, the Lotus House is a community of Christians who are seeking to follow Jesus together by being a faithful presence and a witness to God”s peace in a part of the city known for violence and poverty. Our community has seven adults, including a married couple, and three children who all live in the same large house. Inspired by the example of the earliest Christians in Acts, we share our lives in prayer, service, fellowship, and finances (Acts 2:42-47; 4:32).

The community gathers daily for morning and evening prayer, we eat meals together, we share in housework and yard work, and we serve together at least once a week in an after-school program run by North City Church of Christ.

We strive to be a place of peace where all are welcomed in love, and we often extend hospitality to those who come to us in need. Once a week we have an open meal where all our friends and neighbors are invited to share in God”s gifts of food and friendship.

In the midst of our normal lives of work, errands, and school we strive to make our home a demonstration plot for the kingdom of God””a small place where God”s new creation becomes visible and tangible. We are not extraordinary. Most of our visitors are struck by the ordinariness of our life together, but we believe it is through ordinary obedience and simple acts of service that God transforms hearts and neighborhoods.

Humanity was created for community, but it is divided.

One needn”t go to some far-off harsh landscape to encounter crippling loneliness. No, loneliness fills the houses of sidewalk-free subdivisions in suburban America; it is palpable when we walk through a shopping mall, or when we see a family unable to share a meal without the distraction of a screen.

As Christians, we know this isolating existence is far from what God desires for us. We know humans were created for community with God and with one another. Intentionally choosing to share our everyday life and space with others is a way to reclaim the community for which we were created. It is a beautiful way for us to live more fully the abundant life we have been given in Jesus.

For more information about the Lotus House, see lotushouse.wordpress.com.

Stephen Lawson is a PhD student studying historical theology at Saint Louis University. He is a member of the Lotus House, an intentional Christian community in north St. Louis. He worships at North City Church of Christ. He has changed some of the names used in this article.