Galileo Church

We seek and shelter spiritual refugees, rally health for all who come, and fortify every tender soul with the strength to follow Jesus into a life of world-changing service.

5860 I-20 service road Fort Worth, TX 76119 USA

(682) 760-1274

OUR MISSIONAL PRIORITIES:

1. We do justice for LGBTQ+ humans, and support the people who love them.

2. We do kindness for people with mental illness and in emotional distress, and celebrate neurodiversity.

3. We do beauty for our God-Who-Is-Beautiful.

4. We do real relationship, no bullshit, ever.

5. We do whatever it takes to share this good news with the world God still loves.

Trying to find us IRL?
Mail here: P.O. Box 668, Kennedale, TX 76060
Worship here: 5 pm CT Sundays; 5860 I-20 service road, Fort Worth 76119

Trying to find our Sunday worship livestream?
click here!

emerging church: the originals

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In the season of Eastertide, we're looking at how the earliest followers of Jesus got together to make a church. What did they mainly do? How did they mainly do it?

Peter and John, and the necessary conflict. From the start, the followers of Jesus have been challenging traditional assumptions about God – not only by what they say, but by what they do. They not only claim resurrection, but they embody it in the way they interact with people who need life. How do we live a resurrected life, and share the resurrected life, and how much trouble does that get us into? Acts 3:1–4:31, 5:12-42.

Barnabas vs. Ananias & Sapphira. God’s bullshit detector is extremely sensitive. God is serious about community care for one another, and when somebody usurps that purpose, God is seriously upset. When somebody finds their identity in the community good, however, God is seriously pleased. What does it look like for you to find your identity here? Do you like the way we see you? Acts 4:32–5:11.

Stephen, full of grace and power. We know Stephen as the first Christian martyr – but what was he martyred for? For telling the people their own story, a story of stubborn refusal to get with God’s plan. Why is he so insistent? Why are they so angry? Acts 6:8–8:1.

Philip and the eunuch, reading together. This story is about, among other important things, one person trying to read the Bible alone and needing companionship for his understanding. The eunuch is the original “spiritual but not religious” – but individuality in devotion is not all it’s cracked up to be. Community is a necessary component of our spirituality, and any time the community colludes to keep some people out, it’s depriving them of this essential ingredient. Acts 8:1b-40.

Cornelius’ conversion: asking for what he needs. This Roman centurion had plenty of good stuff in his life – family, wealth, status. But something in him allowed him to attend to God’s voice and seek the help he needed. It takes a certain strength of character to reach out beyond one’s own boundaries and admit need. The paradox of vulnerability and strength allows God to work; perhaps Cornelius was chosen for his strength and status as much as for his paradoxical humility. Acts 10.

Lydia, the jailer, Paul, and Silas. There’s a lot going on in Philippi. Sometimes the converts show up exactly where you expect them – praying by the riverside, for example – and sometimes they come out of the blue – the jailer and his household, for example. The gospel goes everywhere we will take it. Acts 16:11-40.

Here comes the Holy Spirit. We celebrate the church’s birthday; Galileo’s birthday. We give thanks for the presence of God’s Spirit among us, giving us articulation, community, new understanding of old ideas. This is sort of Peter’s “smack my head” moment – “Oh! That’s what Joel (the prophet) was talking about all this time!” This is very often what the Holy Spirit does – helps us see what we could not see before, could not have seen on our own. Acts 2:1-21 & Romans 8:22-27.