Mike’s new book, Pure Scum, is the story of Scum of the Earth Church, which he started with a small gathering of young adults (including the late ska band Five Iron Frenzy) in downtown Denver. On the back cover of the book, the bio says that Mike “was hoodwinked by the Holy Spirit into pastoring the folks who became Scum of the Earth Church in Denver”. Hoodwinked by the Holy Spirit. That sounds about right.
They call it “church for the left-out and the right brained”. They reach out to Goths, punks, skaters and the homeless in the heart of Denver. They share a meal in the middle of their church service every Sunday night. They sent out my friend Joshua and his new bride Liann in a converted veggie-oil bus/mobile home to share the love of Jesus all over the country. This is how they do church; and it’s beautiful, authentic, and life-changing.
In many places in American Evangelicalism, we see the Gospel of Power, Glory, and Magnificence. At Scum of the Earth Church, we see the magnificence, glory, and power of the gospel. Mike’s not trying to chart a new course for Evangelicalism. He’s not trying to change the world. He doesn’t consider himself a prophet, crying out from the desert, “Do it this way! This is the future of the kingdom!” He’s just pastoring those who can’t find a pastor anywhere else; he’s fathering those who desperately need a good dad.
This book is a story, a true story of a small group of people who gave their church a crazy name and dared to believe that all of their outsider friends could become insiders in the kingdom of God. It’s the story of 1 Corinthians 4:9-13 coming true at the edge of the Rockies
