Scum of the Earth Church

Scum of the Earth Church
Address	935 W. 11th Avenue, Denver, Colorado
Country	US
Denomination	Non-denominational
Website	scumoftheearth.net
History
Founded	2000 (2000)
Clergy
Senior pastor(s)	Jessi Heilmann

Scum of the Earth Church (SOTEC or Scum) was a non-denominational Christian church based in Lincoln Park neighborhood, Denver, Colorado. ^[1] Its name is taken from 1 Corinthians 4:11-13, which includes Paul the Apostle's statement, "We have become the scum of the earth."

SOTEC's vision was to be "an outpost on the perimeter of God's kingdom seeking redemption in Jesus Christ". ^[2] Its unusual name and explicit mission statement of outreach to excluded young adults has attracted comment from both religious and non-religious sources.

History

Scum of the Earth Church was founded by Mike Sares and Five Iron Frenzy vocalist Reese Roper in February 2000. ^{[3] [4]} The initial idea grew out of a Bible study led by Sares, who had left his role with a Presbyterian church in Denver. ^[5] In Sares's recollection,

Several people who had been attending ... wanted to find ways to minister to young people who felt like outcasts and would never "darken the doors of a traditional church - people like skateboarders, goths, punk rockers, and the tattooed and pierced crowd ... ^[3]

Sares and Roper then "decided to stop talking about such a church and go ahead and start one." ^[3] The name was suggested by a member of the study group, adopted by Sares after some hesitation. It is based on 1 Corinthians 4:11-13, (NIV translation): ^[6]

To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world - right up to this moment. ^[7]

Initial meetings were held at a coffee shop. ^[4] But continued growth led to several location changes, and in September 2008, through substantial donations from outside supporters, the church purchased its own building at 935 W. 11th Avenue, in the Santa Fe Arts District.

Following a gradual decline in numbers and the departure of most of its staff members, the church's final worship service was held on November 10th, 2024. Former head pastor Mike Sares returned to preach from the book of Lamentations, and the service closed with an acoustic rendition of Five Iron Frenzy's song Every New Day.

Mission

Scum of the Earth Church, in Denver

Sares, - the church's first pastor - said that they wanted "to build a place where folks who didn't fit in other church settings would actually feel welcome." ^[8]

The church's website expands:

"Whether outcast by society (e.g., punks, skaters, ravers, homeless people…) or by the church itself, many who come can identify with the name 'Scum of the Earth' since they have been previously treated as such. More important to us, however, the name implies that being people of faith does not mean we are better than anyone else."

Writer Bob Whitesel described the church's congregation on a visit:

[the] urban poor, homeless, disenfranchised youth, [g]oths, skateboarders, urban artists, immigrant [and] blue-collar families, seminary students/professors, and diverse social classes throughout and around Denver. ^{[9] : 9.2}

Teaching and programs

The church prides itself on running a range of programs and classes as well as regular worship meetings. These include podcasts, art exhibitions, classes on creative writing, a photographic gallery of its activities; and various other activities. ^[8]

The church has hosted various visiting teachers, including:

• Craig Blomberg, a Denver Seminary professor;
• Douglas Groothius, a Denver Seminary professor;
• Trevor Bron, former pastor at The Next Level church;
• Bob Belz of Walden Media;
• Margaret Feinburg, author and speaker; and
• Susan Isaacs, author and actor.

Impact and Criticism

SOTEC has attracted comment from a range of religious and non-religious quarters. The church has been categorized as "emergent" or placed within the movement of "Emergent Church[es]", ^{[8] [10] [11]} and has reportedly inspired the founding of other churches related in style and temperament, including 'The Refuse' church, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. ^[12] In 2006, Scott Bader-Saye argued that the seeming radical aspects of SOTEC, and the "innovation" involved in its appeal to fringe elements of society, were "not fundamentally different from traditional evangelicalism." ^[13]

In their 2009 book God is Back: How the Global Revival of Faith is Changing the World (2009) journalists John Micklethwait and Adrian Woolridge refer to SOTEC as being part of America's landscape of niche worship communities, catering to unique demands: "the real strength of religious America lies in its diversity'...Religious America is remarkably good at segmenting its customer base" ^[14]

In 2011, political commentator Pat Buchanan, writing in Suicide of a Superpower: Will America Survive to 2025?, implicitly criticizes SOTEC, using it as an example to ask "is this a manifestation of the 'real strength' of Christianity, or does it instead, sound like disintegration, the loss of the unity of the People of God?"

References

1. Denverite website, Scum of the Earth Church wants to open roller derby shop in Denver, article by Adrian D. Garcia dated October 24, 2017
2. "Who We Are". Scum of the Earth Church. Retrieved August 28, 2024.
3. As recalled by Mike Sares, to The [Toledo, OH] Blade, see Yonke, David (October 15, 2005). "Religion: Ex-Toledoan shepherds social outcasts, Pastor founds Scum of the Earth Church" (print feature). The Blade. Toledo, OH. p. B3-B4. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
4. As recalled by John Swanger, founder and (as of April 2016), President of Cross & Clef Ministries, also in Denver, see Swanger, John (April 19, 2016). "SOTEC, Denver: Our affiliation with Scum of the Earth Church". Denver, CO: Cross & Clef Ministries. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
5. Toledo Blade website, Scum of the Earth Tends to the Rebels, article dated October 15, 2005
6. Hesse, Josiah M. (December 21, 2010). "O Scum all ye faithful: Christianity gets the punk-rock treatment at this Denver church". Westword. Denver, CO: Denver Westword. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
7. Editors of the NIV (2011). "1 Corinthians 4:11-13". Holy Bible, New International Version (NIV). Colorado Springs, CO: Biblica, Inc. Retrieved April 19, 2016. Note, this encyclopedic entry corrects the texts appearing in the Westword and CBS citations to the nearest version available, that of the NIV. The difference in the Westword quotation is only in the capitalization of "scum," which does not appear in the NIV and related biblical sources, and the slight difference that appears between the CBS presentation and the NIV is in a displaced phrase in the last sentence. Cf. Hesse (2010), and Cowan & Kreiser (2006), op. cit.
8. Cowan, Lee; Kreiser, John (April 14, 2006). "New Faces of Faith, Part III: Christianity, In 21st Century Clothes". CBS. Retrieved April 19, 2016. Note, this may be a transcript of an unavailable video portion of the CBS Evening News, dated the day prior to this web report.^{[ citation needed ]}
9. Whitesel, Bob (2006). "Scum of the Earth Church, Denver Colorado [Ch. 9]". Inside the Organic Church: Learning from 12 Emerging Congregations. Nashville, TN: Abingdon. ISBN   978-1-4267-4823-3 . Retrieved April 25, 2016.
10. Cronin, Sean; Zeveloff, Naomi (August 14, 2007). "Sunday Best" (newspaper blog). Westword. Denver, CO: Denver Westword. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
11. McLaren, Brian D. (2003). "The Method, The Message, and the Ongoing Story". In Crouch, Andy; Sweet, Leonard I. (eds.). The Church in Emerging Culture: Five Perspectives. EmergentYS Series, Vol. 7. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. pp.  191–232. ISBN   978-0-310-25487-4 . Retrieved April 20, 2016.
12. Zeveloff, Naomi (August 10, 2006). "Personal Space Accepted at Refuse". The Colorado Springs Independent. Retrieved May 29, 2007.
13. Bader-Saye, Scott (2006). "Improvising church: An introduction to the emerging church conversation". International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church. 6 (1, August 17): 12–23. doi:10.1080/14742250500484519. S2CID   145374340.
14. Micklethwait, John; Woolridge, Adrian (April 7, 2009). "God Still Isn't Dead: The decline of religion in America has been predicted again and again". The Wall Street Journal . Retrieved April 20, 2016.

Further reading

• Feinberg, Margaret (January 1, 2003). "'Scum of the Earth' Outreach Touches Church Outcasts in Denver". Charisma Magazine. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
• Feinberg, Margaret (2005). "Looking for Someone? Discovering the Relationships You've Desired". saWorship.com. Archived from the original on October 31, 2006. Retrieved October 27, 2007.
• French, Ron (March 27, 2005). "Churches reach out to hipper flock". Detroit News . Archived from the original on January 21, 2013. Retrieved May 29, 2007.
• Gorski, Eric (December 21, 2003). "The Un-Churches". Denver Post. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved May 29, 2007.
• Gunter, Steven (July 9, 2000). "An interview with Five Iron Frenzy". Exitzine.com. Archived from the original on June 19, 2007.
• Hendricks, Kevin D. (2004). "Five Iron Frenzy: Our Last Article Ever". Real Magazine. Retrieved May 29, 2007. [see subtitle "Scum of the Earth"]
• Hendricks, Kevin D. (October 6, 2005). "The Refuse Web Site". Church Marketing Sucks. Retrieved October 6, 2007.
• Ingold, John (April 17, 2006). "Dawn of Faith". Denver Post.
• Jethani, Skye (March 14, 2005). "Limping Leaders—For a generation fixated on sprinting, failure is producing a better way". Christianity Today's LeadershipJournal.net. Retrieved May 29, 2007.
• Jethani, Skye (November 8, 2005). "Expletive Undeleted: Dropping the F-bomb in Church". Christianity Today: Out of Ur Blog. Retrieved September 29, 2007.
• Leland, John (March 2, 2006). "Rebels With a Cross". The New York Times . Retrieved May 29, 2007.
• Merritt, Jonathan (December 1, 2014). "Opinion: Misfit minister says pastors should 'pray their church loses numbers'" (interview). Religion News Service. Retrieved April 26, 2016. The opening of the article also appears at the authors personal blogsite, On Faith and Culture, here.
• Moll, Rob (December 30, 2003). "Has the Emergent Church Emerged?". Leadership Journal. Retrieved October 6, 2007.
• Oh, Susie (March 30, 2007). "News: Scum of the Earth welcome at this church". Biblical Recorder. Cary, NC: North Carolina Baptist State Convention. Religion News Service. This article is available as article (appended string) "l83dS#selection-317.0-329.21", at the site "archive.today/", access date April 19, 2016.
• Sares, Mike (August 21, 2006). "Scum of the Church: How the drive for "excellence" is driving young adults from the church". Christianity Today: Out of Ur Blog. Retrieved October 6, 2007.
• Sares, Mike (August 24, 2006). "Scum of the Church 2: What churches should learn from '80s youth ministry". Christianity Today: Out of Ur Blog. Retrieved October 6, 2007.
• Sares, Mike (2010). Pure Scum: The Left-Out, the Right-Brained and the Grace of God. Westmont, IL: InterVarsity Press. ISBN   978-0-8308-7928-1 . Retrieved April 19, 2016.
• Stack, Peggy Fletcher (March 26, 2005). "SLC church plugs into Christianity's ancient traditions". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved October 6, 2007.
• Torkelson, Jean (May 8, 2006). "Scum offers haven for the unconventional". Rocky Mountain News. Archived from the original on May 20, 2006. Retrieved May 29, 2007.
• Whitesel, Bob (2006). "Scum of the Earth Church, Denver Colorado [Ch. 9]". Inside the Organic Church: Learning from 12 Emerging Congregations. Nashville, TN: Abingdon. ISBN   978-1-4267-4823-3 . Retrieved April 25, 2016.