I first heard about The Soul Movement from the Austin American Statesman, and had to find out what a church that was successfully focusing on reaching young men looked like.
TSM is a young, vibrant African American church that meets in a crowded dance studio on West 7th. The service was both similar and different than I expected. As one might expect, it was an energetic and engaged group of people. The first thing that stood out though, was a complete lack of singing. Although this may seem contrary to your expectation from, well, every other church you’ve ever been to, it’s intrinsic to the missional nature of the church.
The leadership of TSM understands that the African American Church in America has it’s own set of idols to tear down. For them this mean, less focus of big gospel numbers, and downplaying the role of the pastor. Worshipping through music takes place only every other week, and although Dr. Moore is a capable communicator, he intentionally shares his pulpit with others.
Surprisingly, the lack of worship music wasn’t awkward, it was actually helpful. There was plenty of time for family business. There was an extended time of testimony, where a new mom shared her experience of healing after falling into a coma, a long time for meet and greet, and reading of the Word. It felt like they had so much to pack in that they didn’t have time to sing.
They also had time to discuss how TSM does church, by setting aside time for mens groups and womens groups, and by serving a school in East Austin that is in danger of being closed down. This showed me that Soul Movement is committed to becoming an authentic, mission driven community. I have no doubt they’ll make a great impact on Austin.
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