Honest questions about Jesus, asked in Charlotte.

Charlotte knows polished Christianity. The harder question comes Monday morning: do we forgive, welcome the stranger, carry another person’s burden, and speak about the hope of Jesus without turning people into projects? Jesus called disciples to take up the cross daily (Luke 9:23). His resurrection makes that costly life hopeful, and His love gives it shape.

Banking shaped Charlotte’s skyline, while roads and development reshaped its neighborhoods. The Blue Line links UNC Charlotte, NoDa, Uptown, and South End, but many trips still require a car or a long bus ride. East Charlotte is home to families from across Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. West Charlotte carries the effects of highways, airport expansion, and displacement. Lake Norman and Lake Wylie define the region geographically, yet public swimming is limited to designated sites with rules, hours, and seasonal conditions.

Charlotte grows in rings. Towers rise in Uptown, apartments follow the light rail through South End and NoDa, and another subdivision appears near the edge of Mecklenburg County. Meanwhile, west-side families, east Charlotte newcomers, and neighbors sleeping near Uptown may experience entirely different versions of the same city.

A life with Jesus has to cross those versions. It can begin around a kitchen table off Central Avenue or on a porch in West Charlotte. Read what He said. Share supper. Help someone move, serve beside a neighbor, baptize a believer, then come back next week. No collection plate appears.