Life Together

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Highlights

Mentors, One of the outstanding points of the evening is the desire of the group to have mentors. Only three people present had mentors and none of those mentors came from the church they attended. People did not even know where to begin to find mentors and felt that the college faculty were too busy to enter into real mentoring relationships. There seemed to be significant consensus on this point.

After prayer and dinner we began by saying an additional word of prayer for the delegation from the Bruderhof community that will be visiting Iraq in protest of U.S. violence in that region.

We then reviewed a prepared typology of Christian community so that we could all know precisely what kinds of community we were referring to a different points in the conversation.

Typology for Christian Community:

We discussed that Christians are called to live in confessional and consecrated community, and that some may have a vocation to live in covenental community

We spent time talking about the possibility of living in a covenental community born out of the tradition of the Church of the Nazarene. This was not a planning session a much as it was a time to reflect and begin to discern if this is something God is doing in us. We were simply trying to gather several disconnected conversations people have already been having and begin a new ongoing conversation together.

Steps, People asked what practical steps they could take to begin to be more deliberate about community. It was suggested that people:

1)Join a Wesleyan covenant Group. It is difficult to progress to a Covenantal community when we haven't yet learned confession and confrontation. Even if your vocation isn't a Covenantal community we all need confession and the Church.

2) Share your interest in community with others who might be interested. Pray with others and talk out your expectation and fear of community.

3) Visit Communities, it might be important to go to several since every community and its health is different. Nothing can replace the wisdom of others who are actually doing it. Eventually try living with an established community long enough so they can know you and help reflect if this is your vocation or not.

4) Read as much as you can about the practical aspects of living together and different kinds of communities.

5!) Wait and pray. If this is God's call, then we have all the time in the world. We wont have to force it.

Our Possible Mandate

Hospitality

• Always having a spare bedroom and expecting strangers, and always setting an extra plate at the table,...to practice waiting for the second coming of Christ by always expecting him to show up in the form of a stranger in the meantime.

Academic Reflection

• Maintaining a library, making study, discussion, and mentoring a part of life together. Seeking God with our minds and preparing for further service.

Service

• The community would exist to support and be Salt and light to others and not just exist as an insular community.

Compassion

• Wesley called for specific works of mercy to care for the suffering...i.e. Mother Teresa's caring for the poorest of the poor, charitable acts.
• Solidarity- to suffer with the poor. To share the perspective of the poor, their needs would be our needs. A common life among the poor.

Worship & Devotion

• The community would be gathered and driven by God, and therefore it would seek to give thanks, live in gratitude, and seek out means of grace like frequent participation in the Eucharist, prayer, Bible Study, confession, music, etc...

Ecclesiology

The community would best be tied to a local congregation

The community could follow the same ministry preparation as is found in the Nazarene manual as a discernment time for Deacons. Ordination as a deacon would not be mandatory but could serve as one kind of confirmation.

(No endorsement by the Church of the Nazarene has been requested, we are just suggesting certain possibilities, and speaking form our experiences and reflection.)

Benefits

Resistance: Living out a Biblical/Holiness vision as an alternative to the culture of America/Southern California.

Calling others to service and ministry...preparation of Pastors and Deacons,naming people's gifts in community instead of subjective isolation.

Contribute to restoration of the Nazarene Mission of Holiness and connection to the poor.

Salt and Light witness to the world of reconciliation and peace

Courage, support and patience to face the challenges of Urban / compassionate Ministry together.

Respite for Pastors: A place suffering ministers from outside the community could come to reflect, study, work with the poor and rest.

Support of Academic Institutions: through prayer, hosting Student Internships, and doing academic research.

Concerns

One wouldn't have to be Nazarene to participate. the Church of the Nazarene would just be our Ecclesiology and our theological location and practices.

One wouldn't have to be called to be a deacon in the Church of the Nazarene, but that course of study could serve as a discernment and training model for the community and tie us to the Church.

There is no reason why families and married people could not participate. There is also no reason why we couldn't support celibacy either .

Certainly there more than a few questions about what we mean by living in community. This page will not be a definitive answer to the questions people have but it should help to introduce the topic and of course this page should be shaped by community, so Email me and give me your input.

The Importance of Dissent and Tradition

One of the important functions of intentional communities is that they can help provide creative, alternative, ways of following Christ in the midst of a fallen world. So many of our contemporary churches could easily resign to being hyper-individualistic, because it becomes impossible to imagine living life and differently unless alternatives can be seen and experienced first hand.

Living in community also tends to bring out the worst in people as well as the best....really. So its a sign and witness that God uses anyone, even (especially?) broken people to build His kingdom. Christian community is a sign of our weakness and reliance on God's strength. It is our weakness that causes us to seek to be community within a particular tradition, so that we are not left to our own wisdom and devices and so we can be of service to a particular part of the Church.

Are There Any Examples?

Yes, here are some links to communities that exist today:The Bruderhof Community, L'Arche Canada, Taize'. But examples of Christian community are rooted in the early New Testament Church, and all throughout Christian history.

What Does Community Do?

Every community has a different way of expressing and focusing on building God's Kingdom, and many express it very differently too. Some communities call their particular mission a "mandate." Ultimately though, each community creates a subculture, an alternative, that helps people envision new possibilities of holiness. Communities are not little gatherings of extra-holy people. They are just a group of people who serve the Church by focusing their live in a new direction.

Where Can I Find out More About Life in Christian Community?

I would recommend these books: Community and Growth, Jean Vanier; Life Together, Dietrich Bonhoeffer; Journey Inward Journey Outward, Elizabeth O'Connor; Call to Commitment, Elizabeth O'Connor; Basic Communities, Margaret Hebblewaithe; The New Community, Elizabeth O'Connor; Covenant Discipleship, D. Lowes Watson; Road to Daybreak, Henri Nouwen; Body Broken, Body Blessed, Sue Mosteller; Why We Live in Community, Arnold & Merton; Compassion, Nouwen, Morrison, & McNeil; Forming Christian Disciples, D. Lowes Watson; Francis and Clare: The Complete Works, Paulist Press. or visit some of these links.

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