Missional Church Network » New Monasticism

David Fitch on Missional Church Planting

Brad Brisco — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 15:35:49 +0000

Here is a very good post by David Fitch over at Reclaiming the Mission. If you are not familiar with Fitch he is author of The Great Giveaway and pastor of Life on the Vine. I have a short review of the book here.

In this post Fitch discusses the struggles of planting missional communities and the importance of cultivating certain practices in the life of the community to ensure health and longevity. This leads Fitch to reflect on the development of a missional order. Something several of us have been discussing for sometime, therefore I find his common commitments particularly intriguing. Here is a sample of the post:

In chapter 2 of his book Simplicity [Richard Rohr] talks about the pain of seeing so many missional communities start up and then fold within two to three years of starting. He blames various societal pressures and internal character weaknesses that come with the territory of planting missional communities in North America. I too have seen many missional communities fold in the third year of their existence. I have witnessed burn-out, depression, and disillusionment among the leaders in the 3rd year (sometimes sooner but mostly by the end of the 3rd year).

Part of where this comes from is that certain swimming against the stream that every missional community organizer knows. It is the everyday grind against making people happy that comes with engaging the consumerism and narcissism of the average cultural American. But then even worse, there are these expectations that come from denominations and Christian institutions that derive from a Christendom mentality of church planting. Here numbers and attraction become the measures of success and when these things are subtly communicated, the self-worth of the church planters takes a dive. Even if the institutions are supportive (which mine has certainly been), the pressures and expectations of the past age haunt the average missional church planter. It is imperative therefore to have practices that support missional community cultivation!

Live From The Inside Out

Brad Brisco — Mon, 28 May 2007 21:46:04 +0000

In chapter one, titled “Relocation to Abandoned Places of Empire” Margaret McKenna discusses the need to create new expressions of relocation. She asks what forms could the classical desert take in the world of the twenty-first-century? Here is a bit of her description:

The following desert-inspired ingredients seem to influence their development: God-seeking and prayer will have the primary place, but be thoroughly integrated with life and witness. We will build the practice of Sabbath freedom into the rhythms of our calendars, lives and work. Our reverence and love for God will be connected to and include all of God’s creation. Hospitality in the form of sharing food, roof and friendship with neighbors will foster both compassion and engagement and will be a form of holy communion with marginal cultures and poor populations. The issues of our time, such as militarism, nuclearism, poverty, homelessness, and ecological problems, as manifested on the margins, will call for our personal and communal conversion in the form of disciplined resistance in lifestyle and engagement in the search for solutions. This resistance and engagement will be as much prayer as it is work. Promotion of alternatives to violence and imprisonment will be practiced as well as promoted. Presence and witness will have a prophetic quality that comes from God’s Spirit. Personalist and communal rather than institutional models of organization will be characteristic. Numbers and finance will not dominate or dictate our concerns. We will not allow ourselves to be intimidated by the “Powers” of Empire. . . . We will live and witness from the inside out.

12 Marks of a New Monasticism

Brad Brisco — Mon, 28 May 2007 12:08:24 +0000

Along with a couple of friends I have been reading “School(s) for Conversion: 12 Marks of a New Monasticism” edited by The Rutba House. Those involved in this writing project believe there is a radical grassroots movement within the North American church which they referred to as a “new monasticism.” While the movement is diverse they see it characterized by the following 12 marks:

1. Relocation to the abandoned places of Empire.

2. Sharing economic resources with fellow community members and the needy among us.

3. Hospitality to the stranger.

4. Lament for racial divisions within the church and our communities combined with the active pursuit of a just reconciliation.

5. Humble submission to Chirst’s body, the church.

6. Intentional formation in the way of Christ and the rule of the community along the lines of the old novitiate.

7. Nurturing common life among members of intentional community.

8. Support for celibate singles alongside monogamous married couples and their children.

9. Geographical proximity to community members who share a common rule of life.

10. Care for the plot of God’s earth given to us along with support of our local economics.

11. Peacemaking in the midst of violence and conflict resolution within communities along the lines of Matthew 18.

12. Commitment to a disciplined contemplative life.

Which of these 12 marks speak to you the most? Do you see or sense a “grassroots movement”? How are you currently participating in a new monasticism?