So if the center of gravity must shift in our self-understanding and practice as the church, what forms of being the church might be more helpful toward the goals of bearing witness to the Kingdom and making disciples of Jesus? Well, lots of people are wrestling with this question and several have made very promising suggestions.
I am excited about one such idea, the formation of missional communities. What if the center of the church's gravity was in small communities of people (10-30 people) who are committed to living rhythms of discipleship in the context of their daily lives with their neighbors, friends and children. If we build The CityWell around these small communities, I'm inclined to call them something like wells, sources of life for those of us who long for the whole of our lives to center around the person and ways of Jesus.
The rhythms these wells live by might include meeting together weekly as a whole group, meeting weekly with one or two other people in the well for accountability and encouragement, and sharing in a common mission within our city, seeking to make a concerted, focused and sustained effort to bring the reality and beauty of God's kingdom to concrete expression in Durham.
The weekly well gathering could be in homes and allow time for sharing life and a meal, for prayer and listening to God's Word, for friendship and inspiration toward the community's common goals of discipleship and mission. I am hopeful that incorporating children as full participants in the practices of the wells would be natural and transformative for children and adults alike. These gatherings would also offer a wonderful opportunity for inviting our friends who are not yet followers of Jesus to come along, to observe and participate in the ways of the Kingdom and the practices of discipleship, to explore and discover the ways of Jesus at their own pace and to come to believe in the context of first belonging with a people who love them and learn with and from them. This idea thrills me, as I would never flinch to invite my friends of different faiths to my home (or to a friends home) for dinner, prayer, and a conversation of what it means to live as a follower of Jesus. This strikes me as much more helpful than inviting people to "church" when there are usually deep-seeded reasons why they have other agendas on Sunday morning.
The smaller, intimate time between 2 or 3 people of the well could fit easily within people's schedules, happening over coffee, lunch, an evening drink or any mutually convenient time. This discipline would aim at deep accountability to living and growing in the ways of Jesus, time for mutual prayer and the gifts of encouragement and support. This kind of rhythm and rigorous practice can keep us from complacency in our life with Christ and open us up to greater possibility and joy as His disciples.
Finally, each well could have the freedom within the vision of The CityWell to seek the shalom of Durham, to discern the ways in which God has equipped and is calling them to pour their lives into our city. Each well could choose the ways they would invest their lives together for the sake of Durham, serving in areas of shared passion and hope. Another crazy idea (spurred by an experiment attempted by Rick Rusaw of Lifebridge Community Church) would be to give a significant percentage of every well's giving to The CityWell back to the well for discretionary use. So if the well I am a part of wants to pump money into a local public school to improve the educational opportunities of our city's lower income students, or give significantly toward the construction of a Habitat home, we would have the resources to do so without negotiating the red-tape of a church board. I suspect that we will grow to be more generous people when we are excited about seeing our giving make tangible differences in our city in places and ways our hearts have been given to.
Taken together, these practices of communal gatherings, shared lives, listening to scripture, prayer, accountability, and common mission would have awesome impact in forming us as followers of Jesus and bearing tangible witness to the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. Perhaps such a center of gravity might firmly ground us in a more fruitful way of being the church. What do you think?
