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?
you might still be tempted to answer the question of size with this model. "We have 120 wells to be apart of," you might say to a first time visitor. New church plants can become power vacuums and with this model, you would definitely battle that. One well may disagree with a teaching and start it's own church. This sounds interesting. I'm interested to see how this would actually flesh out. I know you are too.
ReplyDeleteI love this model Cleve. I think there is a lot of power in the "decentralization" of the church. Maybe it's the rouge-christian coming out in me, but I honestly think that this model will help to raise up both leaders in church by putting the power (and possibly money) in the hands of smaller groups of people. There is a great book that was written in the 70s (I think) called "Samll is Beautiful." It's an economic argument with wider implications that essentially says that the larger something gets the more out of touch it gets with the individual's needs that make up that whole. By putting the responsibility of the church in the hands of small groups of people, you are creating the space for a more reactive and "in-tune" community of believers that are more able to closely monitor and minister to their respective communities within the larger community.
ReplyDeleteJohn, I see some of your concerns, but (and cleve I'd love your comments on this one) the small group "sales pitch" would hopefully not come from a pulpit as much as from the members of specific communities in Durham and specific life stages. There may be 3 wells in a neighborhood where you live, and people would be invited and/or self select out into the groups that they feel welcomed to. More of an organic invitation that would depend on your life stage, age, and/or needs.
The size of these groups is another thing to think about, as there are studies that have been done (or so I have been told and seem to agree with) that the maximum number of meaningful connections that a person can have in any social setting is 12 (very biblical in my opinion ;). When groups get bigger than this, people begin to get lost in the crowd. The downside to this is that that's not a very big group in a traditional church setting, BUT the upside is that it forces people to constantly be in a state of "multiplication" and in a missional mindset as they prepare to divide and make new groups. You would never really reach a place of complacency, as you would always be in an outward focused mindset and probably dividing every year or two. Maybe kids wouldn't count towards the number? I don't know
I am not sure what I think about your second comment John, but it seems to me that you could say the same thing in any church that there is always the chance that people will choose to leave.
Cleve, what are your thoughts on how these smaller groups will remain in tune with the larger community of the church as a whole? Maybe a future blog post?
Praying for you guys and the move/settling in!
-Alex
nothing as thought provoking as the above, but I am excited to see the church moving out of thr "traditional" idea of a church.....not every person feels comfortable being a part of a large congregation...and the idea of home setting worship brings us back to what I feel has always been the way it should be..a more intimate way to share feelings,questions,wants,needs,etc.surrounded by people ...and not just faces seen in the crowds of "pew sitters"......to encourage those who shun the traditional church...what a challenge and joyful task...to enable individual wells to decide where monies go...how radical and sensible.....I will pray for God's hand to guide all in this new mission...
ReplyDeleteI like the ideas you're thinking about Cleve; and I've known a few people who have participated in "home churches" or wells, as you've dubbed it.
ReplyDeleteI think the real preparation for individuals is to GO, as you've indicated. And, having listened to a man recently who was on the mission field for over 30 years, he challenged those of us in the congregation to participate in the work. Perhaps, he suggested it shouldn't be that someone spends 30 years in mission work, but three, and then have God move in someone else's life to answer the call. We should be willing to change and move, as Jesus himself spent three years on the move.
He said of Christians that our failure, often times, is that we think, "that is for the missionaries or the church planters or the youth ministers or whatever." When, in actuality, I agree with him--I believe God calls all of us. He doesn't give anyone a map with destinations and descriptions of spiritual gifts you'll need along the way. He offers love and the promise that He will be with us...through it all. We are to be obedient to the call, in the moment, as a father, mother, wife, husband, missionary, friend, neighbor, etc.
One cautionary word to share: I see is that the group of 12 (or whatever number) can become very comfortable in their accountability to each other, so how does reaching out and forming new wells occur? I suspect, though I'm willing to be wrong, that some form of a larger corporate structure still needs to be in place. Jesus did go to the Temple at times of feast and celebration, as did the other Jews he discipled. So corporate worship and participation is important and essential I believe to the reaping a harvest, sowing seeds, and finding which of those among the BODY are best suited (personality and season of life) to be the iron who sharpens our iron.
Also, equally essential to the well concept, I think, is the ability to drink until you are full, and then you will never thirst. Meaning, grow within a group, but then expect that you will form a group, move on, and be led by the Spirit to wander to a destination/group/ministry/etc. that God calls us to...whether it seems comfortable or not, whether it is within the corporate, or another smaller body of believers or unbelievers.
Anyway, I love thinking on these things...and am in prayer for God's movement in the wells and in your life as you pastor others all of us who thirst!