Bones

Where does most of the time, energy, focus and money go in your church?  Or, where does it go in your life in general?

Kent Smith gave my Missional Residency group a very interesting tool recently.  Looking at the different type (really, size) of groups that Jesus interacted with in his life on earth, this tool gives 7 unique and distinct Levels of Community:
1) Solo: by yourself - Mark 1.35, 6.45-6; Luke 4.42, 5.16.
2) Mono: group of 2 ("one other") - John 13.25, 21.20-4; also, the disciples were all called and sent in pairs in Mark.
3) Micro: group of 3-5 - Mark 14.32-4.
4) Meso: group of 12 - the Disciples.
5) Macro: group of 70-120 - Luke 10.1-12, Acts 1.15.
6) Metro: 1000s - "the crowds" in Jesus' ministry.
7) Mondo: the universal Church.

Generally, I (and others with whom I've spoken) get the sense that if you ask an individual which levels of community they could most live without, they first will drop Mondo, then Metro, then Macro:  We are beings who cannot live well without knowing and being known by at least a small, intimate group of people.

However, when we look back at my first question... then we will most likely see that often most of a church's money goes to Sunday morning/Sunday evening/Wednesday evening services built for the Macro or Metro level, and the more intimate (and more fulfilling, and more formative) levels are left to fend for themselves. (I would love to actually see some research on this.  When I have time... hah)

That's like trying to build a building without a foundation.
Or rigging a sail to catch the wind without a mast.

No wonder I so often hear people saying they feel disconnected from a church even if they worship there every Sunday...

So, this upcoming weekend my Missional Residency group will begin taking the concrete steps of forming intentional Christian community by entering into a Rule of Life, or Way of Life, together.
We all gave voice to the desires and passions in our own spiritual lives to help create our own Rule, and it contains some common Christian practices:
—>Daily prayer
—>Daily Scripture reading
—>Weekly communal worship with Eucharist and confession

However, it also has a number of unique and specific things for us to do together, and the rest all focus on the Mono, Micro, and Meso levels that are at best left as optional secondary services of most larger churches:
—>regular 1 on 1 time with the same "soul friend" for greater encouragement and accountability
—>meeting regularly with the same gender-specific group of 3-5 members of our "church family" to ask "How is it with your soul?"
—>communally engaging in Silence, Solitude, and Fasting, among other disciplines
—>creating and nurturing relationships outside of the Church, and outside of our normal circles, with a soul friend or partner

These are the "bones" of what we've talked about; we'll iron out some more specific version today.  And I'm extremely excited to begin this entire process.

A note about "Rules of Life:"  These typically consist of disciplines that practicing Christians do anyway.  A Rule is merely a framework for helping a group do them consistently and hold each other accountable to them.  We create ours to be as liberating and freeing as possible while encouraging the practices we as a community find so necessary to living life with each other and God.

As my good friend Kester reminds us, "We should live the kind of life that requires more serious prayer."  And I believe this Rule of Life will be that more serious prayer for me—prayer in action.