So this has been the question for me lately.

I’ve watched the Simple Way and Shane Claiborne from way too far lately. It’s time for me to become a little more intimately acquainted as I am beginning to resonate with the way he has approached “church” (ok, ok, relax, “New Monastic” communities) whatever. It’s all church to me. But the longer I work at church planting, the more I realize how the Simple Way resonates with my ethos and dna more than some of the traditional structures I have been wrestling with. Honestly, my mind has not found a mental place to rest as far as what missioDei should look like. Perhaps that aint so bad. What we have is a small community. What we lack is “form”. Right now back in my living room I have found us doing “church” in a deeper, more meaningful way than we have been doing in past spaces we have used. Does that mean we’ll settle for a “house church”? Does that mean we will settle for “non-growth”? Does that mean we will go totally granola and forsake any structure or institution for the sake of “organic church”?

Absolutely not.

But it does mean that missioDei might not resemble some of the “familiar” forms of church that people are used to – that we will be a church more than we might look like a church. I know some may think this backfires, & shoots ourselves in the foot:

No one will come (time will tell).

The church won’t grow (why not?).

People will think we’re a cult (we’re not).

Families won’t be attracted (we will make sure this doesn’t happen).

We will scare people off (somehow I don’t think so).

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t have some off-the-wall vision of church, something suitable only for space-cadets. The problem is, I just don’t have a clear picture of what it is yet. Because as a church planter there are 3 things I KNOW:

I know how to get people fired up over a discussion.

I know how to disciple, teach, love, guide, care for folks (or at least I try my very best).

I know how to create an atmosphere where people are moved, inspired, ministered to, feel welcome.

I’m sensitive to these things. But I am finding after a year of “church planting” that there are 3 things I DON’T KNOW (or that I don’t do very well):

I don’t know how to be mr. popular / life of the party and make a really cool, crowd-gathering event.

I don’t know how to make people follow me by delivering a slick sales-pitch. I’m just not a very good salesman (but don’t get me wrong, I have the highest confidence in the “product”)

I don’t know if I have the charisma to become the next smash success featured on the cover of Christianity Today, and I think I can stop trying now.

I’m just not wired this way. Which means it’s all gonna be different. So I’m gonna quit jawin’ and get to the good stuff: the quote on structure from The Simple Way by “Bes” and Shane Claiborne. I think it’s a little naive, honestly. But hey they’re not called the “Simple Way” for nothing. U gotta read this with a little bit of perspective, and can’t go to the bank with it. But still, they’re on to something and I think it is a maturing perspective, albeit laced with an alternative starting ethos.

W h y S t r u c t u r e by bes

We were not wrong… those first epic meetings we had to figure out what the simple way was; those first terminal meetings where we decided with the righteousness that hopefully you only hold on to from age 15- 22 (any longer than that, it turns to foolishness) that we did not want any structure in the simple way. We believed in love. (I still believe in love.) We believed that love could conquer everything. We took the beginning, open, risk-filled baby steps on the journey. We were not wrong… but we could have done it all better.
On our retreat this August we worked really hard on the next bigger steps in the journey. We looked back at the last three and a half years and we saw the trail blazed within ourselves. We saw the broken relationships and the miracle ones that have lasted and grown. We had a very honest time. When we started I really believed that love was better and wiser than structure and that I just wanted to be free to love and be loved. I realized I was right- but that isn’t the whole picture. In a garden you can’t just mix up all your seeds and throw them on the ground- some things should not grow together or they may grow too close and fight for nutrients they both need. Even if you tend it, your garden will not produce as much as it is capable of. Someone said at the retreat- we create a structure that gives us more room to love not a structure that makes it easier to love. Easier to love… please.
It still scares me to death- I’ve seen so many beautiful things sucked of their life and vibrancies through organization- rational, safe decisions. We are not looking for a way to make things safe, but a way to support each other so that we can give more, risk more. The simple way is about relationships, and that is a risk, and that can’t be put on a schedule or given a title. Hello, my name is brooke, and I’m scared of organization – but I’m excited too. Our idea of a lot of structure is most people’s definition of chaos. It is good stuff though. We now meet in small groups, and have a clearer understanding of how we grow. We are challenging ourselves to take better care of ourselves and each other. We have created a structure that puts the community first. Because if we can’t love each other well, then why and how could we even try with our neighbors.
Thanks with riding with us on for these first couple years- the new structure probably won’t mean that we will return your call sooner- I hope it means that we can say yes more.

The Onion by Shane

We call them layers. As we have matured grown over the past few years, we have developed several different layers of communal commitment (we say “layers” because “levels” connotes a progressive movement upward, which is not the case). We believe defining these expectations and accountability will allow for a healthier family as we grow together, rather than people feeling they need to take on more responsibility than they are comfortable with, or not feeling the freedom to take more responsibility. This new skeletal structure for our community will allow more intentionality for people entering in and transitioning out of our community. It is not something that we are imposing from the outside, but something that has emerged from our midst. The structure itself works no miraculous healing, but hopefully it will facilitate the space for wholeness to take place. And in fact it is nothing new. We are just putting words to something that has existed in fragments of ambiguity.
As you can imagine, at each layer we have different commitments, expectations and accountability. The broadest layer is “Family” — that is you — our supporters, relatives, Board members, neighbors… everyone who takes care of us and is on this adventure with us. Then we have “Visitors.” These are people who come to check things out for a day or week — wanderers, volunteers, summer groups. Then we have “Guests.” These are folks who come to stay longer and observe, help out, experience community life. At this layer people do a significant amount of reading and education, and commit to “Love God, Love People, and Follow Jesus.” Next there is a layer consisting of two groups: “Nomads” and “novitiates”. Both of these share deeply in communal life and work, perhaps living with us a year or so. They commit to our Foundations and Functionality commitments. Nomads do all of this with the goal of taking what they experience elsewhere, and starting another intentional community or joining an existing one. Novitiates are intentionally working their way deeper into the simply way family with the idea of continuing to live here. Finally, there are “Partners,” those of us who have committed a large chunk of our lives to the simple way. Partners share the decision-making and vision-casting. They take vows to one another (not just to the simple way vision), and they are in rotating (every three months) small groups together to help facilitate community health and functionality. There is one more layer still in the formation stage (as none of us are there yet), which would be life partners who are sharing a common pool and who have committed their lives together.
So that’s it. Please pray for us during this exciting but challenging time of transition and implementation. We will be defining our commitments and expectations within this new framework.