32Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. 33And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34 There was not a needy person among them – Acts 4:32 – 34

The ESV renders vs. 32 as “they had everything in common”. The NIV, “they shared everything they had”. Both contain the same sentiment of a church that is “communal”. While that can be a loaded word, it need not imply something political or subversive, rather it is the simple idea of a church that is “open-sourced” – a shared community, a shared text, a shared inheritance.

While a lofty goal to attain to, la vie communite goes beyond “doing” church… to “being” church. It is something that must be built into our dna from day one. This is why our Sunday meetings are not exclusively uni-directional but involve something we call “communal exegesis”. A Biblical theology teacher unlocks the text, but releases it to the people with tools to handle in cell groups that meet within the large group meeting. What does it say to us today? How does it charge us with praxis? Are we merely a thinking people? Is the text changing us to live better, act radically? In solidarity with the marginalized? To gloriously reflect the imago Dei?

We dream of a monastic community, not a bounded set but growing, blurring communal borders, expanding in efficacy as well as in mission.