The following comes from my dear friend and mentor, The Rev. Dr. Ed White. A senior consultant with the Alban Institute, he is one of the most well read church leaders I know. While the questions are his, the quotes come from author Diana Butler Bass. This is good, solid stuff.
“As the medieval church grew
very rich, reformers like Francis of Assisi
challenged the status quo with a renewed practice of both poverty and serving
the poor. But the church did not embrace all reformers as it did Francis. In
the late 1100s a loosely connected movement of laywomen, called the Beguines,
and a few lay men, the Beghards, emerged in the Low Countries and the Rhineland. These laypeople lived a semi monastic life
outside of approved convents. Mostly single, the women were “neither cloistered
nuns nor married homemakers”, thus constituting an alternative female religious
vocation. They lived together (occasionally women and men occupied the same
houses), wore simple habits, practiced the hours, and vowed simplicity and
service. The women supported themselves in gender appropriate professions such
as weaving, spinning, sewing nursing and teaching. One contemporary historian
refers to them as “the first urban base communities” in the new urban
environment. In 1215, Pope Honorarius III approved of “pious women” living in
such arrangements
Although no single theology linked all the Beguine houses in Europe, the same ethical practice did: charity. At this
time most nuns were cloistered and under the authority of male superiors, their
economic well being and spiritual practices were essentially out of their own
control. With no obligation to stay in a
convent – and with no male authority confining them – the Beguines were unrestrained
and could do that to which they felt called, and many Beguine houses made good
livings. Without families to support, they freely channeled their incomes
toward whatever purpose they chose. Most of the Beguines chose to give their
property away. They fed the hungry,
clothed the poor, visited the sick, educated girls, offered hospitality,
established homes for widows, nursed lepers and cared for the dying. The
Beguines both took alms and gave them away, thus creating a second economy, a
monetary sphere outside the auspices of the institutional church.”
From A People’s History of
Christianity by Diana butler Bass Harper-Collins Publishers New York NY
2009 pages 141 - 142
We live in a dying empire that staggers
under the weight of three false gods:
1.
Greed: Enron and Wall Street are our role models, but
many of us Americans have become addicted to a way of life that is
self-centered, self serving and self indulgent.
Our so called “high standard of living” is not high, not a standard and
not living.
2.
Violence: Since 9/11/2001 almost 5000 Americans have
died in Iraq and Afghanistan.
During that same period over 200,000 Americans have been killed by other
Americans with handguns and other weapons
3.
Lust: Adultery has become a common practice for many celebrities,
athletes and politicians. If Presidents,
Governors and Senators can do it then why not all of us?
Amidst it
all our churches are preoccupied with survival.
Consumerism reigns as clergy are expected to “keep everyone happy” or be
scapegoated for congregational decline. Church membership rather than
discipleship is the norm. Focus is on the institution rather than on Jesus.
There are
signs of hope in the Emergent Church. Young adults are forming their own
faith communities which have something of the Spirit of the Beguines.
Commitment matters… Gratitude
matters… Jesus matters… Relationships matter… Mutual accountability
matters… Authenticity matters…
A similar
vision exists in the “Missional
Church” movement
which is an effort to incarnate new life in the flagging mainline
congregations.
Neither of
these movements seem overly anxious about the fate of the empire. Empires rise
and fall because empires inevitably end up violating the first and greatest
commandment. They try to take God’s place as Lord of history and they fail.
The
Christian church is growing rapidly in most parts of the world other than
Western Europe and North America. But the
adventure of discipleship remains a wonderful challenge here if we can follow
the right Leader.
Unfortunately,
many people who claim His name have misrepresented Him so grossly that the
unchurched often think of Christians as self-righteous, arrogant, bigoted,
judgmental and narrow minded. Pastor Robin
Meyers has written a book entitled Saving Jesus from The Church.
It’s all
about gratitude! How can we be liberated
from our anxious self-centered separate lives to discover a God centered life
together? How can we celebrate the fact that there is nothing to prove and so
much to be grateful for?