Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Dare To Be Different
SmartChristian links to a CT article about the possibility of evangelical monastism.
I wonder; however, if there are not new implementations of that basic theme that might not be better. -- How about couples instead of celibacy? Wouldn't couples modelling marriage in the context of devotion to Christ be a great thing. Children might be problematic because of the necessity to provide for them, but that energy could be redirected into ministry. Maybe such couples could form the community in which a seminary resides? Thus those preparing for ministry would spend some time in the company of the utterly devout.
I'm just throwing ideas on the wall here -- do you have any?
The faint but (we hope) growing call for remonasticization is provoked by the recognition that our situation will not change merely with continuing talk. American mass culture presents the church with a challenge unique to its history. It is a culture dominated by the mechanisms and mentality of consumerism, and facilitated by mass media that penetrate every nook and cranny of the country.There are aspects of this idea I really like and others I don't. Firstly, I think setting aside people with extraordinary levels of devotion is a very worthwhile idea.
In this milieu individual Christians, and the church as a collective body, cannot easily maintain their distinctive identity as a people killed and raised with Christ (Rom. 6:4?10). The dominant ethos is all pervasive, able to assume milder, less offensive forms for those who will not embrace it with its mask off. So if the church dislikes coarse "worldly" celebrities, let it create its own celebrities. If it is cautious about the worldly mania for numbers (stocks sold on Wall Street), let it develop its own mania for numbers (souls saved by the megachurch).
Thus the church must not only recognize its plight, it must imagine new and truer ways to address that plight. It is in this context that we issue a formal call for remonasticization in the church.
I wonder; however, if there are not new implementations of that basic theme that might not be better. -- How about couples instead of celibacy? Wouldn't couples modelling marriage in the context of devotion to Christ be a great thing. Children might be problematic because of the necessity to provide for them, but that energy could be redirected into ministry. Maybe such couples could form the community in which a seminary resides? Thus those preparing for ministry would spend some time in the company of the utterly devout.
I'm just throwing ideas on the wall here -- do you have any?
