Missional Order Debrief
….the restoration of the church will surely come only from a new type of monasticism which has nothing in common with the old but a complete lack of compromise in a life lived in accordance with the Sermon on the Mount in the discipleship of Christ. I think it is time to gather people together to do this…. —Dietrich Bonhoeffer
In this post, I’m going to attempt to do a little debriefing from the Allelon sponsored gathering on Missional Orders. Remember that this is just my perspective and my notes are far from complete. Each participant will have picked up on difference things and filtered them through their unique context, so you should attempt to read what others are also saying to get a full expression of what happened.
Unknown Territory
Allelon didn’t come with an agenda or answers. As the organizers, their hope was to bring together thinkers who, along with facilitators like Sara Jane Walker, Andrew Jones, and Pete Askew, could explore the concept both from a philosophical and practical point of view. It is unknown territory. Like journeying into one of those blank spots on a map which have never been explored. To put it in perspective, one participant quoted Robert Quinn as saying, we are “walking naked into the land of uncertainty.”
Why a Missional Order
The gathering was characterized by high interest, but lots of questions. One of those questions was, why such high interest? A number of individuals had responses like:
- It may be costly, but we yearn for a home where we can freely express the pilgrimage we are on and we don’t find that home in the modern church.
- Desire for other to learn from our own journey and that of others.
- To help guide others along on their own pilgrimage.
- A way to sustain us while we are in the game.
- The restlessness of God will not allow us to be still.
Len at NextReformation said it well on one of his posts, “I was looking for roots - something larger than an individual community, more enduring, and built around shared purpose.”
Let me add that one of my deep concerns is how do we organically sustain the missional movement. A loose organic Order of apostolic and prophetic leaders may be one of the answers.
Missional Order Values
Alan Roxburgh shared that a Missional Order has been on their mind for some time and set forth three “values” (my word) that any Order must reflect. They are:
- A deep non-negotiable commitment to the local church.
- A commitment to help these local congregations move back into the neighborhood.
- A commitment to the formation of missional leaders who want to go on a journey to help local congregations move back into the neighborhood.
Missional Not Monastic
A monastic community may be one expression of a Missional Order, but that was not the focus of this gathering. My impression of the Order would be a coming together of people committed to a rule of life (yet to be developed) and values (see above) that will, as Dan Steigerwald put it, link “a host of ecclesial and social-entrepreneurial communities/initiatives, so that those facilitating these might be developed and tied-into a bigger picture than simply their immediate local endeavor.”
Next Steps
A number of next steps were outlined including:
- Allelon framing out, based on our discussion, what a Missional Order might look like, how it would function, and a “Rule of Life.” All very much to be in draft form.
- Set a time to gather again (likely in March 2008).
- Start experimenting and learning as we each move NOW into the neighborhood.
Much, much more could be written, but this should give you some impression of our wonderful time together in conversation.
Feel free to ask question in the comments.
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Tags: Alan Roxburgh, Allelon, Missional, Missional Order
October 24th, 2007 at 12:37 pm
Thanks Rick. I really appreciate the posts of those who attended that help to fill in the details and give the rest of us a flavor of what’s happening.
October 25th, 2007 at 5:25 am
Thanks Rick… we’d love to be part of the conversation as it develops
October 25th, 2007 at 8:10 am
Yes Rick, interested in this conversation. A missional order, a “loose organic Order of apostolic and prophetic leaders”, strikes me as far closer to what I am seeking than a neo-monastic order. That’s something I would be interested sinking my teeth into.
October 25th, 2007 at 8:17 am
Mark, I thought of you during the gathering. Would love to see you part of the conversation.
October 25th, 2007 at 8:22 am
Matt,
Agreed, now to just work it out. Pete Askew said that most such movements start with dissatisfaction and their formation is chaotic. I suspect this will be no different and it will take some trial and error (and time) to get it right.
October 25th, 2007 at 11:45 am
sounds exciting :) I look forward to more
October 26th, 2007 at 10:50 am
Sounds very, very interesting. It sounds very much like what are trying to do with our church plant in our city, Rick. I like the emphasis placed upon missional rather than monastic. I look forward to hearing even more.
October 26th, 2007 at 9:19 pm
Thanks for this summary, Rick. I will be interested to see how the difference between “monastic” and “neo-monastic” manifests itself. There is a tremendous amount of ambiguity that we have to just live with for a while longer…
I’ll get around to my thoughts when I can get my brain wrapped all the way around them ;^)
October 27th, 2007 at 7:34 am
[...] Meigs at Blind Beggar debriefs a bit here from the Allelon Missional Order gathering earlier this [...]
October 29th, 2007 at 7:00 pm
Very interesting indeed!
I am interested in your discussions of “the neighborhood”. Is there any talk of people intentionally moving into particular neighborhoods together? (i.e. some people transplanting themselves so as to join other like-minded folks in this endeavor?)
October 29th, 2007 at 9:05 pm
Rick, I appreciated your summary of our time together. In the week since leaving Seabeck, I have found myself encouraging the leadership team, that I am a part of, to engage with me in a rythyme of prayer. My wife and I have also started to consider ways of engaging the community around us… yesterday we had people into our home representing four different nations and both ends of Canada… an attempt to welcome the strangers amongst us. Some of the spanish fellows ended up praying with one of the fellas from the east coast… the family from Sri Lanka provided the food, we provided the home…
October 29th, 2007 at 9:51 pm
Lainie:
Strong emphasis in the discussions about moving into back into the neighborhoods. How this plays out could take a number of different forms.
The primary focus of the Order would, in Allelon’s vision, be one of helping local congregations move back into the neighborhood and forming missional leaders who want to go on a journey to help local congregations move back into the neighborhood. The Order itself would not be a group of people intentionally moving into particular neighborhoods together.
October 29th, 2007 at 9:53 pm
Jim, how cool is that! Thanks for sharing the story and I pray we will all look for these opportunities to welcome the stranger.
October 30th, 2007 at 6:54 pm
[...] Missional Order Debrief over at The Blind Beggar. [...]
October 31st, 2007 at 7:43 am
This sounds interesting. Movements always either dissipate or else become institutions. For missional Christianity to continue, it needs to spread through existing structures and perhaps create new ones, but it will have to somehow remain dynamic in order to avoid becoming a sacred cow or just one more approach available to be applied.
October 31st, 2007 at 9:37 am
Spot-on Adam! This is my concern also — either the missional movement disappears or becomes institutionalized. Neight is good and my hope is that we can find some loose organic “order” of apostolic and prophetic leaders that will be able to walk the tension between these two alternatives.