Core values?

Just had a fantastic evening eating an awesome Chilli and looking at core values/community.  I 'presented' the principles I drew from our recent pilgrimage as a starting point...

1. To actively take great risks with God (Risking with God)

2. To nurture a Missional DNA (Missio Dei – joining with God)

3. To seek not to plant A Church but to model ourselves as a monastic core (living by Scripture and with a spiritual rhythm and rule) which lives out as synapses creating a network of node communities & safe spaces. (Living with Christ, sharing life with others)

4. To be visible and exposed (incarnate with Christ)

5. To be creative and dynamic (creating with Christ)

6. To think and act Global & Local (recognising both our insignificance and our significance - the majesty and the intimacy of God)

7. To be servants of Shalom (Kingdom of God – recreating with Christ)

... the evening demonstrated a real sense of common calling and was the birth of a Missional/Monastic Community... if I have a particular role it may be that of an Abbot - Guardian of the Vision.  Lou and I are really excited about this new sense of direction and community... we really feel that this is God's call and God's vision.  We continue to value your prayers for us all and for our town.

Technorati Tags: Emerging Church: Mission

Comments

[steve]

really encouraging to watch this take shape. good on you all.

[david]

This sounds really exciting and I will be praying for you as your vision develops. I think point 3 is central and I'll be interested to see how you put it into action.

On a related note, does anyone know of any established UK churches which are being transformed from a weekly congregation to an intentional community based on monastic principles? Of course, I'm aware of the developments at Moot, but are there any more 'traditional' churches making the change?

[Mark Berry]

Not sure about 'Trad' churches doing the monastic shift... another non-trad church exploring this is hOME in Oxford...

http://www.home-online.org/

http://lostempireslivingtribes.blogspot.com/

[blind beggar]

Mark: Nice core values. I like their intentionality and proactive nature.

I think I'll journal them for future meditation. I need to do this same exercise. Do you think the consumption of great Chili is central to the process?

[Andrew Dowsett]

David - you might take a look at St Thomas' in Sheffield and The order of Mission that has grown out of it.

St Tom's is an established church, an Anglican/Baptist LEP (local eccumenical project), and reasonably traditional within the charismatic evangelical traditions of those two denomninations, if unusually large. TOM is intentionally missional, and exists within and alongside those and several other denominations. TOM and St Tom's are not one-and-the-same, so its not exactly transforming a trad congregation into a monastic community; but many of the values and practices are the same - especially the emphasis on discipleship and community.

I don't know if that helps or not, but as you asked for suggestions...