This used to be a community blog, now we just use it for a podcast feed for our weekly worship gatherings (but we left the old stuff here in case you want to browse).
Email us if you want to know more, come for a visit, invite us your way, or just gab. Our website has a lot of information and some pictures of the people, places and things that make up the VC tribe
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Monday
IM conversation
On Friday night (and into the wee hours of Sat. morn) friends gathered - new and old. Drinks were drunk, smokes were smoked, wounds were let to breathe, jokes were told, and good and rich and "kingdom-full" conversations pervaded the space. If the Kingdom were a party - this was surely a Kingdom gathering.
This AM John Barrow and I were IM'ing and he asked: (so here you go, enjoy. its only editted for flow and sensibility)
John: you guys talk about anything important?
Aaron: some - bean and alan and i talked for a couple hours (from 2-4 am) about Core stuff and VC direction. i'll try to summarize....
Aaron: basically their thought was that we should have (atleast) one more all VC gathering (like in June) to corporately discern what we are moving into. a leaders retreat will likely come out of that, but we need some sense of direction before we can do that. i think their thought with that was we don't really know what VC is anymore - it lacks significant identifiying structure and before we can add a new structure (i.e. Core conversation) we need to figure out where people are and such.... otherwise the thing we propose could be pointless. my hunch is that we'll end up continuing to articulate something of a Core of committed people - kinda of like a Religious Order - that will make public vows to God and the community and that that will be a new sense or layer of identity for VC.... but there needs to be some (as we've alreday begun talking about) public forum for that processing (with it being open-ended enough to say that if this ISN"T where God is leading then we lay it down). i kinda see it like we all need to lay all our cards on the table.... if people are clinging to a VC that no longer exists that should be stated, grieved, and moved on. if VC as an entity needs to die and be reborn as something different (non-vineyard, for instance) then fine. if there are folks who want/need/feel called to a Vineyard-ized Vineyard Central then perhaps they can have the "VC" name and hire a pastor and become a 'regular" church.... while others move into a network of house churches that share leadership and resources. or perhaps St. E's the building will become owned and operated by a Non-profit that will be a seperated (but related) entity than VC - so that VC can be the network of house churches that it needs to be
John: This sounds interesting. Will you bring up these ideas when we meet again as the pc?
Aaron: yeah - i'll probably post something of it too on the blog
Aaron: alan is online - i'll run what i told you by him to see if i missed anything
------------------------
Alan: cool - sounds about what we said - I was also stressing that the leadership who don't even want to be leadership, who've sort of drifted out during this period, ala - Brocks, Nixons, Barrs(?), etc. need to be there and at this LeTreat thing if not only for closure
Alan: it would be sad if relationships degraded to a point that people just slipped away from each other after all these years and ended up not talking and doing their own deals - I know sometimes that happens but in this case it definitely shouldn't I wouldn't think - again, I'm speaking as a friend and not an insider
Aaron: i agree - i think that that "slipping away-ness" would be a very bad thing in this time
Alan: it's sad to me already - as I look inside from what I've seen through 2-3 years
Aaron: yeah - i def. think there is (has been, and will be) some grieving going on, but on the whole i think we're continuing to move forward...
Alan: that's good - it's always hard to go through changes like this - evolution hurts
Aaron: truly, it does!
Aaron: maybe its even a bit of "changing of the guard" - with the desire for the "old guard" to not drift off, but to stay around as wisdom-bearers and sages
Alan: right
------------------------
John: BTW I think it is correct that everyone who has a stake in VC should have the chance to contribute to the conversation
Aaron: yeah, so do i... i've had some good conversations with elizabeth and charlie re: this stuff
John: I'm not one to cram things down other peoples throught. It feels to me like a bad leadership style. :-)
Aaron: agreed. so far i think we're far from doing that... i think we're doing well with moving forward and doing so TOGETHER
John: As has been the case with all these conversations I am looking forward to what will eventually come from it all.
Aaron: me too, me too!
--------------------------------
This AM John Barrow and I were IM'ing and he asked: (so here you go, enjoy. its only editted for flow and sensibility)
John: you guys talk about anything important?
Aaron: some - bean and alan and i talked for a couple hours (from 2-4 am) about Core stuff and VC direction. i'll try to summarize....
Aaron: basically their thought was that we should have (atleast) one more all VC gathering (like in June) to corporately discern what we are moving into. a leaders retreat will likely come out of that, but we need some sense of direction before we can do that. i think their thought with that was we don't really know what VC is anymore - it lacks significant identifiying structure and before we can add a new structure (i.e. Core conversation) we need to figure out where people are and such.... otherwise the thing we propose could be pointless. my hunch is that we'll end up continuing to articulate something of a Core of committed people - kinda of like a Religious Order - that will make public vows to God and the community and that that will be a new sense or layer of identity for VC.... but there needs to be some (as we've alreday begun talking about) public forum for that processing (with it being open-ended enough to say that if this ISN"T where God is leading then we lay it down). i kinda see it like we all need to lay all our cards on the table.... if people are clinging to a VC that no longer exists that should be stated, grieved, and moved on. if VC as an entity needs to die and be reborn as something different (non-vineyard, for instance) then fine. if there are folks who want/need/feel called to a Vineyard-ized Vineyard Central then perhaps they can have the "VC" name and hire a pastor and become a 'regular" church.... while others move into a network of house churches that share leadership and resources. or perhaps St. E's the building will become owned and operated by a Non-profit that will be a seperated (but related) entity than VC - so that VC can be the network of house churches that it needs to be
John: This sounds interesting. Will you bring up these ideas when we meet again as the pc?
Aaron: yeah - i'll probably post something of it too on the blog
Aaron: alan is online - i'll run what i told you by him to see if i missed anything
------------------------
Alan: cool - sounds about what we said - I was also stressing that the leadership who don't even want to be leadership, who've sort of drifted out during this period, ala - Brocks, Nixons, Barrs(?), etc. need to be there and at this LeTreat thing if not only for closure
Alan: it would be sad if relationships degraded to a point that people just slipped away from each other after all these years and ended up not talking and doing their own deals - I know sometimes that happens but in this case it definitely shouldn't I wouldn't think - again, I'm speaking as a friend and not an insider
Aaron: i agree - i think that that "slipping away-ness" would be a very bad thing in this time
Alan: it's sad to me already - as I look inside from what I've seen through 2-3 years
Aaron: yeah - i def. think there is (has been, and will be) some grieving going on, but on the whole i think we're continuing to move forward...
Alan: that's good - it's always hard to go through changes like this - evolution hurts
Aaron: truly, it does!
Aaron: maybe its even a bit of "changing of the guard" - with the desire for the "old guard" to not drift off, but to stay around as wisdom-bearers and sages
Alan: right
------------------------
John: BTW I think it is correct that everyone who has a stake in VC should have the chance to contribute to the conversation
Aaron: yeah, so do i... i've had some good conversations with elizabeth and charlie re: this stuff
John: I'm not one to cram things down other peoples throught. It feels to me like a bad leadership style. :-)
Aaron: agreed. so far i think we're far from doing that... i think we're doing well with moving forward and doing so TOGETHER
John: As has been the case with all these conversations I am looking forward to what will eventually come from it all.
Aaron: me too, me too!
--------------------------------
Friday
Harvest Time
"Always, man dreams about the future
what he will sow next
and where he will reap a harvest.
The planting itself is not enough;
he longs for the day of fruitfulness.
Like God, he sees that people grow too:
young boys to men,
young men to elders.
With patient shaping and instruction,
they, too, will bear much fruit.
But unlike God, he cannot see the invisible future:
he runs away from Suffering,
the most patient and fruitful of all his teachers.
He twists and turns to escape her voice
and rarely listens long enough to discover her wisdom.
My child, don't run.
After you have suffered a little while,
your Father will restore and strengthen you.
Let Suffering perform her full work,
for her harvests are always bountiful
in those who heed her words.
-klb 8/19/04, see 1 Peter 5:10"
Thanks Kendra. I needed that.
--------------------------------
what he will sow next
and where he will reap a harvest.
The planting itself is not enough;
he longs for the day of fruitfulness.
Like God, he sees that people grow too:
young boys to men,
young men to elders.
With patient shaping and instruction,
they, too, will bear much fruit.
But unlike God, he cannot see the invisible future:
he runs away from Suffering,
the most patient and fruitful of all his teachers.
He twists and turns to escape her voice
and rarely listens long enough to discover her wisdom.
My child, don't run.
After you have suffered a little while,
your Father will restore and strengthen you.
Let Suffering perform her full work,
for her harvests are always bountiful
in those who heed her words.
-klb 8/19/04, see 1 Peter 5:10"
Thanks Kendra. I needed that.
--------------------------------
Monday
Of Monastic Vows
The Benedictine Sisters of Yankton
Obedience - a promise to listen attentively and to respond eagerly to the will of God as revealed in Scripture, the Rule of Benedict, the prioress, the community, the events of human history, the call of the Church, the cry of the oppressed, and in herself.
Stability - a promise to be faithful to one's search for God together; a promise to seek God in the monastery of one’s profession until death and to witness to the unchanging faithfulness of God.
Fidelity to the monastic way of life - a promise to seek God by embracing the pattern of cenobitic living inspired by the Rule of Benedict; a commitment to the ongoing conversion essential to the Christian way of life as it unfolds according to the charism of Sacred Heart Monastery.
Abbey of St. Walburga
We make three vows: obedience, stability, and fidelity to the monastic way of life.
By the vow of obedience, we commit ourselves to strive to live the obedience of Jesus, who, says the Letter to the Philippians, remained obedient even unto death, death on the cross (see Philippians 2:5-11). Obedience is surrender ot the self to God in love, but its concrete expression is obedience to the abbess, to those who are senior to us in community, and to the community as a whole. St. Benedict teaches us to obey promptly, cheerfully and wholeheartedly, without grumbling, lest self-protection rather than self-surrender consume the creative energy God has given us to become mature, free, responsible persons.
By the vow of stability, we commit ourselves to remain in the monastery of our profession until death. Normally, we expect to live and die in the community of our profession, though there might be occasional exceptions, such as nuns being sent out to found a new house under the auspices of their home monastery. We also expect to spend most of our time within the enclosure of the monastery. The purpose of this stability is to refuse all escapes from the rigorous work of conversion we have undertaken.
By the vow of fidelity to the monastic way of life, or conversatio morum, to use the original, untranslatable Latin phrase of the Rule of St. Benedict, we commit ourselves to a lifelong pilgrimage toward that perfect love of God and neighbor which Christ urges on us in the gospel. We undertake to grow and change as God shapes us through all the dimensions of our way of life. All Christians accept this commitment to conversion in baptism; Benedictines choose to live out that commitment within the specific framework of monasticism. Fidelity to the monastic life includes poverty, interpreted in the Rule as frugality and the renunciation of any form of private ownership of goods, and celibate chastity.
St. Andrew's Abbey Vayermo
THE ABBOT: What do you seek?
THE CANDIDATES: The mercy of God, and membership in your community.
THE ABBOT: May God grant you fellowship with us and with His saints. Amen. In the name of the Lord, arise.
(The Petition, from the Rite of Reception Into the Novitiate)
Taize
Brother, remembering that it is Christ who calls you and that it is to him that you are now going to respond.
Will you, for love of Christ, consecrate yourself to him with all your being?
I will.
Will you henceforth fulfil your service of God within our community, in communion with your brothers?
I will.
-------------------------------
The above quotes and copy-n-pastes are from various monasteries and communities. So, without taking sufficient time for background (refer to this post below), I want to offer some thoughts....
I see a need for a Core of people within VC who respond to the call of God on their life and enter into a covenant relationship with the God and the community. This would be something of an Order - similar to Religious Orders of Monastics. In some sense it is like The Order of Mission @ St Thomas’ Church, Sheffield, though this would be local. It certainly be misisonal, communal, and small.
But how to create such a thing? Is this an unhealthy retreat from ________? Does this form an exclusive club that is anti-Kingdom? Is this a matter of control and boundaries for safety? What should characterize such an Order? Who is this for? What does it do? What vows should one take? Why should there be vows? Isn't this just like church membership?
Hum.... lots of questions. I do not intend to answer all (or maybe any) at this point.... but some thoughts to that end.
One of the consistencies in the communities I looked at were three (3) vows:
Obedience
Stability
Fidelity
These are important me thinks. We should not overlook these. What could these mean in our context?
Obedience - to the person of Christ first and foremost. What is God calling the person too? But this is not an individualized obedience. It is follower-ship of Christ in the context of the community - because this is the only place follower-ship can happen - in a community of faith. And because one makes vows to this particular community then any life-altering decisions get processed with the community. This is essentially accountability from brothers and sisters for the sake of the Kingdom. So, in that way it is (or may look like) obedience to the community. Not because you give up your individual responsibility or identity, but becasue you admit that "I can't be a disciple on my own - I need you (community) to help me". In this way it is mutual submission to one another under the Lordship of Christ for the sake of Missio Dei (God's mission).
Stability - there is sacredness to place and space. Perhaps a better word for our time would be "Simplicity". Either way this is important in our world of bigger, better, higher, faster. The still small voice comes in stillness and smallness - as silly as that sounds, I believe it has been missed by American Christians. We would committ to intentional structure our lives - individually, as families, and as a community - to dance to a life-giving rhythm of the Spirit. So, while for many this will mean planting and growing deep roots in a neighborhood for a lifetime, for others it may mean seasons in different places. These "seasons-changes" are not arbitrary or birthed out of a desire for "the next new thing" or "keeping up with the Joneses" - but rather a response to the Spirit's movement as discerned by both the person, their family, and the Order. In all cases, the person seeks to live a simple life - free from the illusions of money, "success", and power.
Fidelity - faithfulness to Christ, family, community, neighbor, and the stranger. It seems that some reduce the Gospel to personal relationship with Jesus (period, end of story). We would vow that this is not an option. Our Chrisitan discipleship permeates all of life, nothing is out of bounds. So our faithfulness to the Triune God bleeds over (and fills up) our faithfulness to our family, the Order, and those in need. We do not isolate ourselves. We acknowledge the pain and brokenness in ourselves, one another, and the world and we respond in Grace. We take on the position of Solidarity and Communion - our very lives become Sacramental as we are instruments of God's Grace breaking in.
Hum... this needs more work, but hopefully it helps nudge us forward a fraction. --------------------------------
The Yellow area is our context in which we live (Norwood, Cincinnati). The Blue area is VC as a whole. Both the Context and VC are centered-sets. A centered-set is a grouping of (in this case people) where the boundary is permeable. Some folks are in Norwood, Cincinnati others leave in Cleveland - the choice is theirs and they can move at will (i.e there are no walls around Norwood that keep people inside). VC is similar - some folks associate with us, others don't. The choice is theirs. There is much relational flow here. The Core (green area) is fundamentally different. It is a bounded-set. There is a definitive line between who is in and who is not. Those in the Core would include those who have made vows to the community, leadership, etc...
Before I go on to explain the differences between VC and VC Core. Let me highlight the most important part of the thing - the arrow.
The arrow is indicative of forward movement - moving in and toward the kingdom of God. This is why we exist, this is the mission of God for this place (and every place).
So, here's how I see this working out. Someone can be in Cincy or Norwood and moving toward the Kingdom and NOT part of VC (we do not hold exclusive publication rights!), the converse is true as well, obviously. Someone can be part of VC and moving Kingdom-ward. This seems like it could be sufficient at this point. Essentially it would be an amorphous conglomeration of persons - some moving Kingdom-ward (others not) in a particular place.
But I think there IS a need for a bounded-set Core within VC. Again, not all of VC would or should function this way, but I think God has and will call some (a minority) to make specific covenants/commitments to VC, Norwood. These persons (Kevin is certainly the preeminent example of this) would dedicate their lives to moving forward in and toward God's Kingdom - in the particular context of Norwood/Cincy and with a particular people VC. This does not discount others from similar movements or from similar (or the same) commitments, but there is a definitive step that some should take that distinguish them from the rest of VC.
I use "distinguish" specifically, not separate. It is not a hierarchical position - rather a servant leadership one. We need leaders and core committed folks to call us forward into what God is doing.
So, what makes someone part of the Core? THAT is what I think we are struggling with as a Network!
I think there is a felt-need (and it is a real need) for more people to cross this line. I certainly know that it is not for everyone, but it is for some now and some later and some never. But we don't know what makes someone in the core and someone not. I suspect that some of it will mean that a person makes a public statement of covenant, they are committed to a house church, they are committed to essential Christian beliefs and practices, and they are committed to particular beliefs (values) and practices that make VC unique (like community, simplicity, mission).
This is not a new issue! The early church dealt with it too. For them the rite of Baptism marked a similar movement - but we're in a funky mix where many have been baptized apart from VC. Which isn't necessarily bad, but makes us in need of a new rite.
So, this is not to say that VC is not open - it is, extremely so. But there is a time and a place for Core commitments.
This, as many will recognize, is from Missional Church, ch. 7, by Alan Roxburgh. I think, obviously, he's on to something that is worth learning about. --------------------------------
Obedience - a promise to listen attentively and to respond eagerly to the will of God as revealed in Scripture, the Rule of Benedict, the prioress, the community, the events of human history, the call of the Church, the cry of the oppressed, and in herself.
Stability - a promise to be faithful to one's search for God together; a promise to seek God in the monastery of one’s profession until death and to witness to the unchanging faithfulness of God.
Fidelity to the monastic way of life - a promise to seek God by embracing the pattern of cenobitic living inspired by the Rule of Benedict; a commitment to the ongoing conversion essential to the Christian way of life as it unfolds according to the charism of Sacred Heart Monastery.
Abbey of St. Walburga
We make three vows: obedience, stability, and fidelity to the monastic way of life.
By the vow of obedience, we commit ourselves to strive to live the obedience of Jesus, who, says the Letter to the Philippians, remained obedient even unto death, death on the cross (see Philippians 2:5-11). Obedience is surrender ot the self to God in love, but its concrete expression is obedience to the abbess, to those who are senior to us in community, and to the community as a whole. St. Benedict teaches us to obey promptly, cheerfully and wholeheartedly, without grumbling, lest self-protection rather than self-surrender consume the creative energy God has given us to become mature, free, responsible persons.
By the vow of stability, we commit ourselves to remain in the monastery of our profession until death. Normally, we expect to live and die in the community of our profession, though there might be occasional exceptions, such as nuns being sent out to found a new house under the auspices of their home monastery. We also expect to spend most of our time within the enclosure of the monastery. The purpose of this stability is to refuse all escapes from the rigorous work of conversion we have undertaken.
By the vow of fidelity to the monastic way of life, or conversatio morum, to use the original, untranslatable Latin phrase of the Rule of St. Benedict, we commit ourselves to a lifelong pilgrimage toward that perfect love of God and neighbor which Christ urges on us in the gospel. We undertake to grow and change as God shapes us through all the dimensions of our way of life. All Christians accept this commitment to conversion in baptism; Benedictines choose to live out that commitment within the specific framework of monasticism. Fidelity to the monastic life includes poverty, interpreted in the Rule as frugality and the renunciation of any form of private ownership of goods, and celibate chastity.
St. Andrew's Abbey Vayermo
THE ABBOT: What do you seek?
THE CANDIDATES: The mercy of God, and membership in your community.
THE ABBOT: May God grant you fellowship with us and with His saints. Amen. In the name of the Lord, arise.
(The Petition, from the Rite of Reception Into the Novitiate)
Taize
Brother, remembering that it is Christ who calls you and that it is to him that you are now going to respond.
Will you, for love of Christ, consecrate yourself to him with all your being?
I will.
Will you henceforth fulfil your service of God within our community, in communion with your brothers?
I will.
-------------------------------
The above quotes and copy-n-pastes are from various monasteries and communities. So, without taking sufficient time for background (refer to this post below), I want to offer some thoughts....
I see a need for a Core of people within VC who respond to the call of God on their life and enter into a covenant relationship with the God and the community. This would be something of an Order - similar to Religious Orders of Monastics. In some sense it is like The Order of Mission @ St Thomas’ Church, Sheffield, though this would be local. It certainly be misisonal, communal, and small.
But how to create such a thing? Is this an unhealthy retreat from ________? Does this form an exclusive club that is anti-Kingdom? Is this a matter of control and boundaries for safety? What should characterize such an Order? Who is this for? What does it do? What vows should one take? Why should there be vows? Isn't this just like church membership?
Hum.... lots of questions. I do not intend to answer all (or maybe any) at this point.... but some thoughts to that end.
One of the consistencies in the communities I looked at were three (3) vows:
Obedience
Stability
Fidelity
These are important me thinks. We should not overlook these. What could these mean in our context?
Obedience - to the person of Christ first and foremost. What is God calling the person too? But this is not an individualized obedience. It is follower-ship of Christ in the context of the community - because this is the only place follower-ship can happen - in a community of faith. And because one makes vows to this particular community then any life-altering decisions get processed with the community. This is essentially accountability from brothers and sisters for the sake of the Kingdom. So, in that way it is (or may look like) obedience to the community. Not because you give up your individual responsibility or identity, but becasue you admit that "I can't be a disciple on my own - I need you (community) to help me". In this way it is mutual submission to one another under the Lordship of Christ for the sake of Missio Dei (God's mission).
Stability - there is sacredness to place and space. Perhaps a better word for our time would be "Simplicity". Either way this is important in our world of bigger, better, higher, faster. The still small voice comes in stillness and smallness - as silly as that sounds, I believe it has been missed by American Christians. We would committ to intentional structure our lives - individually, as families, and as a community - to dance to a life-giving rhythm of the Spirit. So, while for many this will mean planting and growing deep roots in a neighborhood for a lifetime, for others it may mean seasons in different places. These "seasons-changes" are not arbitrary or birthed out of a desire for "the next new thing" or "keeping up with the Joneses" - but rather a response to the Spirit's movement as discerned by both the person, their family, and the Order. In all cases, the person seeks to live a simple life - free from the illusions of money, "success", and power.
Fidelity - faithfulness to Christ, family, community, neighbor, and the stranger. It seems that some reduce the Gospel to personal relationship with Jesus (period, end of story). We would vow that this is not an option. Our Chrisitan discipleship permeates all of life, nothing is out of bounds. So our faithfulness to the Triune God bleeds over (and fills up) our faithfulness to our family, the Order, and those in need. We do not isolate ourselves. We acknowledge the pain and brokenness in ourselves, one another, and the world and we respond in Grace. We take on the position of Solidarity and Communion - our very lives become Sacramental as we are instruments of God's Grace breaking in.
Hum... this needs more work, but hopefully it helps nudge us forward a fraction. --------------------------------
What does it mean to be Christian? What does it mean to be VC?.... incomplete thoughts to that end:
The Yellow area is our context in which we live (Norwood, Cincinnati). The Blue area is VC as a whole. Both the Context and VC are centered-sets. A centered-set is a grouping of (in this case people) where the boundary is permeable. Some folks are in Norwood, Cincinnati others leave in Cleveland - the choice is theirs and they can move at will (i.e there are no walls around Norwood that keep people inside). VC is similar - some folks associate with us, others don't. The choice is theirs. There is much relational flow here. The Core (green area) is fundamentally different. It is a bounded-set. There is a definitive line between who is in and who is not. Those in the Core would include those who have made vows to the community, leadership, etc...
Before I go on to explain the differences between VC and VC Core. Let me highlight the most important part of the thing - the arrow.
The arrow is indicative of forward movement - moving in and toward the kingdom of God. This is why we exist, this is the mission of God for this place (and every place).
So, here's how I see this working out. Someone can be in Cincy or Norwood and moving toward the Kingdom and NOT part of VC (we do not hold exclusive publication rights!), the converse is true as well, obviously. Someone can be part of VC and moving Kingdom-ward. This seems like it could be sufficient at this point. Essentially it would be an amorphous conglomeration of persons - some moving Kingdom-ward (others not) in a particular place.
But I think there IS a need for a bounded-set Core within VC. Again, not all of VC would or should function this way, but I think God has and will call some (a minority) to make specific covenants/commitments to VC, Norwood. These persons (Kevin is certainly the preeminent example of this) would dedicate their lives to moving forward in and toward God's Kingdom - in the particular context of Norwood/Cincy and with a particular people VC. This does not discount others from similar movements or from similar (or the same) commitments, but there is a definitive step that some should take that distinguish them from the rest of VC.
I use "distinguish" specifically, not separate. It is not a hierarchical position - rather a servant leadership one. We need leaders and core committed folks to call us forward into what God is doing.
So, what makes someone part of the Core? THAT is what I think we are struggling with as a Network!
I think there is a felt-need (and it is a real need) for more people to cross this line. I certainly know that it is not for everyone, but it is for some now and some later and some never. But we don't know what makes someone in the core and someone not. I suspect that some of it will mean that a person makes a public statement of covenant, they are committed to a house church, they are committed to essential Christian beliefs and practices, and they are committed to particular beliefs (values) and practices that make VC unique (like community, simplicity, mission).
This is not a new issue! The early church dealt with it too. For them the rite of Baptism marked a similar movement - but we're in a funky mix where many have been baptized apart from VC. Which isn't necessarily bad, but makes us in need of a new rite.
So, this is not to say that VC is not open - it is, extremely so. But there is a time and a place for Core commitments.
This, as many will recognize, is from Missional Church, ch. 7, by Alan Roxburgh. I think, obviously, he's on to something that is worth learning about. --------------------------------
Tuesday
Take and Read.
Bruderhof Communities - Why I Stopped Going to Church
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