Thursday, January 24, 2008
Article on Alternative Christian Communities
A while back Christian Century magazine published an in depth article on intentional Christian communities that featured a number of the communities Jackie and I have been privileged to get to know and learn from over the past few years (Rutba House, Church of the Sojourners, and Church of the Servant King). The author does a good job of giving the reader a sense of the diverse "personalities" of the different communities as well as the diverse ways in which these communities are structured and organized economically, geographically, and even theologically (for example, in how they relate to the wider church). You can read the article for yourself here. If you do read it (and I hope you do), I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. I think its a good piece for stimulating our imaginations about what our life together could be.
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Thank you, Jeremy for sharing that article. I really enjoyed it and I think it greatly highlights how truly unique each of the communities are. It reminded me that we don't have to adhere to one model or another and should strive to create a community that is a natural extension of our particular goals, gifts, and lives.
I also liked what Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove said about not being there "to save" the neighborhood but simply as a presence in the community. And that they would leave as soon as the neighborhood began to gentrify (which is a current phenomenon here in SA) is important, I think.
My service as an AmeriCorps member at HFHSA this past year really left me with an awareness of the affordable housing crisis here in our city. I bring this up because of what the Reba community in Illinois does---acquiring and renting properties at below-market rates as a service to the community--- which greatly piqued my interest. Probably too much to bite off right now, but an idea.
Today I am feeling particularly excited about the possibilities for our community! (As opposed to other days where I think it I'm nuts!)
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