What's your view on the Benedict Option? (establishing Christian Communities)

[StephanT]

I read the book with great interest as I hope to create such a community. I'm an Evangelical Christian (BA), so the orthodoxy part does not apply (nor does it bother me, as I wish to avoid the Ephesian Paradox).

What did you think of the book? Personally, I felt it did a good job at arguing the "Why" and some of the "How" but wasn't very clear in terms of "Practical Steps". I attempted to write an essay on the topic and realized why: to write such rules is to immediately fall into the trap of foregoing the "Organic Growth" that has made (semi) autonomous communities such as Hyattsville so strong in their communal and interpersonal ties.

Is joining or forming a Christian community (of whichever denomination) something that crossed your mind? Would you like to discuss it in this thread? Thank you!

PS: to be clear, this is not - nor is the book - an endorsement of monasticism - it's far more open (freedom of movement, secular jobs, etc) than that.

 

[Windmillcharge]

Given that many people post against joining a church, I think you will find very few people willing to endorse joining g a much closer organised shared lifestyle.

For me, I would suggest getting involved with your church.

 

[StephanT]

Do people oppose joining a Church? I didn't know that. What would be the argument given? I'm curious because Hebrews 10:25 says we should “not [be] giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

I have nothing against opposing opinions from other denominations, but I'm curious about the biblical basis of refusing to attend Church. Thank you!

 

[Nancy]

Do people oppose joining a Church? I didn't know that. What would be the argument given? I'm curious because Hebrews 10:25 says we should “not [be] giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

I have nothing against opposing opinions from other denominations, but I'm curious about the biblical basis of refusing to attend Church. Thank you!

Hello Stephan, welcome to our forums! I hope you will enjoy your time here.
As far as the "churches" go in this day and age, many people fall through the cracks, many are mistreated, many are shunned. Hence, they avoid them once they realize they don't "belong". Fitting in and belonging are totally different. I am older, 65, divorcee and no children. No church I have attended since 1991 have truly accepted me. There was no real fellowship in the church, and none at all outside. There are cliques, I have been shunned enough to never, ever return to them again. I was not welcomed at the last two because they were very liberal and I did not agree, so it was an immediate turn off to them. The church before that I stayed for a bit over 3 years because I did not want the attitudes of pretty much the whole church to force me out. It got to be too much, and since I am not at all calvinistic this is something they did not like. Then was the coldest most unkind church I ever set foot in.
Today as the bible tells us, many, many will turn away from sound doctrine heaping up teachers to tickle their ears. I see us going back to home churches and, I would run to one of those. Not that they won't have their own issues but, that is how it was in the beginning.
So, there are many reasons a person does not feel comfortable in so many churches today.
God bless you on your journey brother!

 

[StephanT]

Oh I understand now!. Yes, indeed you are absolutely correct, so many churches have become 'social clubs' at best here in the UK. I know in the US, it's even worse, with some very bad things happening there, but I won't point them out because they are very offensive things and I don't want to upset anyone

That doesn't mean however that we aren't called to join the Church (HIS Body), and no one said it would be easy in our secular world of 2023.

It's also true that even if you find a Church faithful to the Scriptures (say, Sola Scriptura and Scriptura Tota), it can be a bit... intimidating? There are so few of these left in the UK that the ones I found while welcoming, made me very aware that the participants had known and trusted each other for years, decades even, and I was 'the new guy'. They can be also geographically quite far, and for those with disabilities, hard to access.

In any case thank you for answering my question, that's very kind of you.

God bless you!

 

[Pathfinder7]

Welcome to CB.
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I remember..having online discussions (not on this Forum/CB)..
- about the Benefit Option.
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Many people are disappointed..in Church Establishment..
- too much focus..on status/recognition, church politics, etc..
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They are searching..the meaning of the 'Church & Christian Community'..again.

 

[Wrangler]

Welcome to the forums! I love your provocative OP. Need to ponder your question.

 

[Reddsta]

Is joining or forming a Christian community (of whichever denomination) something that crossed your mind? Would you like to discuss it in this thread? Thank you!

I love the question and the subsequent discussion should be fruitful.

Initially about 30 years ago I was asked to take part in “Small Groups” (SG) with the church I was attending at that time. I really enjoyed it; there were some elements of it that were just too religious for me. However the primary and most exciting element of the whole effort was the building of a more personal community of likeminded people.

I began to build deeper connections with certain members of my church family and this is where I first experienced a deeper sense of being spiritually alive. Yes, it was life changing…over the course of the next 15 years I rode that wave until it just faded back into the ocean from which it came…I suppose. During that time I became a “Small Groups Pastor” at a Baptist church for 5 years.

It was there that I could see the small groups as a vehicle for church growth numbers…we added 200 people to the Sunday morning service, and roughly 350 to the small group roster throughout the city. There about 150 people meeting in small groups in people’s homes that would not attend the institutional church service itself.

We went from 10 SG leaders initially, to 70 4 years later and basically we converted the management structure of the church to the SG model. We developed a system of building and training SG leaders at all maturity levels. This successfully connected more than 500 people to one another more or less, and there was an observable benefit for many.

The single most devastating thing that became supremely obvious was…simply put the split between the affluent and the economically under resourced as they were labeled. There is too much to go into here, however I can say this, that chasm could not be bridged…I’ll leave it at that.

Experiencing that after 20 years of “church” and 15 years of leadership in the institutional, denominational church structure, all too clearly painted a picture of “false religion” to me. I resigned, and headed for “house church”…long story short, it became a microcosm of institutional religion. When I addressed the pure defilement of false religion many people left.

17 years later, we have established a “spiritual family” some of us live together and we own a business that we all work at, all the while having a healthy amount of independence, most of this is a miracle wrought at the hands of the Lord Yahshua. We are actively building two more families who are taking the beginning steps of some form of living together. The primary focus of “being together” is meeting for dinner each night.

The toxic structure of false religion fell off rather quickly…and people began to sense the uniqueness of their own “call” from God in the light of the Holy Spirits assembling of the Body of Christ. We’re moving on…

 

[StephanT]

Thank you for your thoughtful and insightful reply, Reddsta!

Indeed I read multiple similar accounts. It seems that there is a sense that , unless the community grows 'organically', problems inevitably arise, including, but not limited to:

- Trying for 'perfection' and attempting 'utopia' without realizing it, leading the community to collapse as there is no real bond between (all new) members.
- Idolization of the community itself (Instead of worshiping God first)
- What's called 'unexpected aging' (read: people get old, new people come in, do not share the same values -> collapse)
- And what you describe, a split between the affluent and the non-affluent
- And countless other stories depicted in various books on the topic.

Statistically, however, we know two things:
a) religious communities vastly outlast secular ones, regardless of location and conditions
b) religious communities collapse when they become 'gated,' and freedom of movement is lost (Isolation).

I've held so many discussions on the topic my head hurts On the one hand, I hear people tell me that we have to be 'in the world', which means if we are in 'Babylon', let our light shine regardless. On the other, I have witnessed people losing their jobs, positions and income because they were 'outed' as Christians by their search history, an old tweet, etc.

I will not renounce my faith because my 'job is on the line' for being a Christian. At the same time, I feel that outside my Chruch, there's almost nothing left for me in the West. Media, games, entertainment are all targeted at undermining our faith, or openly mocking us. I'm bored to tears, and I have the capital to settle elsewhere.

In conclusion, I think what I will do is discreetly resettle, but instead of attempting a "monolithical" approach to this effort, I'll let things flow organically. No need to advertise for new members. No need to have a website, and certainly no need for 'the media'. The purpose is twofold: to give people an option to the secular, increasingly oppressive western world (just look at which law was passed in the UK this morning) and to worship God above all else through honest work enabling the achievement of autonomy to preserve our values across generations, rather than accept a 'Christianity light' which is no longer Christianity in my eyes .

I cannot post links just yet because of my account age, but I have sources and documentation for everything I advance here.