Communitas: intimacy through adventure

Many of us crave teamwork, adventure and risk in our leadership environment, but most of the time these are sorely missing. We are caught between our need for stability and success in ministry, and the powerful lure to live an edgier form of Christianity, like we imagine Jesus Himself and the apostles lived.

How many times have we bemoaned the lack of commitment we see from church folks? No matter how hard we promote and cajole, it seems like the same folks always make up the core of volunteers. There must be a better way to carry out Christ's mission. What began as an amazing safari turns into a tedious trip to the zoo.

I think I may have found an answer in what Alan Hirsch and Michael Frost call "Communitas". Dictionary.com defines it as "the sense of sharing and intimacy that develops among persons who experience liminality as a group." "Liminality" refers to a place of threshhold, where a group is out of their normal environment and culture and moving into a new phase of experience.

Communitas describes what I felt on the cold and wet soccer field or in the suffocating wrestling room as my fellow athletes struggled together chasing the elusive goal of greatness. It is found in perhaps its most extreme form on the field of battle, when soldiers very lives depend upon their intimate relationships with their comrades.

I have always wondered why I have not found a greater sense of teamwork and closeness in church life, even among peers in our denomination. I have found most relationships to be pretty much surface level, and cooperation to be short-lived. I know I am not alone.

As a fraternity brother in the 1970's the pursuit of communitas in the house was very intentional. In fact, it was the main goal when bringing new members into the house. The hazing and rituals were all about creating a "brotherhood" through liminality. While Christ's methods and goals are very different from those of a secular fraternity, lessons can be drawn from what they are able to achieve.

There have been times when I felt a greater sense of communitas, as opposed to the shallow and paltry sense of "Community" we usually end up with in the church context. Short-term missions trips produce this level of relationship because they place us in a foreign environment with limited resources and uncertain outcomes. Folks feel united, exhilirated and renewed after such an experience, and are generally disappointed when they return to "normal" church.

But I have identified a few other practical ways to promote and create communitas in our churches and lives. Group fasting creates a type of communitas, as do retreats, certain types of small groups, spiritual discipline groups, and intentional missional outreaches. Articulating purpose and vision and plunging into it with others is what these ordeals are all about, and they energize people. There are innumerable ways to do this.

The idea of liminality is crucial because while we go to great lengths to make people comfortable in church, the way to intimacy and greater commitment may lie in calling them, counterintuitively, to a higher level of separation and sacrifice.

I am still researching this idea, but believe that the renewal of our movement and churches may lie in pursuing communitas. Paul had communitas in the churches he planted, and in his planting team. Jesus had it with His disciples, and when given the chance to opt out of it they replied, "Master, to whom would we go? You have the words of real life, eternal life." John 6:68

Guest Post by Dr. George O. Wood

Recently, I was in contact with Dr. Wood, new General Superintendent for the U.S. Assemblies of God. In sharing about this blog, I invited him to submit a guest posting. What he shares below has been shared on another blog, but in case you haven't seen it, I think it will give you a wonderful window in Dr. Wood's heart and mind.

Let me also share that Dr. Wood is scheduled to speak at State College Assembly of God (use for directions) on January 13, 2008. The evening before he has made himself available to meet with any A/G credential holders who wish to come for an evening meal and a personal time of sharing.

The dinner will be provided free of charge by State College Assembly and will be held from 6-8 pm on Saturday, January 12 in our Fellowship Hall. Please RSVP by emailing scassembly@aol.com and simply saying who is coming and from where (for name tags). RSVP deadline is Friday, December 28.

He will be unable to interact with comments here, but I do hope you enjoy the following:

For my devotions this year, I’ve been slowly moving through Ezekiel with Donald Bloch’s terrific (and technical) commentary; and journaling a verse a day through the Gospel of Mark. My journaling is definitely not exegesis, but iso-gesis. I type in the verse and then “think (i.e., write) out loud” my thoughts onto the computer. At the end I write a brief prayer. I’ve found this daily absorption in the Scripture to be really invigorating.

For the last few weeks, I’ve been plowing through Mark 9 – a very long chapter. Now, I’m almost at the end and suddenly some things fell together as I awakened the other morning. Funny how you can cogitate and meditate on something for a long time and not see how the parts fit – and then all of a sudden, a flash of inspiration comes in a nanosecond and you see everything clearly.

So, here’s how I see where Mark 9 fits into a lot of discussion on the blog. Mark 9 is all about the disciples and their perception of themselves and their place in the kingdom. The chapter follows the disciples through 4 stages, and I suspect we’ve all been there or are in one of them now.

First, revelation. That’s the Transfiguration or Metamorphosis of Jesus. It’s the only time in his early life where his divine nature shown through his humanity. Moses and Elijah are there. Jesus face is shining like the sun and his clothes whiter than any Clorox could get them. What a great moment for the three: Peter, James, and John.

Revelation is the spot where we are overwhelmed in the presence of the majestic Christ. It’s something we Pentecostals covet – being caught up into spiritual revelation and experience beyond what the rational mind can fathom. It’s being lifted into the heavenlies and encountering God in such a way that language cannot hold the experience nor can the emotions be articulated.

Second, argument. When Jesus and the inner 3 come down from the mountain they find the remaining 9 locked in an argument with the teachers of the law. What’s the argument about? The 9 cannot cast the demon out of the boy. They cannot do this even though earlier Jesus had commissioned them to cast out demons and Mark reports that they had done so. But, now they command and nothing happens – so they’re left to argue with the critics.

It seems to me that this is one of the problems we are having now in the Pentecostal movement. When we don’t have power, we argue. The fullness of the Spirit has leaked all the way out. And, our arguments don’t solve the pressing needs of those who are looking to us. I fear a dried up Pentecostal theological scholasticism that has no power. Argument (except for a wholesome apologetic for the faith such as the Apostle Paul’s dialogical evangelism) never produces the fruit of the Spirit, much less the gifts.

But, since the disciples at the foot of the Mount of Transfiguration have no power, they can only fall back on defending themselves with argument. It’s not a pretty picture. Jesus chews them out for not praying, thereby connecting argument with prayerlessness, and authority with prayer.

Wait. It gets worse. Third. Arrogance. After getting chewed out by Jesus for their powerlessness, they then start arguing about who is the greatest. They are doing the very thing that breaks community. Whenever we pit ourselves against others, or take the attitude “I don’t need you” – aren’t we exhibiting the same arrogance? When I was a new district official I visited a pastor who had a large church in our district but never was involved in anything. I wanted to reach out to him and find out what we could do to establish relationship. His response to me was, “I went to Springfield once and the brethren had nothing to add to me.” I wished I had said, “Well, maybe you could have added something to Springfield.” I think that’s what the Antiochians would have done for Jerusalem.

And, let’s face it – “Springfield” can be just as prone to arrogance as “non-Springfield” because arrogance doesn’t have territorial limitations.

So, Jesus talks to his arrogant disciples about being a servant, and he sets a little child in their midst. I think he does that because he’s telling the disciples: “If you really want to be great, then put your arms around the next generation and serve them. Stop being so narcissistic. My way is not self-fulfillment but self-denial. My way is not independence, but interdependence.”

Fortunately, by the time we get to the book of Acts – the disciples have gotten over arrogance and become a model community. It took awhile for them to realize the world would know them by their love for one another, not how smart they were, how cutting edge (or dull) they were, or what their age and cultural preferences were.

Then, the fourth thing happens in Mark 9. From revelation to argument to arrogance to exclusivity.

The disciples, who couldn’t cast out the demon, tell other people who are casting out demons to stop. If it weren’t so serious, it would be funny. They think they’ve got the exclusive franchise on Jesus.We must avoid narrowness of heart and spirit. Jesus tells these disciples of his that they better not lead the “little ones” into sin for if they do, it would be better if a millstone were tied around their neck. What he’s really saying is that the fractiousness of the disciples is going to doom the novices in the kingdom, that exclusiveness is not only silliness but spiritually deadly.

So, in these recent weeks I’ve been drinking deeply from the well of Mark 9 and asking the Lord to help me stay fresh on the revelation side so that I’m inundated with His presence; and spared from the traps of being argumentative, arrogant, or exclusive.

During the charismatic renewal of the 70s (for those of us who were alive then!), we sang a beautiful and haunting chorus. I almost always led it at communion time: “Bind us together, Lord; bind us together . . . with cords that cannot be broken.” That binding is to Christ and to one another. In Mark 9, the disciples are seen at their nadir – but the Lord wasn’t finished with them. By the time he was done working on them – that argumentative, arrogant, and exclusive minded group had become a community (the body of Christ) that changed the world. They got bound together by the work of the Spirit.

And, incredibly, by the grace of the Lord, he’s doing the same thing with us! He works with all our limitations and sees that he can bring gold out of all our dross.

George O. Wood
General Superintendent

Praying for the Sick

We are living in a time of momentous change in the Body of Christ. Some of it is great; some of it is not so great, but let me focus on what I think is positive.

A recent poll of Southern Baptist pastors and laity found a majority believe that tongues as a private prayer language is for today.

Today, David Rogers, son of the former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, Adrian Rogers, and one of the best known and loved missionaries in the Southern Baptist Convention today, posted this on his blog about divine healing.

Read, enjoy and be encouraged. God is up to something big!

Training Next Generation

From the days of Elijah and Elisha onward, prophetic leaders have recognized the importance and urgency of developing and investing in the next generation of leaders through educational efforts. The Elisha narrative of the floating axe head illustrates the marvel of the miraculous in the midst of the mundane. “Alas master it was borrowed” rings with the cry of distress of one who was responsible for a vital tool owned by someone else who expected it to be returned. Elisha’s intervention served the need of the individual and provided a necessary piece of equipment for the construction of the School of the Prophets. The Prophet’s presence demonstrated his personal support of the project and by association, the favor of the Lord. Elisha was investing in future generations in need of direction and guidance.

A vision for the training of the next generation cries out for attention. Not everyone is called to attend the School of the Prophets (called to the ministry), but in the North American culture, the generation of young people being educated in secular institutions are largely turning away from Christ and lost to the kingdom of God. Anecdotal evidence to the contrary could be found, but the reality remains that the influences within our culture, particularly on the secular campuses undermine faith, encourage skepticism, and feed the pluralistic appetite of a world without a biblical worldview and committed to tolerance of everything except Christian faith. Others have documented the results. (See page 9 of http://colleges.ag.org/faculty_resources/articles/PDF/LowCost.pdf )

What can we do as Spirit-led leaders to turn this toward a future that can train our youth in a biblical worldview without turning our backs on the culture that needs salt and light?

Welcome to Catalyst Leadership!

Welcome to a new collaborative ministry weblog.

It's called Catalyst Leadership (we couldn't think of anything catchier, so I hope that doesn't negate everything we say from now on.:))

Catalyst Leadership will give you the opportunity of a new online resource that has roughly 30 (!) potential contributors. All are leaders in the Pennsylvania-District Council of the Assemblies of God, and they have a wealth of realtime experience and creativity to share. Why limit them to only what they can share verbally? Why limit our Superintendent to one message per year?

From sermon ideas to recommended books to review of conferences attended to thoughts on current ministry trends to sharing ministry victories--it is our desire that you will find fresh material on this site as well as an opportunity to interact regarding the matters of ministry that affect you the most. We want to help catalyze innovation and creativity in an electronic and easily accessible/interactive format. It's like being able to ask questions of the author of an excellent article in the A/G minister's magazine, Enrichment.

I hope that you will choose to make this one of your internet "favorite places."

While all of the present contributors are Assemblies of God leaders, we will stay away from denominational speculations and internal denominational issues, as relevant as they may or may not be. There are other websites for that purpose.

On the other hand, we will not shy away from real ministry issues/trends, whether it be Emergent, 5-fold, or other somewhat sensitive issues. It is our hope that we will post and monitor comments in a way that advances the dialogue in a way that honors the Lord and His Church. Contributors and commenters alike are invited to make their best case for the ministry issues that fire their passion.

So, stay tuned! Contributors will come online gradually (some are still in weblog tutorial mode:)), and we should pick up pace by the end of this year. Who knows, after we get going for a bit, we may even have some guest contributors from outside Penn-Del and even outside the A/G.

Blessings on you all and on the Body of Christ!

Paul Grabill, Assistant District Superintendent of the Pennsylvania-Delaware District of the Assemblies of God (we couldn't think of a longer title for me, either:)), and the Penn-Del C3 Catalyst Coordinator (a real resume enhancer:)).

P.S. Thanks to Tom Rees and his elves for doing the heavy lifting to facilitate this. Tutor on, Tom!