I found a new fascination in the monastic tradition. I've probably mentioned that here before. I find the "new monastic" movement really attractive. Maybe it is the refocus on the ancient traditions and disciplines of the historical Church. I could find myself legalistic in that way if I was more committed and disciplined.
More than anything I love their idea of community, and that usually there is less focus on the weekly gathering and more on daily living. The communities that I have heard about are attracting people not because of their daycare and music, but because people are seeing Christ. Christ is real and living in these communities.
Not everyone is called to be a monk, in either the old or new ways. But the principles of living together, and loving one another and then our neighbors could revolutionize the institutional churches that pepper the country. After all, Jesus (the one who is supposed to be leading this whole thing) once said something to the effect that we Christians would be known by our love for each other. The question is how do we move toward living like that? How do we in the institutional churches create community like the monastics without starting our own monastic communities? I don't think that abandoning what we have is the solution, but maybe we need a new reformation. A reformation that would bring back together the fractured church and end denominationalism. Anyone with me?
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