Corporate Living #13 & #14

#13. Keep up the prayer life and underneath that prayer life keep a surrendered heart.

#14. Keep the power of laughing at yourself.

Jones combined three necessities in the last two Corporate Living Principles. The habit of prayer should be maintained. An attitude of surrender towards God is required in order to get along with others. The ability to not take ourselves too seriously is also called for.

The instruction to keep these three qualities suggests that we already possess these traits. We are already people of prayer. We have already cultivated an attitude of surrender. We already have the capacity to take ourselves with a grain of salt.

If we are already this type of person, then we must be involved with some type of group that encourages these kinds of behaviors. The converse would also be true, if we are not already this type of person, then we have not found a group that cultivates these kinds of kingdom-reflecting traits.

For the sake of your own growth in faith, ask God to direct you to a group of people whose lives show evidence of prayer, surrender, and good humor.

Corporate Living #12

Corporate Living Principle #12 -- "Side with the group against yourself."  

Realizing harmonious relations between group members requires prioritizing. For Jones, the group-claim becomes our priority and that claim is stronger than any personal preference.

Casting a vote that limits my authority and influence in favor of a polity that more broadly shares power between group members would be one example of this principle in action. I would only be willing to do this if I felt 

• the others could be trusted with more power
• the needs of the group were greater
• the mission of the group was more important

Consider Principle #12 as an invitation to reflect on the power dynamic within the group. If you are willing to choose the group's side and forego your own, that's a pretty good indication that you agree with the direction the group is heading, and the group's leading is pulling you in a new direction. The group is transforming you, and you like the results. In such a case, handing over power to the group was the correct decision.

If you find that you are unwilling to side with the group, then let your objection be known. Let God know about it. Let the leadership know about it. Let all the members know that disunity exists within the body. Living well with others depends upon such honesty.

Corporate Living #11

"Refuse to look for slights regarding ourselves."

That's how Jones phrases Corporate Living Principle #11. Living well with others will become easier if we stop searching for personal attacks in what's said and done in the group .

My version of this principle is to remind myself that I can not read minds. Because I am not a mind-reader, there are many things about another that I can not know with any certainty. Such as --

• how someone feels about me right now
• what someone's opinion of me is at this moment
• what someone's intentions towards me will be in the future
• why someone is behaving a certain way towards me

Regarding this last point in particular, I can never know for certain when someone's behavior might change. An improved attitude can change behavior, and many things that have nothing to do with me can improve a person's disposition --

• beautiful weather
• adequate sleep
• delicious food
• laughter shared with friends
• tender moments with a loved one
• reconciliation of an estrangement

Given all this, I try to maintain an open attitude towards someone who has slighted me.  Just because someone has been dismissive towards me in the past does not mean I should expect more of the same treatment every time we speak.

Rather than being on the defensive, I try to be polite and engaging. At the same time, I am looking for an opening from my former enemy that suggests a willingness to improve our interactions. When I succeed in maintaining a non-anxious presence, the other person usually responds in kind. Not always, but enough that I keep asking for God's help to develop this interpersonal skill because I like the person I am becoming when I treat others this way.

COP21: Day 11

Intentional communities outside the USA

COP21: Day 10

Sustainable community in Los Angeles, CA.

COP21: Day 9

Intentional community in Kansas City

COP21: Day 8

Shane Claiborne and The Simple Way

COP21: Day 7

New community in Detroit

Communal Living in the Wesleyan tradition

Forming a Christian community that pooled material resources into a common fund was an ideal Wesley expressed in writing but did not implement throughout the Methodist Connexion.  Randy Maddox's article provides a summary of Wesley's argument that the first church described in the book of Acts was the ideal every Christian going on to perfection should strive to emulate.  This perspective is found in his doctrinal Notes for Acts 4:32--

And the multitude of them that believed - Every individual person were of one heart and one soul - Their love, their hopes, their passions joined: and not so much as one - In so great a multitude: this was a necessary consequence of that union of heart; said that aught of the things which he had was his own - It is impossible any one should, while all were of one soul. So long as that truly Christian love continued, they could not but have all things common.

I've discovered an intentional community in Todd, NC founded by a UMC-- http://theblackburnhouse.com/.  The website doesn't indicate whether or not Wesleyan theology is an organizing principle for their life together.  Are you aware of any other intentional UM communities?

What besides holding all things in common would mark a community as distinctively Wesleyan?  Frequent communion would have to be on the list.  A commitment to loving God and Neighbor and using the means of grace to mature in a faith that works by love is another given.  Class meetings.  Meals together, a common house, community garden?

In your opinion, is there any interest in fulfilling this part of Wesley's vision for the Methodists?