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Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Wednesday Festival: The Rule of Membership


The Rule of Membership


  • To worship regularly.
  • To give in proportion to your income.

  • Daily Prayer and Bible-reading
  • Sharing and accounting for the use of our money 
  • Planning and accounting for the use of our time 
  • Action for Justice and Peace in society 
  • Meeting with and accounting to each other. 


  1. Thanks very much for your reflections. I share your desire for more from the church. I think the problem with Hamilton's approach is that he focuses on getting people into the church and not so much on introducing them to Jesus and the way of Jesus.

    You may be interested in the work of Elaine Heath. She is making the connection between new monasticism and Methodism. Here's a story about her ministry:
    I also recommend you read the book she co-authored with Scott Kisker, Longing for Spring: A New Vision for Wesleyan Community (

    Elaine will be speaking at the Wesleyan Leadership Conference in Nashville tomorrow and on Saturday. Videos of her presentations will be posted at the GBOD web site in a few weeks.

    Steve Manskar
    Director of Wesleyan Leadership

  2. Interesting thoughts.

    There are opportunities to live by the Benedictine Rule and link up with a community in the USA, usually within several hours drive if not closer.

    A "lay member" is called an Oblate. Protestant clergy are welcome to participate as full members. Oblates are of both genders, so one can link up with a community of monks or nuns.

    I'm not familiar with the difference between Benedictines and the Iona community, but wonder if you've ever had a chance to explore this. It sounds very similar ... and you will find a lot of materials/books etc. on living the Benedictine rule.

  3. When I read those two lists, it seems to me that they are basically asking/suggesting the same things only in different words. They are asking for commitment and accountability. I understand the problem with "institution" but if one embraces membership in a church, that church *ought* to offer the same sort of guidance, whether in the form of a *rule* or small groups, or classes, or whatever.

    The problem I seem to come up against at least in my parish is that people don't WANT TO COMMIT. Is that because it's an institution? For my particular demographic I'm not sure it is. I would love to work with a group of folks who are looking for what you describe. Perhaps I need to work on reframing what I think the church offers to attract some of those folks. How do we gather together seekers looking for a life of discipleship if not in church?

  4. While at a monastery last week, I was reflecting on how interesting it must be to be part of a vowed community - and then I realized that I was! After all, we have all made vows at our baptism.

    Our congregational development officer talks about how different generations respond differently to institutions: they build, or support, or destroy, or ignore. So, e.g., If you're targeting people in their 40s, they're not going to be interested in your institution - but they might get really interested in a vision of Jesus as the revolutionary rebel.

    My (admittedly limited) experience is that people show up on our doorstep at vastly different points in their willingness to commit. Some will thrive when presented with a challenging commitment,others will prefer to grow into it.
    How to reach all of these different starting points is not obvious...

  5. Interesting reflection! I'm a vowed member of an ecumenical monastic community, and also part of a small parish that has elements living a shared rule. Our community allows for different levels of commitment depending on how people feel called to live out their faith. For some, the bond of a shared rule with a specific group of people deepens their faith and spirituality. For others, it feels like a prison and they actually grow deeper in their faith by being more loosely associated with the community. We actually had one member who began in vows and rarely participated, but once she was released from her vows and was an oblate (something akin to "friend of the community")she actually participated more often and shared more deeply. For me, being an oblate would never enough, and I was always drawn to the shared commitment of the vows. Other people begin as oblates because they are reluctant to commit, but then decide afterwards that they are drawn being vowed afterall. It's multi-layered and fluid and so can meet people where they are at and adapt as they grow.

    I would echo one of the earlier responses and suggest looking into Benedictine communities (Episcopalian or Roman Catholic are most common) and their oblate program. Usually oblates can be from any Christian denomination. It may be worth checking out several Benedictine monasteries---they are all very different from each other with some being more traditional and others more modern.

  6. Fascinating stuff.

    I sometimes think that the Reformation originated primarily out of Martin Luther's colossal failure to live in community, and that Protestants have struggled to get it right since. (Yes, I do realize that there were other issues!)

    Iona is still pretty individualistic, as the community is spread across the globe. You might also be interested in Church of the Saviour in Washington, DC if you aren't familiar with it.

    Having attended an Ursuline boarding school in grades 7-9, I had a very formative experience of a semi-monastic community, and I frequently worship with the Carmelite sisters where I live now, so I have some sense of the (old!) monasticism. I think that many of the people in my home church have commitments similar to those you describe, but they would be quite put off by their being imposed by/on the church community as a whole.

    I like the multi-layered approach that St. Lyngine's community uses.


