He suggests a "clearing phase" before we attempt spiritual endeavours - as we unlearn old patterns and learn about each other.
...the main need of the group for at least the first six months is to learn to get to know one another outside the context of religious duty. By doing so, you will encounter freedom and reality as well as cultivate an environment of safety. These are the necessary foundations for anything spiritually meaningful to take place.What do you think about this? Six months sounds like a long ice-breaker to me. Is that too extreme? It's something I'm pondering.
I've summarised Frank's five principles below. I have a more detailed outline if you would like to contact me for a copy.
Principle 1: Become like little children.
“If you wish to discover Jesus Christ corporately in a fresh way, then become like a little child. Drop your agendas. Drop your ambitions. Drop what you think you are in the Lord. Drop what you think your gifts are. And become a humble brother or sister in Christ…. I assure you whatever comes up out of the ground will look quite different from what it did in the past. This is the principle of resurrection: It is only by death that new life is produced. And what dies comes back in a different form.”
Principle 2: Your feelings will get hurt.
"Institutional religion has a way of hiding our flaws. It also has a way of safeguarding and insulating us from each other. In an organic church, we get to know one another very well. That means that what we are in the natural gets exposed. Authentic church life is a house of mirrors.... The members of an organic church are living stones that are being welded together to form a dwelling place for the Lord. In order for those stones to be built together, they require a great deal of cutting, chiseling, sanding, and refining. "
Principle 3: Be patient with the progress of the group.
"Your first six months (plus) are the “clearing phase” of your life as a new church… During this clearing phase, a great deal of unlearning will occur. A great deal of deprogramming and detoxification. A great deal of tearing down of the old mind-sets, the old mentality, the old vocabulary, and the old practices. A discarding of the methods of operation that you picked up by being part of institutional Christianity. In place of that, there will grow up among you a new mind-set, a new mentality, a new way of operating, a new vocabulary, and a new way to know the Lord and express Him together."
Principle 4: People will leave your group.
"When people leave, I beg you not to pressure or persuade them to stay. And more important, do not speak ill of them when they go. On top of that, it’s of utmost importance that you refrain from imputing evil motives to their hearts. I have watched the profound destruction that judging motives does to relationships. The damage is devastating, and it has a ripple effect that injures others... I implore you, therefore, to take the high road when people leave your group. Accept what they say at face value instead of second- guessing their intentions. In fact, if you really wish to hit a high watermark, bless and speak well of them when they leave. Especially after they leave."
Principle 5: People will experience exciting spiritual growth and healing.
"Time and again people have testified that experiencing open- participatory meetings and authentic community has accelerated their spiritual maturity, love, devotion, following of the Lord, and the expression of their gifts. Therefore, the combination of knowing the cross of Christ in close-knit community and learning to live by God’s life rather than our own creates transformation."
Taken from Finding Organic Church (Chapter 3)
A Comprehensive Guide to Starting and Sustaining Authentic Christian Communities
Frank Viola
Thanks Marty - some great insights!
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