Intentional Christian Community

When I think about structure and stuff I get really depressed sometimes. For example, when I was looking at the Simple Way stuff that Janet posted about (that was really good stuff by the way, don't get me wrong) I got really depressed.

There can be so much worry that goes along with something like this. For example, a lot of the people who I talk to who have been in or live in intentional communities talk about how it's SO HARD it's almost impossible (which I don't believe has to be the case by the way) and it can be really daunting.

I think it's that I don't want to follow Intentional Community Structure. I want to follow Jesus.

The only goodness of Intentional Christian Community is the extent that it's full of Love. There is nothing intrinsically good about Intentional Christian Community.

But then I'll have a loving interaction with someone and realize that THIS is what it's all about.

Don't get me wrong, lets have structure and rules and stuff.

My friend Russ who lives in Georgia at a Christian Commune that I really loved living at said that he really wished that when they got together for the community meetings they would say, "So, what are we going to do this week to follow Jesus?" Lets do that. Let's not let it become about maintaining the structure and functionality of the community. Let's make that come 2nd to Love.

So what are we going to do this week to follow Jesus?

Also, I was thinking the other day about how I kind of feel something like the feeling of "being in love" towards all of y'all who are living there. Yes you too Weston. Seriously. I know it's weird. Just thought I'd say it. But I'm kind of somewhat in love with y'all. It makes doing the dishes not feel like a chore.

Love,
Dan

Ah yes...

Community life begins. 

So far, Chad, Tyler, Melanie, Cassie, Dan, Ken, John and Janet have all moved in. 

We are still lacking Weston and Beth, people who we are not complete without.

Soon we'll begin the actual work of building something common among us, establishing a pattern and foundation for life on Sims Ave. and reaching out to our neighbors. I'm guessing this will be more work than plumbing and painting. We'll see. 

Even though we will all soon be in the same place, I'd like to continue this blog. I think it's a good group-journal. 

Mmmkay?

too many thoughts to handle

hello friends, it's kimberly. you know how I'm like off in the middle of nowhere with the goal of getting experience living in community and also because I am really interested in it as something that will probably be very important in my life? yeah, well I've had lots of extra time to think about things and it seems that right now I need to go a slightly different direction. I like you. I like you all. a lot. but I just can't live with you right now. I'm gonna be living with a friend in college station, not in an ideal location or price or anything and actually I'm stressing about the financial stuff quite a lot, but socially I will have some space and that will be good for the phase of life that I'm in right now, which is a crazy and overwhelming one. I need a lot of quiet time and not chaos and even though living in bryan with you would probably be the good kind of chaos... I just need some time of rest. this summer was supposed to be my time of relaxation and escape from the real world and preparation for living with you, and it has definitely been an escape from the world, but relaxing/preparation - uhhh not so much. so I don't feel like my body or mind or spirit are ready for a whole lot of activity quite yet. oh and if you didn't get the memo I (temporarily?) dropped out of school and like a lot of really unfortunate things happened that I am still dealing with. so yeah things are uh not quite in order right now.

I'll be home in a couple of weeks and I can come over to the house and we can talk about things more and stuff. because I don't want to stop hanging out with you and working on things together and having good convos and good relationships and stuff. will you still be my friend?

(this probably isn't news to any of you but I had never officially told anyone. so there it is, officially)

even though my opinion doesn't really matter at all anymore, about the mission statements... I like both dan's and janet's, specifically that janet talks about intentionality and that we need to bring hope/healing to ourselves as well as to the community. just moving into "community" doesn't mean that suddenly things are perfect and people are loving and healing can happen. it doesn't even mean that suddenly we are living the way Christ wants us to. outward love is important, obviously. inviting people to experience the church that we are hopefully living out. but first - what are we inviting them into? are we being loving within our own ranks? what example are we setting in how we relate to each other?

and also, sometimes I think about how it would affect the community if you all lived there and did great things and then suddenly the sims street house ceased to exist. I mean, I'm not really contributing to that at all right now and nothing would ever get started if everyone was concerned about this, but is it healthy for people to form bonds with us if we're not stable enough to tell them that we'll be here when they need us later on down the road? I watched a documentary a while ago about the Big Brothers Big Sisters program and the kids (the "Littles") suddenly have this older, more responsible mentor figure in their lives and the mentors work on getting the kids to break down walls and open up and feel secure and know that they have someone to talk to, a friend! - and then a lot of the mentors, who just happen to often be people roughly our ages, go move on with their lives and the kids feel abandoned all over again. the kid the documentary was about was especially negatively affected by it because he thought he finally had someone to trust. but he was wrong. I'm afraid to commit to a big project like this when I very well may be the one to move on soon and leave the people I become close to in the dust. I got to meet a lot of folks this summer who have been living in community for a while, and one friend from camden house in new jersey was telling me about how both they and simple way had/have this really high turnover rate of people living in the house and how it was really more harmful than helpful to have people coming to live there who couldn't commit to very long of a time. people from the neighborhood would come back to the house asking for someone they had made a special connection with, only to find out that person had moved on to the next exciting thing in their life. and the inner workings of their houses certainly didn't benefit from having friends constantly moving in and out. I'm probably that person, the one who is moving around looking for the next exciting thing to commit my life to. are you? is it okay that we're so young and unstable and think that we can help people? I mean yeah right now we can give them some food and money and a listening ear. but what about in the long term? will it be more harm than good? or maybe people are willing to commit for a while after all?

but back to the intentionality thing: can I urge you to be really purposeful in your interactions with each other? like meet regularly, intentionally, as a house and ask how people are feeling and what are they thinking about things and don't just think that closeness and hope/healing is going to happen on its own, overnight. because it won't. people are still people, terribly flawed and hurting people, even if they're living in magical new monastic intentional christian communities. ask each other tough, challenging questions that might have ugly answers. pry. and then love each other anyway

don't take me too seriously. I'm not trying to be critical of you because I actually think it's really great how things are working out; I'm just writing down things I have been thinking about this summer.

okay enough for now. see you soon. I love you

Vote Cassie in '08 (see post below) and God and his riches.

Respond to the post below.

And, lately i have really been enjoying this::

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus., Phillippians chapter 4...

It's cool that not only does God "just have enough" for us to live, he is "gloriously rich" and is more than capable of providing for all of our needs (physical and emotional and anything-else-onal). Along with that he also 1 - cares deeply for us and 2 - knows how to meet our needs much better than we do.

And thus, we can trust him with all of the things we need and don't have to fend for ourselves... with a Father that is rich beyond imagine and that cares for us deeply, how could we every worry about not having enough? And thus we can give away what we do have/we don't have to hang on to things/people.... we can relax and allow God to bless us with his riches.

Thought i would share!! Living at Sims has been very good!!!! So excited for more people to move in.

New roommate?

<----This is Cassie Smith. 

She wants to move in with us. I think everyone should have a say in who moves in with us.  

How do you guys feel about this?

Cassie has helped us a lot on the house, and she recently asked her landlord if she could get out of her lease and he said yes. 

Right now, this is who I think is living with us: John, me, Melanie, Ken, Dan, Weston, Chad and Tyler. Cassie would make 8 people, 3 girls. 

Please respond ASAP so Cassie doesn't have to live in limbo. 

I really liked your post, Dan. 

And in thinking about what our purpose in this his, and in desiring to really live purposefully and not just muddle through this, I thought I'd post a link to The Simple Way. 

A lot of you have probably already seen this, or heard of this. But it seems like they have a really healthy system over there and are doing some awesome things. 

www.thesimpleway.org/PSC/index.html

Love,

Janet

Who are We?

I was thinking that it's probably important for us to decide how to describe our community, i.e. who are we? To see if we're on the same page and so we can tell other people who we are.

Here's what I was thinking of as a discription. Something like, "a family of friends; believers who want to try to live out the Jesus' way of Love together."

What do y'all think?

On another subject, something has died in the area just outside above our front door and it definitely smells like death.

Love,

Dan

Mi casa es su casa...

Well, so far, Ken, Chad, Melanie, John and I have moved into Sims Street. It still needs a lot of work, but it's beginning to feel like home.