“Let him then who is to be received, in the oratory, in the presence of all the brethren, make promise of stability, of conversion of life and of obedience, in the presence of God and of His saints…” (The Rule of St Benedict, c.530)
Last week I was in Wellington, New Zealand, attending the Baptist ‘city pastors’ retreat where we were invited to think about the Benedictine vows of stability, fidelity and obedience and how these shaped our life, our identity and mission, as Baptist churches located in the heart of different cities (Canberra, Christchurch, Melbourne, Sydney and Wellington were represented this year; Adelaide and Hobart, who are also usually present, are currently looking for new senior pastors.)
Each of these churches has a long history (at 95 years Canberra Baptist is the baby of the group!) and that history gives us a certain perspective – a capacity for perseverance! As Elliott Rice from Wellington commented, “Protestants talk about having a bad year or bad years, but Catholics talk about having a bad century!” We are more like Catholics in that sense! Knowing that we have been here for some time and will be here for some time helps us to face the challenges that arise as part of contemporary church life and the unprecedented challenges; Covid, earthquakes, major property re-development and, in our case, looming disaffiliation from the NSW/ACT Baptist Association.
It also makes us more critical (in a way that is mostly healthy) of the church growth strategies promoted from time to time by Christian movements or denominational leaders. Perhaps the simplest articulation of this is the quote I’ve often used from Diana Butler Bass’s Christianity for the Rest of Us, “It’s not rocket science. You preach the gospel, offer hospitality, and pay attention to worship and people’s spiritual lives. Frankly, you take Christianity seriously as a way of life!”
And stability, that first Benedictine vow, is vital to taking Christianity seriously as a way of life. As one writer has noted, “It is no use… discerning innovative ways to be faithful to our church’s calling if we won’t slow down…[if we don’t] stay longer even if we can’t stay put indefinitely and take something like a vow of stability. Slow down — because post-modernism may really be hyper-modernism. Stay longer — because there is no way to discern God’s will together without commitment to sit long together in the first place. …It is no use discerning appropriate ways to be Christian disciples in our age if we do not embody them through time, testing, and the patience with one another that our good ideas and great ideals need, in order to prove their worth as communal practices.”
This is the role of our city churches! And this is role of each of us as we commit, “to sit long together”, “to discern God’s will together”, to embody what we believe “through time, testing, and the patience with one another that our good ideas and great ideals need….”
Thank you to all of you who are committed to being part of our church in this way!
Grace and peace,
Belinda