A Proposal

Here's the original proposal. Several issues have been raised which I will present in further posts for discussion.

April 9, 2008
Dear Friends,

Peace and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. I've been wrestling with an idea for some time now, and I think it is time to give birth to it.

Here's my dilemma: how does an itinerant Methodist Preacher (don't tune out, non-Methodists) live faithfully following Jesus amidst the pressures of materialism in our culture? Here's my proposal that I'd be interested in meeting with others to help flesh out and covenant together around: a new order, The Order of St. James. This would be a voluntary order of individuals who are willing to covenant around two practices (possibly three): simplicity and hospitality (and possibly evangelism/making disciples).

The mark of simplicity would be voluntarily living as a family (both salaries) no higher than the minimum annual conference standard for a UMC elder (those who aren't UMC would need to discuss how to set such a mark of simplicity).

The mark of hospitality would be to offer at least weekly hospitality in the parsonage (this could be as much as having someone live with you or as small as having a weekly meal for the single parents in your community).

The mark of evangelism/disciple making is a little more fuzzy to me. After speaking with Ron Sider (of Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger fame), he suggested this as a third discipline for this order. It's "mark" may not be as evident or clear-cut as the other two, but I think it is a central part of the mission of the church and thus, the mission of the church's elders. And it may help keep the other two disciplines rooted in the grace of the gospel rather than becoming ends in themselves.

This order would share deeply and openly with one another to help one another live in this manner. It would include regular national meetings (probably annually) and regular annual conference chapter meetings. It also could spread to include a lay chapter. It could also include chapters in several different denominations. I imagine several steps into this order (similar to a monastic novitiate, etc.) that would include a progression of becoming debt-free and learning to live at this level of simplicity. It will also have to include spouses in some way given that the commitment would be a family-wide commitment. I also imagine local annual-conference chapters meeting at their annual conference and sharing very openly about how they are doing (think: sharing income tax files, etc.).

Envision a church not hampered by the salary ladder where pastors regularly go “up” and “down” the ladder. Envision pastors living simple lives in such a way that their actions speak as loudly as their words in the pulpit. Envision building friendships with those who are different than we are, and in the process meeting Jesus. This is the kind of vision I have for an Order of St. James. I offer it to you, because I need your help, your community and covenant, to be able to live into it myself. I cannot do it alone. Let me know if you’re interested in further discussion.

Peace,
Tom Arthur