The Council of Orange: Building Commitment in Community

I introduced you to my Council of Orange just about a year ago. I followed up that initial post with two clarifying pieces to explain its radical and paradoxical exclusivity and inclusivity. Then I kept thinking about it. I have not written any more articles about it, and I never had that bonfire last summer to begin a physical manifestation of this thought exercise. But I never stopped thinking about it because the pursuit of greatness is vitally important. As Christians, we serve the Lord of all creation. Does He deserve any less than our best efforts in using the gifts that He has given us?

One of the chief concerns of organizing any community is solidifying the commitment of its members. I would hope that many people who have read my previous pieces would agree that Christianity could use more people like J.R.R. Tolkien, doing great things for the kingdom of God. I think many people would agree with what I have written that there must be some kind of telos, some kind of purpose, for this community to be oriented towards, to the exclusion of other objectives. I also believe that many people would be comfortable with the idea that greatness looks different for different people, but everyone benefits when greatness is pursued in many ways, yet in the same ideological direction.

Finding agreement on these three concepts is not hard, but actually committing to chasing them down is hard. Even as the one writing these articles and suggesting this organization, I struggle with this. Am I always up to engaging in the mission that I genuinely do believe we ought to be following? Some days I just get tired.

This piece of the puzzle was partially answered as I was just reading The Celtic Way of Evangelism by George G. Hunter III. This book tells the story of the development of that church in first millennium Ireland and how it reemerged to the British Isles to spark revival there. Hunter details five features of the Celtic missionary communities that I think might be useful in thinking about how the Council of Orange could be organized.

1 "You experienced voluntary periods of solitary isolation, ordinarily in a primitive cell erected within a remote natural setting—like a grove of trees near a stream."

The pursuit of greatness requires a certain level of self-awareness. This self-awareness can only come by understanding the call of God. God can speak to us in any way He chooses, but God has given us His word for a reason. Individual reading and prayer are necessary to discern God's voice in our lives. There is so much noise everywhere, and if we do not take time to block it out, I worry that we might start chasing the wrong objective.

2. "You spent time with your anam cara, that is, your "soul friend"—not a superior like a spiritual director, but more like a peer with whom you were voluntarily vulnerable and accountable; to whom you made confession; from whom you received penance; who both supported and challenged you."

Even if you are a natural extrovert like I am, there are only a certain number of people you can deeply connect with. I am lucky to have a handful of people I can talk to about all kinds of things. Whether my concerns are personal, professional, or something else, these very close relationships are beneficial for keeping us on track. If these people know us better than just about anyone else, they will help us discern when we are deviating from this mission.

3. "If the monastic community was at all large, you spent time with a small group of ten or fewer people—led by someone chosen primarily for his or her devotion."

This is probably where the Council of Orange itself fits most naturally. This is where the entire group gets together for mutual encouragement. The assembly may not have quite the same level of intimacy as the relationship with the anam cara, but it is still a relatively small group. If a group becomes too large, it may be intimidating for some. If there is no group or even just a series of one-on-one relationships, it can be challenging to experience community. This level can almost be thought of as an extended family.

4. "You participated in the common life, meals, work, learning, biblical recitation, prayers, ministries, and worship of the whole monastic community."

Some people might write off "doing life together" as a church cliché, but it is very hard to sustain a small group without relationships that extend beyond the meeting time. I love my Bible study as a small example of how this works. We get together pretty much every week, and we have been doing so for almost a decade. From what I understand, that is a very long time for a Bible study. Our fellowship has remained intact because we have done things beyond just spending 90 minutes a week together. Could we do more? Probably. However, given that I do not expect to build a literal neighborhood for the Council of Orange to live in as the Celtic Christian communities did, they need to be elements of common life that bring us together along with our more explicit mission statement.

5. "Through your small group and the community's life, and perhaps as a soul friend, you observed and gained experience in ministry and witness to pre-Christian people."

You enter the world as a group, oriented in the same direction doing different things. As I have consistently suggested about the Council, different people have different callings. This group is more of an incubator to help encourage the pursuit of potential; the group is not the end itself. For example, you could have a carpenter, an artist, and a pastor in this community. One builds great houses, one paints masterpieces, and one preaches the gospel boldly. This group is not trying to turn one into the other but instead encouraging them to do excellent work to be a witness to non-Christians. This group does not diminish any God-given vocation; it prepares anyone to serve as a witness in their God-given vocation.

Conclusion

I am still thinking about this community, and someday I will just have to pull the trigger. However, I think lessons from the Celtic church of the first millennium can inform our development of communities today. When we try to go it alone, we will not have the support that we need to continue. Communities can be a blessing. Joining a community is a risk, however. Other people might disappoint us; we might disappoint other people. Members of the group might leave. It happens. I am not saying that every second in a community will be heavenly because it is certainly still firmly rooted on earth. However, I think community is important. If we can meet the criteria I have laid out in this series, we have a great chance of genuinely pursuing greatness in whatever way God has called us individually.