New Monasticism: What It Has to Say to Today's Church

"...almost everywhere I go these days, people agree that something is wrong in American Christianity." This is the motivation for the book New Monasticism: What It Has to Say to Today's Church by Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove. He points out many areas in which he believes the church is falling short of God's design and offers some possibilities for how to rethink our approach to these problems using monastic ideas, "a vision for society that is `so old it looked like new.'" The book was relatively short, only 140 pages, but it was filled with concepts and ideas that will challenge our ideas of church and community in North America and definitely for us here in the Bible belt. In the first few chapters, Wilson-Heartgrove supplies us with a biblical perspective of God's community starting from the creation story in Genesis through the 1st century New Testament Church. He gives us the origins and history of monastic communities through the centuries including the new monastic movement he is a part of today. In the remainder of the book, Wilson-Heartgrove shares with us the knowledge that can be gleaned from the practices and experiments of new monastic communities in the 20th and 21st centuries. I struggled with this book. I had to keep reminding myself that this book has a message for the church today. Its purpose was not to suggest getting rid of churches in favor of communal living, but instead, what do these ventures in communal living have to say to churches about how they behave as a community? At times, it seemed the suggestion was to join a community where everything is shared or not. There was no in between. I'm sure that was not his intention, but it comes across at times that this is the only way things should be done. Wilson-Heartgrove and his companions have been bold and courageous enough to experiment with their lives what they believe Christian community should be. I would recommend this book to develop and nurture a perspective of Christian community that may at times seem challenging and at other times frightening. I often found myself thinking "You are absolutely right!" and "Would I be able to do that?" Wilson-Heartgrove would probably say, "No you can't do this...not alone!"

Monasticism conjures up images of monks quietly moving through dark monasteries, sequestered from the "real" world as they seek God's will through meditation, prayer and communal living. Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove brings fresh perspective to the age-old concept of living in Christian community in "New Monasticism: What It Has to Say to Today's Church". Starting with a strong historical foundation, the author explores ancient concepts of community through an informative study of the early church at Antioch, as well as more contemporary figures in the monastic movement such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer, St. Benedict, and Mother Teresa. This book forced me to honestly examine the Bible's radical ideas and how its teachings should impact my choices as a 21st Century American. Wilson-Hartgrove begins with the convincing concept, beginning with Genesis and moving through Biblical history, that God's plan to save the world was not one person at a time, but through a people. From this premise, he boldly states, "If the Bible is a story about God's plan to save the world through a people, then my salvation and sanctification depend on finding my true home with God's people. Apart from the story of this people, I can't have a relationship with God. Without the church, there's no chance of becoming holy." The focus of the book then shifts to an examination of the movement's current marks of distinction including: sharing economic resources; geographical proximity to other community members; peacemaking; and the active pursuit of "just reconciliation". While Wilson-Hartgrove shares intimate details of his own monastic experiences and gives an abundance of examples of practical community living from other groups, he wisely avoids prescribing a specific formula for an ascetic, communal-driven lifestyle. Instead, he challenges his readers to shift their own paradigms and allows them to imagine life from a Kingdom perspective. The author writes beautifully of his experiences with relocation, Earth's scarcity versus God's abundance, what it means to be a peacemaker in our war-ravaged culture, and how to live with others in a "culture of grace and truth." This little gem covers a lot of ground, delving into the heart of Jesus' mission to live in relationship with others. When you pick up "New Monasticism", be prepared to have your old ways of thinking challenged and re-worked, for you may find yourself wondering how to become a more integral part of God's "peculiar people".

I think this book is great. Jonathan Wilson Hartgrove gives the topic a very thorough treatment, but still manages to keep it short. One thing I wasn't too crazy about: the endorsement of Jesus People USA. I understand they started out right, but it's generally known at this time that they are a cult.. so that pricked me a little. But other than that, the book was great.