• A Primer on Intentional Community

    July 13, 2008

    I have been sitting on this post for a while, but thought it related enough to the previous one to go ahead and throw it out there.

    Recently, some friends here in Memphis have been discussing the possibility of moving towards engaging in a lifestyle of intentional community.  This is an unfamiliar topic to most, so I thought I would offer some word of introduction.

    Intentional community is not new, hip, or faddish.  It is an old practice, but largely lost within our Western framework of individual autonomy.  One type of intentional community goes under the title, Neo-Monasticism, but there are many varieties of it.

    Across the board, however, I would say these varieties share a few things in common.

    1) It is a means to an end. The point is not community in and of itself.  Rather, it is one way of practicing community (something we all, created in the imago dei, are designed for), so that…  And while the “so that’s” may vary, there is always a “so that.”

    2) It is a means of spiritual formation. Sharing the totality of our lives and the experience of whatever the “so that” is – is spiritually formative in many ways, but especially in that it is a true opening up of ourselves to others.  An intentional effort to say, “I refuse to allow my life to be about me – it must be about us.”

    3) It makes life both harder and easier. As my friend Matthew has commented, if we move into intentional community and our lives don’t become less hurried, less stressful, and less overwhelming while also becoming more exciting, joy filled, and transformative, we have missed something, missed the point.  At the same time, it is not easy to open your life to others, to depend on them and have them depend on you.  This is a foreign way of being for a great many of us.

    Stepping into Intentional Community as a way of life is also not without its risks.  What if it’s not what we expect?  What if some who make the initial commitment bail?

    While some will consider moving into the same neighborhood to more easily share life with others, there are also those who might embrace communal living, where those of various seasons of life – singles, couples, those with children, actually share the same living space as an expression of intentional community.  For these folks, there are of course other risks.  What if an affair happens?  What if a kid gets abused?  What if people simply can’t get along and the experience becomes awful?  I think we’re fooling ourselves if we don’t own up to the reality of any of that.  Which is why the whole process ought to be bathed in prayer, discernment, and wise guidelines.  However, to a certain extent, the “What if…” questions, while important, are akin to those we could ask of nearly any Kingdom enterprise.  If living Kingdom lives came without risk, then we’d do well to worship a savior known for anything other than his embrace of a cross.

    On top of that, we also need to consider the risks (though they be less evident) of not finding significant ways to live in community.  How many lives are torn apart, figuratively and literally, because their lives are so private that no one ever knows what’s going on behind closed doors and closed lives?  What about those whose lives of extravagance and luxury trap them into a seemingly endless cycle of greed and gluttony?  What about the millions and millions of Christians who will never engage their neighbors and neighborhoods in any meaningful sense because the task it just too daunting to take on alone?  What about those who, if only they had partners, would feel the freedom to engage the dangerous, violent, and dark parts of our world?

    Intentional Community as a way of life is an attempt to address these sorts of questions.  It is not glamorous, but living into the way of Jesus never is.

    Related Posts

    1. Missional Suburban Living Meets Poor Urban Intentional Community
    2. Toward a Missional Vision of Theological Education: Community Rootedness
    3. Virtual Community & Video Venues

    Posted in: community, intentional community, Jesus, kingdom, spiritual formation

Recent Comments

  • Jerry Nelson said...

    1

    Great article!  I’d like to invite you and your friends to visit us at Koinonia.  Our IC has been in place since 1942.  Admittedly there have been some ups and downs, but that’s life! 

    God bless ya!
    Your servant and His,
    Jerry Nelson
    Koinonia
    http://www.koinoniapartners.org

    07/14/08 8:31 AM | Comment Link

  • Alex Rozko said...

    2

    WOW, I know you’ve talked a little about this in the past, but I’ve either missed the large picture or didn’t grasp the totality of it.

    All I can say is that I’m in!

    To me it’s an opportunity to go back to a time based on fundamentals and primitive social equality, but not to say backwards, but to a more humane and decent existence.

    I’m imagining people sharing ideas, space, beliefs, energy (in the physical and mental sense). Of course the eco-freak in me is also seeing a community that shares wealth and resources.

    Thanks for the post.

    07/14/08 8:31 AM | Comment Link

  • JR Rozko said...

    3

    @ Jerry – Thanks for your comment and for the invitation.  I will definitely keep it in mind as we hopefully move forward – a definite plus to be able to learn from those who have been at it for years!

    @Alex – You're in?! Great, when should I expect you?

    @Sarah – to be brief (maybe I will offer a full post later?) I would say that discipleship entails becoming more like Christ as we seek to live like Christ.  Living in community is a means to this end in that it invites us into a lifestyle of sharing, sacrifice, accountability, and common mission.  To speak personally, after sharing life with a common group of folks for about 10 years in college and after, I have learned what it means to love people when they are different than me, when they disappoint me, and when they just flat out get on my nerves.  I have learned the freedom of living with less and the ins and outs of depending on others rather than myself.  Just a  few thoughts, good question.

    07/14/08 6:21 PM | Comment Link

  • Sarah Christoph said...

    4

    JR,

    I’m interpreting “a means to an end” stated above as- undertaking this lifestyle affords partakers a greater opportunity for spiritual growth and oneness in the body of Christ, giving out of itself as His body in life mode. In light of this (if we are on the same page) How do you see discipleship in action in a communal living atmosphere? Can you give an example of (imperfect) but none the less, successful discipleship in a community living experience? Thanks! :-)

    07/14/08 9:53 PM | Comment Link

  • Eric said...

    5

    JR,

    Great post.  We have been living in community for almost two years now.  We are approaching this by living in the same neighborhood; actually, I own two houses and we rent one of them out to three single gals.  So, my family of four (me, my wife, our son and my wife's father, all in the same house), these three gals and their friends and then some others who don't yet live in the neighborhood, but probably will at some point. 

    For the first year our focus was on community and/or worship.  We nearly killed each other.  We regrouped and are now learning how to keep our focus first and foremost on Jesus.  As we learn to do this, the other things seem to be falling into place.  We are truly becoming a group of people following Jesus together, which is what the church is, is it not?

    Thanks again for the post…

    Eric

    07/15/08 1:52 AM | Comment Link

  • JR Rozko said...

    6

    @Eric – Way cool my friend.  I am sure you have plenty of excellent stories, which I would love to hear if you EVER make good on your promise to come to Memphis so I can take you out for BBQ.  Seriously, COME ON!

    07/15/08 8:53 AM | Comment Link

  • Jim said...

    7

    JR Don’t know if you have checked it out yet but found this site. Great reference for understanding the gospel in the suburban context. http://thesubtext.org/2008/07/01/my-suburbia-evangelism/
    Thanks for the chat!

    07/15/08 1:53 PM | Comment Link

  • Eric said...

    8

    JR,

    Well, you know how us Fuller guys are on promises…

    I hope to soon. I’m headed to Uganda on August 4th. Maybe later in August?

    eg

    07/15/08 4:11 PM | Comment Link

  • JR said...

    9

    I will only be in Memphis Aug. 11-21. I will be at a few conferences toward the beginning and have the opportunity to travel to Afghanistan toward the end.

    07/15/08 10:25 PM | Comment Link

  • Eric said...

    10

    Might work, but doubtful. I get back from Uganda on the 13th. That following weekend is possible, but…

    September? I’ll be in India from the 12th through the 23rd…

    07/15/08 10:30 PM | Comment Link

  • JR Rozko said...

    11

    Yeah, gonna be tight for me as well. And let’s face it – who wants to come to Memphis in Aug. really??

    07/16/08 10:10 AM | Comment Link

  • Clay said...

    12

    J.R., I loved the last paragraph especially b/c we (especially me) highlight the risks of being in an intentional community and completely ignore the more serious risks as you point out of not being in an intentional community.  Thank you for the encouraging thoughts and don’t let up on those of our friends who are considering the idea.  It may take them a while but they need it.  I definitely will have my radar up when we move to Seattle for pursuing something like this.

    07/22/08 3:43 PM | Comment Link

  • JR Rozko said...

    13

    Sweet, then you can blog too and we’ll be fighting the good fight in different parts of our small world.

    07/22/08 4:29 PM | Comment Link

  • Missional Suburban Living Meets Poor Urban Intentional Community said...

    14

    [...] of contrasts, we had the good fortune to stay with Chris and Cassie Haw who live as part of an intentional community in one of the shadiest neighborhoods I have ever been in in Camden, NJ. Added bonus – Chris [...]

    09/8/08 7:47 PM | Comment Link

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