Every night at the House of Studies, dinner
immediately follows evening prayer. As McLaren and I sat with
a smaller group of Dominicans, a young friar shared an insight
he gained from reading one of McLaren's books before joining
the order. He said, "Brian, if you're right about what makes
for good leadership formation, I realized that being here at
the House of Studies is the very best place I could be."
McLaren has heard all kinds of responses to his writings, but this was a first. People don't typically say that what he wrote spurred them on in deciding to join a Catholic order. The young friar then asked, "Could I attend a service at the church you planted? Even though I'd be wearing this white monastic habit?"
The friar's question startled me, because as an evangelical Presbyterian pastor who has spent quite a bit of time around Dominicans over the last few years, I'm now rather oblivious to noticing their outfit. But when habited friars show up in unexpected places, people often have strange reactions, like asking if the all-white outfit means they are a part of the KKK. However, I have experienced a reverse surprise when visiting Dominican churches for the first time. I'm not dressed in a habit, yet the rhythms of the community's prayer times have become natural to me. Then if I explain that I am not Catholic, there's even more befuddlement.
What I have found at the heart of the Dominicans—vibrant
spiritual formation practices, abundant sharing of a common
life, passionate proclamation of the Good News of Jesus Christ—has
been what keeps drawing me back to the order. Being able to
introduce Brian McLaren to Dominican friends during prayer,
dinner and the conversations that followed was great fun.
Leaving after night prayer, however, I was puzzled. What had
the young friar specifically connected with in McLaren's writings?
In the last chapter of A New Kind of Christian, I found the answer. Along with a critique of faith formation models based on acquiring head knowledge, the chapter contains suggestions for a more holistic approach to leadership development. As I read these potential ideas, they resonated with what I know of the Dominican House of Studies: that the ideal setting for Christian formation would be a combination of:
1. Monastery—a community life, sharing both the mundane
of daily tasks and the radiance of ongoing spiritual practices
2. Mission agency—regular immersion in all kinds of
ministry internships
3. Seminars—processing studies through conversations,
with the guidance of a teacher
A final suggestion at the end of the chapter is: "Perhaps
what we really need is … a lifelong learning community, perhaps
like the Catholic orders, that one joins—for life. What
do you think of that?" (pgs. 162-3).
The closest I have come to an order-like experience was some years ago in my college Christian fellowship group. It was not the result of intentional planning; instead the "order" came about by a variety of activities in copasetic convergence. Older students in the fellowship group actively reached out to welcome and eventually mentor younger students. Whatever one had was shared with whomever had a need, particularly with lending cars and providing transportation. Living in dorms, steps away from one another, it was easy both to come together in prayer daily and to reach out in serving others. With several hours of inductive Bible study during the weekend and a lighter midweek Bible study, we grappled with God's Word and what it meant for our lives. In the safety of authentic relationships, there was honesty about struggles with sin and, over time, the healing of emotional wounds. Though the Christian fellowship group wasn't perfect, it truly was a satisfying season in my life.
But it was only temporary. The years since then have been about joyful participation in churches and quality training in seminary. But I am still looking for my place in a lifelong learning community. Is it possible? Could this type of Christian leadership formation be found in more places throughout the body of Christ? Would you want to be a part of it?
This is my heart's desire. In the meantime, I continue to participate in monastic prayer times with orders, which generally begin: "God, come to our assistance …"
Karen Sloan is the author of Flirting
with Monasticism: Finding God on Ancient Paths (IVP);
you can find out more at flirtingwithmonasticism.org.
For further background on Sloan, see
www.karensloan.net.
On Sunday afternoon, Feb. 18, Karen Sloan
and the Dominican friars are hosting a visit to the House
of Studies in Washington, D.C. If you would like to join in,
or want more information about the visit, email flirtingwithmonasticism@gmail.com.
More about the Dominican House of Studies and a picture of
their chapel can be found at www.dhs.edu,
and the friars' blog is www.dominicanfriars.org.
