1975: Turning Point of The Word of God Covenant Community

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From the Thomas Yoder Papers, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor: the Coordinator Meeting Notes of the Word of God Covenant Community, 1975.

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19 75
Turning Point
Of The Word of God Covenant Community

1975: Turning Point of the Word of God Covenant Community
In 1975 The Word of God (WOG) was one of –if not the biggest- Covenant Community in the United States. Rivaled only buy their counter parts in South Bend IN (People of Praise), they would engage the membership in a full Community Consultation as to the idea of merging the two Covenant Communities. For it was at the top of the pastoral pyramid of power that Steven Clark, Ralph Martin, Paul DeCelles and Kevin Ranaghan wieled tremendous power over the lives of Charismatics in the USA and elsewhere. These leaders would intersect on multiple levels: as members of the secret “Council” with their Protestant brothers (Mumford, Prince, Basham, Baxter and Simpson), the governing council of the National Catholic Charismatic Renewal Service Committee which oversaw the development of Charismatic Renewal through conferences, books, tapes and magazines, and finally, as liaisons with the Bishops, Cardinals and Popes of Roman Catholicism. On other fronts however, serious warning shots were being fired over the bow of this mighty ship by Catholic Priests, Bishops and internal members about the misuse and over-use of authority as well as the growing tendency towards the punitive with uncooperative or incapable members. Perhaps this is what Steven B Clark was defending in his New Covenant article (September 1991)1 when he said it was not “coercive” when members are “helped” to live up to their commitments to the community.

1

http://www.scribd.com/doc/19379459

1974-75 would be the years that the internal organization of the Word of God began to coalesce around the idea of “government.” In 1984, Steven B Clark would edit the book PATTERNS OF CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY, where he would compile a group of decisions made at WOG Community Gatherings about governing the Christian Body, “over the past 10 years.” Finally, at the close of the document is a preview of things to come: the idea of an “appointment” of Steven B Clark to the Catholic priesthood. Clark would seek to combine the roles of “Dictator” and “Priest” under one mantle in the Covenant Community. In the 1964 “Dictator” document,2 Clark had termed the Catholic Priesthood as ancillary to the new role of the all-powerful Community “Dictator” (re-termed ‘Senior Head Coordinator’ in later years). But as the larger charismatic Covenant Community grew into a church of its own Catholic Bishops would become more and more uneasy. Perhaps this was an attempt to ease their misgivings. 1975 was a year of misgivings capped by 8 years of tremendous growth that seems to have blinded these men as to the impact of their decisions as well as the advice and consultation of concerned others. The significance of 1975 in the life of The Word of God Covenant Community can never be understated. It was the turning point down the wrong path by leaders obsessed with authority and control. WOG leaders would elevate commitment to Covenant Community onto the same plane as commitment to Jesus Christ. This dynamic came to be silently understood as a requirement in the lives of those who populated the “Null Set” of these and the growing body of submitted, associated Covenant Communities.3

John Flaherty October 23, 2012 Grand Island NE [email protected]

2 3

http://www.scribd.com/doc/55907854 Ibid

Proposed Outline for a Coordinator's Notebook Feb. 19, 1975

I.

Current A. Planning B. District calendars, schedules current info change sheet district heads living situations, services PC eligibles . mercy, special, etc. your own special a~eas; i.e. PSW--LSS, JJC--Muslic stu~ materials for current coordinator meetings
. ." "\ Co .'.,
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C. Special Responsibilities
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. ~..{.I.

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D. study-/Materials

:",

"

,\.

II.

General A. Coordinators ,1. HCM notes 2. CM notes 3. Other CM notes 4. Coord. Administ. Material B. Course Outlines

ICCM notes, etc. Coord. procedures, etc.

...,;

C. Reports & Proposals (Pastoral) 1. Churches 2. Courses 3. Dorms 4. Evangelism 5. Facilities & Housing 6. Finances 7. Guests 8. Healing 9. Initiations 10. Services 11. Statistics 12. Youth Activities 13. Other

,

I

Coordinator Notebook, cont.

2-19-75

II.

General (cont.)

D. Procedures & Lists (Administrative) 1. Conferences & Weekends
2. Courses

3. Facilities & Housing
Financial General Guests Initiations Services youth Activities 10. Other

4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

E. Stu~

Materials 1. Articles 2. Passages 3. Prophecies 4. Studies 5. study Sheets 6. Other

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Abbreviations ICey (for DecisionD of the Coordinators)

Coordinators CES CC Coordinetors

Meeting Evaluation Session decisions

Community Consultation Head Coordinators Discussion University Exclusion

HCM
Disc. USCM ER

11ceting (before regular Ql) Meeting

of Coordin8tors Subcommunity Report

Coordinators

To:

All Coordinators,

Servants" Handmaids, and District Staff

Heads

From: Administrative Date: 10/15/75

Re: Available Materials

This available on file

materials

list

is a current catalogue of the materials now Please use it to check your note-

at the Community Office.

books and/or files materials you need.

to see if you are in possession of all the current If you need any of the materials listed, please

submit a written request to Sandy Fi'Gzgerald at the Community Office. In requesting materials, use the namethat is on this listing. and "the increasing cost

The quantity of material that is available of paper, necessitate

that .you request only those things that you involved in. Your 'prudence' in

need for the service you are currently this

area will be grea.cly appreciated by the Community Office Staff.

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10/75 AVAIIABLE MATERIALS LIST

,

l-

ADM. PROCEDURES

I

Con£erences and Weekends Cmty. Weekend and Conferences Handbook (revised) CW Handout - General Information Courses FC II Revision and New Sequence (1/24/74) Revi~ed FC I 9-12 Data Processing Data Processing· - Current
Codes ;

qopi~s

Financial Community Finance Procedures (taken from the Aug. 1972 Fin. Rpt.) CW Handout - Finances Current; Principles of finance in the conununity Guests Policy for deciding whether guests can stay longer 4/17/73 Procedures - People moving to the H/e; from ctr Initiations Addendum to "The Role of HH in New Init~ Systemll 12/5/74 Assisting Elderly People 12/3/74 Black people in Initiations 2/12/74 LSS Commitment to Christ handout Dorm Greeting - Resource Sheet 10/10/74 Dorm Initiations Talks 1/:1, #2, 113 10/74 LSS Exp.Lana'c Room Outline Lon Handbook for LSS Spring, 1975 (Spring 74 and 11/72) Initiations StrUCGure - New 10/17/74 .. LSS Intro Session In"croduc·torySession Sharing Outline Role of HH in the new Initiations system 11/1/74 OW commitment 7/31/73 Miscellaneous Catholic Planning Policies Requests Weddings in thE: Community 9/75 a Wedding in The Word of God and Procedures for Handling Transportation in the WiG for speakers from the WiG

Secretarial Available Materials List Services Making service requests 11/21/73 Personnel service memo 11/10/73

page 2 Service Team Service ~eam Handbook

9/73

Thursday Gatherings Ushering policies for Thurs. nIghts (8129/72, 7/6/73, 2/9/74, 5/20/74) CALENDARS Community Calendar Winter 74-- Sp:rtng 75 Community Calendar Fall 75 - Spring 76 CHILD CARE CC:'Babies MateriaL: , Child Care in The Word of God' - CW Handout CC: "Children: Fun or Frenzy?" CC: The Direction of Child Care CC: Elementary Grades Materials Child Care, Fac:i:;s Sheet, CC: Infants Materials CC: Infants Team CC: In His Name (Babies) Letter to New'Parents in Child Care (fees) CC: Pre-School Materials Child Care: Recognizing and Developing Headship CC: Sleeper Trainine ' Child Care: Speaking the Truth in Love CC Teaching Day 10/20/73 CC: Toddlers Materials CC: Weekdays lilaterials COORD. MATERIAL Appointment of'Coords. CM notes FORMS Requesting facilities Scheduling forms Work requests for Clerical Work HANDMAID MATERIAL Appointment of Hindmaids

(

page 3 LISTS High School Phone List 11/74 Household Lises SerVices ~ersonnel List WIG and CRS ·Ski11s... . ..., status MISCELLANEOUS Cerel!1otfy for·t~e Lord's Day 9/75 The PUblic Cdn:imi:ement WiG Covenants· WiG letters: 'coc1erw; to parents; to brothers and sisters (re: handmaids) OUTLINES

10/18/74

5/20/74.

Explanation Room FC I (oue of date) LSS Intro PROPHECIES Biblical Passages on Prophecy 5th Armiversary Community Gathering Prophecies ll/19/72 6th Anniversary Community Gat.hering Prophecies .11/19/73 GCG Prophecies 12/9/73 GCG Prophecies 3/31/14 GCG Prophecies 6/23/74. GCG Prophecies 7/21/74 GCG Prophecies 9/22/74 High School Prophecies 1/8/74 Prophecy memo from BY Prophecies 4/10/72 . Prophecies - The WIG-The pIp Cont. ·7/25-27/75 Prophecies - Ypsilanti 1/11/74 Youth Activities Prophecies 5/27/75 REPORrS Financial Community Consultation on Finances (round 1) Community Consultation on Finances (round 2) 12/1/73 2/74

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page 4 Healing Healing in the Community Passages on Healing Miscellaneous Communi ty Consul. tation (Relationships with other Communi ties) 9/75 Services Pastoral Reports on Services 7/11/74 Services report 73 Service Repor-i; Table of Contents 10/74 Service teams - men's and women's 4/23/73 Works Mercy - Special Report & proposal Statistics Sta-(;istics'report1974 4/11/74 Sta'tistics report 1974 3/26/75 St.atis'i,;ics report Fall 1974 - Winter 1975 St.udies E:'~lusion study group report (cover letter dates 8/24/72) The Word of God Naming of the Community The Word of'God report 9/71 The Word of God report 9/72 (supplement) The Word of God report 9/73 (supplement) SERVANT MATERIA:L Appointment of se~ants STUDY MATERIALS Christian qualities The end of the Catholic Pentecostal Movement Exclusion group study Exclusion study materials How to prepare a personal testimony Jesus speaks about Himself . Marriage, Sex, and Sexual Moralit.y (Scripture Passages) Passages on Men-Women Roles 1/14/75 Passages on Wealth and Possessions 1/15/75 Scripture and the role of women Study sheet on prophecy Study sheet on prophecy part II Study sheec on Spiritual Gifts
-,

revised 10/74

11/14/74

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A. Statement 1. The Pastoral teaching it.

THE "PASTORAL

NEWSLETTER"

of Purpose Newsletter is a magazine which presents the best practical

!
available on pastoral subjects

for anyone who is able to receive
which is broadly under-

The focus of the publication

is pastoral,

.stood to include whatever groups.
,"I·

is involved

in leading

and caring

for Christian a mature

The long range goal of the magazine consciousness· in the body of Christ of God's people.

is to develop

pastoral
.,,,,.

with a view to hastening

the total renewal

2. The PN is aimed at the people most able both currently to use the teaching provided. Primarily, this means renewal. church

and potentially gifted is

pastorally The magazine leaders,

A
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r

leaders in all streams intended, however,

of the charismatic

to serve vastors leaders

and other

as well

as, all prayer group

in the charismatic

renewal.

3. Because

of its pastoral

focus,

PN presents

practical

wisdom

which

is

useful to all Christians for Christian
r,.

who share

a concern Authurs,

for building however,

and caring

~hurches

or groups.

have the freedom tradition and the PN

treat .subjects which

re late specifically

to their Christian

and from their own perspective ecumenically sensitive

so long as their focus traditions.

is pastoral In effect,

· .•..
,

..,

to other Christian

aims at producing Life in the Spirit acceptable

a content

similao:'in focus to the Team Manual presents pastoral Christian

for the
".' .

Semina rs which

teaching

~

to all without

embracing

religious

indifferentism.
· ·

, ~ .

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B.- Government

and Staff Newsletter is a division of Charismatic Renewal Services,
t ".. "
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.

1. The>Pastoral

Inc. and is under the control

of the Board

of Directors

of Charismatic

1


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Services,

Inc. {Bb-CRS).

2. BD-CRS

guides

the direction

of the PN by establishing,it~ by determining its budget;

purpose;

",reviewing authority

its basic policy; and responsibility

by delegating and editor Renewal

to the president, all within

publisher~

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whom it hl,lds a6countable, Services.

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the context of Charismatic . \: ..;

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3.

Overall ofCRS.

r e spons Lb i Lfty and authority

for PN is delegated to the president

to the publisher of CRS.



The publisher

reports

directly

,

,

4.

The .i mmed La t e head overPN Editorial direction

is theedi

tor, who

reports

to the publisher. deciSions are made

is given

to the PN and editorial of the publisher

by the editor, ,subject to the review

and president.
',:

D.

PoliCY PN has three categories
2)

of criteria of writing.

for judging A decision

articles:

1) author;

content;

3)

quality

that an article rewriting

does not

meet certain ~ewriting editing.
"
j.:

criteria

can mean either

rejection, approval

by the author, through article

by the staff with Efficiency require

the author's

or correction

may justify a major

rejecting

a potentially

salvageable

which w~ld

cummitment

of editorial

work time for rewriting.

1. Author--The' first requirement

contributors

to the PN must fulfill

is

that they must, to the best of our knowledge life. Secundly, contributors must

be living a good Christian in the area in which by experienced
",

be competent

they are writing; pastoral experience leaders,

tIIUS, pastoral teaching

articles

must be authored

~

articles

by leaders wi th sufficient and scholarly articles

pastoral by people

', f.'

and study

in thei~ subject,

who are well qualified.

'.
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.
2. PN articles scripturally adhere to the truth; they are theologically and they are based and/or accurate, in fact. They

and pastorally~sound, with authority

treat their subject spiritual

they have a significant

impact on readers.

!

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Analysis of "Head of Community" Responsibilities

1. Head of Community a),GCGs Head coordinators b) Final Appeal Steve Clark ~ c)'EXClusion <and termination of PC d) Exceptions (to orde rje tc,) ~ He.
!
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Head coo rd s ~)

II. Head of Coordinators a) Coordinators meeting and community decisions ~ He., J. .)'c b) He~d coordinators' meetings ' Services 3'fiEHbi{ , - Households Head coordinators (BY) PC, Choosing RH coordinators BY - Coordinators meeting study sessions ~ - Individual Coordinators Head Coordinators - Special areas - Minorities - ~.;; c. - Child Care RCM - Churches '§jff)SC. - High School BY - Ar t - ~ G... ~ - Bt{ - Nercy BY - ,Music - ~. -;5..M - Prophecy BY Dorms SEC - Doctors G- ~ - f31( - "Community, businesses" SBC
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III.

Central reaching - Course administration and supplements BY
BY

a w,

IV. Central Administration a) Community administration b) Finances - ~ He c) Personnel ~ He. VDG. CC!>'-'-vl5. - SL

JJ

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The Coor-df nat ovs Meeting January 14 - April 9, 1975 Decision on teaching in the community

We do subscribe to everything taught in scripture, but we do not teach everything at any 'given time to the community. The following are reasons why we might not teach something to the community: a) because the area is an area that is disagreed upon by the mainstream of the Christian c4urches - the Lord does not want us to teach in these areas because he has not called us to be a church but has called us to take a responsibility for some fundamental aspects of Christian living and to care for people who belong to many churches b) because we have not been able to get around to learning about an area so that we can teach about it c) because we try to be led by the Spirit in what we take up as a. community, and many things have not yet been on the Lord's agenda for us d) because we often need revelation to know how to teach something or how to put it into practi.ce in-a life-giving way, and that r3velation has not yet been given to us. (CM: 1/21/75) Comments: There are different levels of Christian teaching. Adultery, husband- ( wife subordination, and the we ar i.ng of veils by_wome~ are no t on the same level of importance. Some elements of Christian teaching we should hold out for to the death. Some we should hold out for even if it drives people from the Lord because thos3 people cannot accept it. Some tnings, however, we can forego, for different reasons. (CM: 1121/7 5) DeCisions on community gatherings

A. Open gatherings
Open gatherings are both evangelistic and community-oriented meetings. They are meetings to worship the Lord and build one another UiJ in hi m , but with a special concern for new people. While there can be special evangelistic presentations from time to time, most of the things that happen at the gathering should be accessible to both the community and to people who are not part of the community. (CM: 2/25/75) Procedural deciSions for open meetings: There should be more sharing and more room for sharing gatherings than there is now.

at the open

We should no longer have as tha normal course 45 minutes of praise and prophecy, but the beginning of the meeting should include more elements.

I

Worship

should happen more commonly

in the second half of the meetings.

We will encourage people to call their sharings in bafore the meetin~, but we will also encourage people who have not called thair sharings in to share at the meeting.

The Coordinators

Meeting

1/14 - 4/9 1975

I,A,l

p.2

We Will encourage the district heads and other more mature members of the community to share and participate more often in the open (CM: 2/25 - 3/11/75) .gatherings:

B. Praise and worship
We cqme together in our gatherings to worship the Lord. The Lord is present in our midst, and what we do sho1.,lld a response to that be fact. Our focus should be on the Lord and not on ourselves, what we are getting out of it). We ought to be led by the Spirit in our meetings, either through his promptings as we sense them as a whole group or through the directions of the leader. As we are able to be in tune with the leading of the Lord, we will find greater variety in our meetings both from meeting to meeting ans within the same meeting. We will find a wide range of good expressinns of worship: joyous prayer, victorious prayer, quiet adoration, a murmur of prayer, singing, singing in the Lord, clapping, silence, acclamations (shouts), e t c , Our goal should be to have unity in the Spirit as we worship, than individualistic worship. rather

Loud praise (including shouting) is good as a response to something the Lord has done and occasionally as a "warm-up". If there is unity in it, it can be powerful. At open meetings however, we should be more restrained, and shouting should be rare and clearly done as a response to something and not as a matter of courSe.
"-

Everyone in the community should actively participate in the worship. The community should be encouraged to prepare for meetings. Many in the community (and not just the heads) should contribute during the meetings. (CM: 3/18/75) Procedural decisions: We will teach tha community about worship and focus on our response to the presence of the Lord in his holiness in our midst ~nd on unity of Spirit in our worship. In that context, we will talk about loud praise, but in a way that will lead people into it in a a good way and not "put brakes on", We should evaluate with it. loud praise again after we get more expe r Lence (CM: 3/18/75)

Comments: When we come together, we should be coming even more for the presence of the Lord in our midst than to be a community. Worship should preserve its exuberance. its quality of reverence, even more than

When loud praise or any form of worship is disordered it takes away much of the spirJtual power, especially

or uncontrolled, for those who

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The coordinat~B

meeting

1/14 - 4/9/75

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are not members
)

of the community.

It often appears unattractive.
C·" .:L

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Loud praise hel~s to overcome -respond.

inhibitions,

liven up the way people

(eM: 2/25/75)

C. Solemn gatherings Every general community gathering should be approached as a solemn gathering. To express that solemnity: - the whole community will dress well ("better", "more formally" - we will sit by districts - the coordinators will sit together in the center of the gathering as the heads of the community. (CM: 4/2175, 4/9/75) Procedural decisions: We will implement these decisions over the summar and commllnity by giving ~eachings on worship and respect. We will incorporate the material in the basic community teaching. on worship

I

p rep ar-e

the

and order at gatherings
(CIvI: 4/9/75)

We will n9t appraoch the matter of dress at general community gathe.rings as a matter of regulations, but we will teach that different modes of dress are appropriate to different occasions. (CM: 3/25/75) The coordinators will wear ties or sport coats or a dress-sweater, or a very dressy shirt at general community gathering except during the summerS. They will not wear jean-type pants or informal looking corduroy pants. They will wear good bhoes, weather p0rmitting. (CM: 4/2/'15) Comments: Concrete means of expressing things like order, submission and respect are important for providing a way to make those things real for human beings. (CM: 1/28/75)

A basic simplicity

in any expressions of order or respect and in any ceremony preserves the power of it. (CM: 4/2/75)

Our change in dress should be for the sake of showing God reverence, not for the sake of our looking good. (CM: 2/18/75) We are moving toward showing respect because of relationship and not just beoause of function. There seems to be two main systems of respect: 1) respect Shown because of power, prestige, position 2) respect shown because of relaticnship regardless of the impressiveness of the person (e g . honor parents, elders). (Cl\'l: 4/2/75)
i

: ,/lOin Hy of

meetings : - discussion on valls 1!21/7~ - obedience to scripture; - g at he r t ng s 1/20/75
1/11/75

veils

I,A,}. The coordinators meeting 1/14 - 4/9/75

p.

4

- budget discussion - budget discussion _ gatherings: worship '& solemnity ...2/25/1.fL_=gatherings: open gatherings I loud 'praise'
2/11/75 2/13/ 75

2/4/75

3/4/75 3/11/75
3/18/

- no gatherings: _ gatherings:
_ gatherings: - gatherings:

open gatherings open gatherings, respect, gcgs gcgs

loud praise

75
4/2/75
11 /9/75

HCIVI Agenda - Long-range disciplemakd:ng redo the PC list the world situation (financial. etc.) political concerns fiJ.el arid farming ton men-women get together (men's fellowship, approach to coords study

growth groups)

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The Inter-Community Head Coordinators Meeting (The People of Praise and The Word of God) March 6, 1975

Relating to the Catholic

Charismatic

Renewal

We are engaged in two different concerns: care for the Catholic Charismatic Renewal and an emerging set of "inter-collllilunity"elationships r which is ecumenical. We should not approach them as if they were the same thing or as if the same principles needed to apply to both. W~ c an be more Catholic in our care for the Ca t ho I i c Charismatic Renewal and not feel that that is harming· ou r e cume n Lca I concerns. New Covenant should probably be more Catholic. We should submit the question to the Council and write a letter tu the other members of the CCRSe about our new understanding. The Pastoral Newsletter ought not to be something which is under the

ccnsc.
Relating to other communities mutual submission. The means of entry

Our goal is a federation involving would be some form of discipling.

We want a regular meeting for formation of the communities It will only be for those having a submission relationship On August 1-3, 1975 we will have a meeting ties who are in relationship with us.

twice a year. to us. of the communi-

of the main elders

We should discuss what we are c10ing in this area with the Cruncil. Tile communities conference: for the conference.

Kevin Ranaghan will cOlile up with a sketch of a program Meetings Our next meeting will be June 30, 1975.

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To:

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~1P.l:

Bert. Ghezzi Ki l i an
Har ch

uLCt.e:

11, 1975
ill Prai c e

Subject:

Freedom

1.

I have advice listen saying.

no complaints as to h ow the ;:~ervice Committee reacts to my theological and counsel. 'I'h ey have a.lv ay s received it with respect, and they with ai.t.ent i on , even though they de not aLv ay s agree with what I ani You, in particular, have been gracious and receptive.

It does seem to me to 'he at least a procedural advertisement for "Freedom in Fraise" in the ).

er-r-or to have
Marcl-. issue or

the h a.Lf'<pa.;e New Covenallt.

In n~y memo or January A, I did rio t request. that all sales be temporarily stopped, nor did I request that the tape be temporarily re~oved from the c ar.a.l ogue . I d i d as k that the ~:;ervice Comnrit t.e e discuss the teaching of BoL Cavnar, However, it does s e em vrt Le as t inappropriate that a half-r.ice appe ar in 'Lile: Llar-ch is~)ue or' rk\{ COVenCi)lt after I had b r-our.nt It does not .. e em un rc ac onub.Ie that . Hew Covenant v ou Ld refrain the tape b e I'or e the matter is r-es o Lve d , That the adv e rti s cmen i. aI,:,0(H'C': in spite of not s omet.h i ng that \Ja::, done de.i i ue r at.e ly .
my mer.o I

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adve r t i s erneut up the matte r . fro!,; pushing

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r e ga.rd .as an o ve r s i gh t

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lsu t because t hc iJ:lll'-J"l"~C a.Ivc r t i s o meu t did appeur , j felt I should r-e qt.e s t, at t.h i s time, \.fll:~L. 1 v ouLd not have felt .j us t i f'Le d in r eque s t i ng earlier, namely, that s a Le s CJC stopped un t i L the matt e r iJ resolved. I thank Y';L, have a. COf'J I t h i nk January that i'o r sClldilll.:': me ('( cnpy of "Freedom anu have lis tened to i t with care.
~lo_()rj:'.1

7.
',\.

in

Praise."

iioveve r , I already

of

8, T pc in t e.I 0jt

t.h e tape could s t.aud as it .i s . Indeed, the pos i ti v e aspects of Bob Cavnar's heresy. There one The ma t t e r is a difference. forms

in my rnetno of te ..... i ug . ch one of s oun d

9.

In no c aa e 1.:.'/e I r a is eu t.lie issue of doctrine an d s ound past cra.l practice. I I' 'co[!,n~.::e ri., t. s h ou t i nj; praise Bob Le auc t.h e L':rouv;, is

lS

10.

only

of the

of praise

into

vh i ell

,11.

I call at.t.e n t.ion to 1 Corinthians lh:23: "any uninitiated or unb e Li ev e r., comi nj; into the mee t i n.; of the vlio Le church where everybody w as s pe ak i i.g in t ougues , w ou Ld sa.y t.h at you were a.l l. ruad ;." Paul t..re i-e i'ore rr-r.robat.es a similar expression of p r a i s e . T dCJ not ti.nd [my mention of this text in B.ob' s tape.

')

..~lJ
,

• ''''
1

L:.

You !: ak e a d is t i n c ti on b e t.w e en _) a r,:ltlF'!'ing . c ho.iti ng v(1~'i'JUS pra i s e s not .i n unison, but each s ay i nr: d i f'f'e r en t t h i ngs , and 2) cacaphony. 'l'h i s distinction i. cannot accept.
Ycu

l3.

v rot e : "f',\' Grand Fapitls, a f t e r Bobb i e ' s talk there .v as about five minutes of .:;houtinr;." You approve of this but no t.e that at other times (thouG:h it i s IIOt c Le a r it h appe ne d in relation to Bob I s t.a.Lk ) there ve re mcnerit s of quiet pl'aise and silence. of cuc ur.n.ur i Ly dismissed Lay ,:'U1dclerical. s ucr: behavior (and
s

F~vc minute"

aj.hony Houle'. be quite sufficient :01' the r en ev a I 1:0 be by TIlcWY intelligent, spiritually sensitive Cat.h o.l i cs , I assure you that the Amer i c an bishops would :repudiate in my mind, w i t.h j uo ti ri cut i on ) . what Steve Clar}-. called one of the major themes

It.:..J



'vie are de a li nr to erne rge t h is Plp.:l,,~e note maLi0ns.
\-,rher, Kevin

here v it.h pas t ,.car. I am not

--,-,.

that

opposed.

to

10uLi singing

1.1

un i s or: nor

to

ac c La-

17.

cu Ll s t.h e o Log ians to examine Bob Cavn a r s t.a Ll; , I voul t as k that t1n,:.," cxami ne not just the tape in isolation, but '::'L(~k i nd o f pr a i s e into whi ~'!l BuD leads the r:rouji. 'I'lie judgment should l::~ c.u the puenorr.e non as c. vh o.Le .
l

lEl.

Gr ea t ge nt Ler.es s s h ou.i d be

used

in

de aLi nr; v it h

;c,l

.avnar

.

19.

Or; ,:11(, other hand, the use of' ac aphor.y i r. nOI" "j·)e~:!:r,:':ic. ill the t.'n i t.e d State:::>. I'crc , i"'. does net tc t!~:lt t :.'~i; ... tE:.C te d.i c' at tile pur e L,: privat e level. ~~,~rne nuanced pub Lic :,'.,:j,flce s e ems ne c es s arv .
'i'he r-e s e er» r.e n e c an h an e

~ ... I

It is irnporl:,nt that the mat.t.e r b e s e t t Lc.I before t.h at, the Ameri c an de Le gat es c an IJC .i n I'o rn.ed . F'i v e mi nut es even if there

t

n e Rorue conf'e r ence

so

21.

of c ac aph ony at r:Olil~' w ou.Lu be no t h i 1(" ':r;c,l't were c'~her forms of pr oi c e such as silence

of di s ac tr-ous , ar.d quiet prayer.

2:::.

Eve n \,[ithrclJ;::lJ'd to the Unit-ed ~;tatc;, ,~,ne e x arru r.oti on of Isob Cavr.a r' s tU.l(ninlj anu the practice of ui. i nh i b i t.o d praise s r.ou.Ld IlCJC be de Lay eI Uline ce s s ar i Iy . Clear t he o.l og i c a.l and pti:j t.o r nL d i r e ct i on is ne e de d oe c aus e Bob's t ea ch ing h as been w i de s preacl. l!ol'efully t.h i s call be done so the matter can be r ev i ev e d at the next Sen·j.ce Corrun t t e e meeting, i April 16-17.

Head Coordinators'

Meeting

- 2/26/75

Decided that we could not take on a commitment the Saginaw-Midland area. Head Coordinators' Meeting

of headship

for the group in

- 3/5/75

1.

We will begin a third Thursday gathering on June 5th in Ypsilanti. Bruce Yocum will be the head coordinator responsible for the gathering, and the East and EMU districts will attend. Clarification of Public Commitment guidelines: Normally people should be underway for at least two years before they make the Public Commitment. It is possible for people to make the Public commitment after they have been underway for eight.een months, but normally they would wait until two years. If an individual has been underway for two and one-half years or longer, and the coordinators decide that he/she should not make the Public Commitment, the coordinator. should talk with the person and explain why they have not been asked to make the commitment.

2.

3.

Single parents in the community (people who are divorced, separated or widowed and who have children) will attend Foundations Course II for single people, and will attend the talks in Foundations II for married couples which. concern childraising. We will normally recommend, as a matter of policy, that unwed mothers place the child up for adoption. (This decision is the result of our ex:perience with such sitLlatiions. Since we have a responsibility for both mother and the child we feel that we should recommend the course of action which we feel is normally the best.)

4.

Head Coordinators' 1.

Meetings

- 3/12 - 4/9/75 headship

Doug Gavrilides will be the coordinator responsible for providing for the household of women living single for the Lord.

2.

We will hire one full-time person to be a head coordinators' servant. Don Schwager will be responsible for the work of the three head coordinator servants, and as a team they will handle all pastoral adminis tration and personnel work for CRS. Alice Underwood ;'1ill hired to serve as secretary be to Don and the head coordinator servants. We will hire two additional full-time workers for the commum ty office. One of the worker-s will replace Dave Brownson in 8 ept.ernber , and the other will be hired as Ted Kennedy moves to work as a head coordinator servant. We ,.nIl hire Gene Firn to serve as head f'oi- the summer guesthouse operations.

3.

4.

HCM 3/12 -

4/9/75

cont'd of coordinators t.itle service. in

2

5. The question of adding a full-time vocational counsellor will be postponed
until we have a discussion

6. The current Mercy coordination team will be replaced by one mercy
"servant" who will work 12-15 hours per week coordinating the area. The servant will meet once a month with representatives from the various districts to discuss how mercy work is going, and to share ideas and experiences.

Head Coordinators' 1.

Meeting

-

4/23/75

Decisions regarding summer: - Steve will remain in Europe till around June 15, and then will be on vacation in the U.S. until around July 13. -Ralph will be on vacation until around June 15. - The Christian Personal Relationships course will be cancelled for the summer; Bruce will give - Bruce will be responsible for FC II SM, SliI for the Summer. - FC II MC will begin on July 6 and run on a staggered schedule until we decide to get it back in sequence.

2.

Bruce will present recommendations for handling the services and housing processes differently in the future. The services process should involve fewer head coordinator approvals, the housing process should be done more by the district coordinator alone. (i.e., not a centralized process) We will seek the approval of the community for our entering into a committed relationship with other communitias. - we will use the "consultation"'process to arrive at a solid consensus. - we will then have a ceremonial ratification at a GCG, This approval is needed before we can enter into a relationship Council in a committed way. with the

We will present the statement of what the relationship will be to the coordinators at a meeting in July. Then, after the council meeting) we will begin the consultation process.

4. 5.

We will have an extensive discussion of marriage in July at a Head Coordinator Meeting.

in the community sometime

We will have aeG's on July 13, 20, and August 3 and 10. At the firsG three we will present teaching on worship, reverence, order in meetings. At the 8/10 meeting we will implement all of our decisions regarding general gatherings. '

6. The brotherhood is free to consider whether or not tbey can take in new
people on the basis of whether or not there is adequate long-range headship for the new people.

••





-

~.,

.•

"

•• ~--...

_

__

_.

••

'_"'"

_

_

_

_

~_~,'.;:

,-"C,

-:

\

/HCM
/ , .r'.r{1
\w
. ~

3/12 - 4/9/75

cont'd i:.iLle service. in

2

5. The question of add rng a full-time vocational counsellor will be postponed
until we have a discussion of coordinators

\,W

\6

6. The currf!nt Mercy coordination team will be replaced by one mercy
"servantll who will work 12-15 hours per week coordinating the area. The servant will meet once a llionth with representatives from the various districts to discuss how mercy work is go i ng , and to share ideas and experiences.

Head Coordinators' Meeting 1.

4/23/75

Decisions regarding summer: - Steve will remain in Europe till around June 15) and then will be on vacation in the U.S. until around July 13. - Ralph will be on vacation urrt i L around June 15. - The Christian Personal RelaLionships course will be cancelled for the swruner; Bruce will ~ive - ;Bruce will be responsible for FC II SM, SVl for the Summer. - FC II MC will bec:;in July 6 and run on a stagge r:~dschedule unt i L on we dBcide to get it back in sequence.

2. .-,
/

Bruce will present recommendations for handling the serVices and housing processes differencly.in the future. The services process should involve fewer head coordinator approvals j t.he hcus i.ngprocess should be done more by the district coordinator e.l.one . (Le.) not a centralized process)

3· We will seek the approval of the community for our entering into a committed
relationship with other communiti=s. - we will use the "consultacion" 'process to arrive at a solid consensus. - we will then have a ceremonial ratification at a GCG This approval is needed before we can enter into a relationship with the Council in a committed way. We will present t~e statement of what the relationship will be to the coordinators at a \lleetingin July. Then, after the council meeting. 'We will beginche con::;ultationprocess.

4. We will have an extensive discussion 5. We will have GCG s on July
1

or' marriage

in the community somet-ime

in July at a Head Coordinator Meeting.
13) 20, and August 3 and Iv. At the f'Lr st three vie will present 't ach i ng on worship, reverence, order in meetings. e At the 8/l{J meeting we will implement all of our decisions regarding general gathering~.

o.

,

The br ot.her'hoodis free to consider whether or not tbey can 'cake in new people on the bas i s of whet.her or net there is adequate long-range headshi.p for the new people.

cont'd

3

for their discus s'i on: - May, Augu~t and December community vacations will be one week (rather than the current two) - Coordinators meetings will be held only during a restricted period of time (3-5 weeks) between May and September. - Coordinators are free to take vacations, subj ect to approval, at any time during the summer except for the period dUring which coordinators meetings will be held.

We will present the following proposal to the coordinators

B.

ZoniTh3! For the time being, our approach will be to move into new houses at or near the legal limit, and then add people slowly as circumstances
al10"i1.

9. House purchase:

We will attempt to buy the kind of houses we want for households and allow the new household to grow into it (rather than rent, buy small houses, etc.) Redente Williams Morgan Coles Cirner Bartholomay

10. Priority for buying houses:

.'

We will look for a house for v.Tilliamsuntil September, and pur-chase if one turns up. If we do not find something by then, we will wait until May 1976 to start looking again.

TO:
FROM: RE: DATE:

Kevin Ran~Ehan,

Steve Clark

BWG
Relationships with the East Coast Leadership Harch 26, 1975

I would like to recommend strongly that some definite, clear way of communicating with the East Coast Regional Service Committee, Advisory Board, be worked out as soon as possib10. I also recommend that YOll seriously consider naminE Joe Breault to the Service Coramittee as a way of making the .line of contact clear. I make this recommendation on the basis of my contact with Joe Breault and the Scheurings and other leaders at the East Coast Regional Service Conference this past weekend. Joe and the other leaders enjoyed the conferenr:e, felt it made a significant contribution to the renewal on the east coast. However, Joe and Tom and Lynn in particular felt somewhat left out of the planning and caring for the conference. Joe in particular regarJed it as another instance in which CRS came in and put on a conference without taking care to relate it to the pastoral leadership of the area. Joe Breault and somt others perceive CRS as though the brot~ers out here tak~ a unified dpproach to everything. The acts of individuals are often interpreted as the result of a unified policy agreed to by all 0 t7 us •. In the ir vis ion an ac t ion or word He ma ~. have regarded as accidental or a mistake might he perceived as a significant decisive act agreed upon by all of us in adv~nce. For example, at the Friday night leaders meeting hefore the service conference I casually mentioned Bobhie's talk on praise without going .into detail abou tit. !ty reason wa s pastoral. .. I d idn I t want to open a discuss ion on loud praise until the leaders had experienced it. The leaders, however, re~arded it, especially Joe and Tom, as my skipping around them, ignoring their input, creating a situation where t\ey would have no input. They thoueht this might represent some kind of decision or some kind of policy a number of us ar;reed upon. I might note that when I talked to Tom and Joe allout their view of things they l.o h ta 1 ked about it in terms of how they feIt. They both t suggested that their 11erceptions might he all wrong, but this is the way they perceived it. Both Torn and Joe mentioned RHlph changing the topic of h is talk in At Lan t i c City and nv not g.:vj,nr: .full ;t explanation about loud pralse as examples of ~he way ln wnlcn we tend to skirt their leadership and iriput. There are other problems in communication with Joe Breault and the Scheurings, some directly related to them and some relating to the Pa~list Press Catholic rharismatic Quarterly. Joe was asked to recommend a priest to take part with a team at the East roast Conference. He recommended Jake '!andall because Jake is on the Service Committee in the east. Jim and I selected Fr. Jim Ferry: Joe was puzzled at the selection over his recommendation. Jim and I picked Jim Ferry only because he has never been l!sed in a conference liturgy before and thought that Jake Randall would be more useful in Providence. The cJloice and the reasons for the choice were not communicated to Joe and he was puzzled by it.

-2Tom and Lynn Scheuring Here in communication with Bob Heyer about the article on Ignatius !louse in NEI'I CATI-lOLICWORLD's charismatic renewal issue. In the course of their conversations Heyer spoke about our relationships with him on the question of the magazine. Tom got the impression from Heyer that we think that everything that gets published in the charismatic renewal has to come out of CRS in South Bend or Ann Arbor. In the course of a conversation ahout the way in which conference content was planned I mentioned that Mike Scanlan was' there. At that point Joe mentioned that he felt that Michael was not a represen ta t i ve 1eader from the East. lIe sa i d that last year when Mike was invited to become a member of the East Coast Advisory Board his reply was that he didn't feel he was a pastoral le~der, but a prophetic one and would support the East Coast leaders, but he didn't feel he should commit the time to taking a pastoral concern with them. I mcntinn this because I feel that when it is made public that Hichael Scanlan has been invited to become a memher of th~ Service Committee the Eastern leaders will not regard him as a representative leader. I think we need to work hard at building better communication and relationships with Joe Brealilt and other East Coast leaders. It might 1)~ a very good idea to put Joe on the Service ComGittee as a way of es t ab Li sh i ru: the most direct kind of line of contact. Ifa decision is reached not to put Joe on the Service Committee, I would suggest that some very clear and re~ular line of communication be worked out between Kevin's offic~ and Joe to safeguard against the kind of misunderstanding that se eni s to he developing in our reLa t ioriship. Finally, I think we also need to t h i nk very hard about how our actions and statements will be perceived by leaders in the East. It's very helpflll as a starter, for example, to lealize that they interpret what we say and do as an expression of a consensus which we are supposed or imagined to have formulated in advance. The East Coast Regional Service Conference was a smashing success. The gathering 011 Friday night was very open to free praise. The gift of word of knowledpe operated very powerfully. There is a packet of healing testimonies about an inch and a half thick. The team, Rohbie Cavnar, Jim 1!cfadJen, and I) worked very well together. The impressibn of all the leaders who evaluated the conference was that the Lord spoke directly to them. Their groups needed to have the experience of free praise. In genernl they liked it very much.

.----_.-

Meeting of the Council March 17-19, 1975 Pasca~oula, Miss.

1'<
-;t( r

v(
Paul DeCelles, Simpson

Present: Don Oasllam, Ern Baxter, Larry Christenson, Steve Clark, Ralph Martin, Bob Mumford, Derek Prince, Kevin Ranaghan, Charles The National Men's Shepherd's Conference We do want books and tapes sold at the conference.

His Men will be responsible for a bookstore at the conference. Kevin and Larry will send lists of recooonended books to Dick Key who will see that the bookstore carries the materials that we want. His Men will give us the final total list of materials to be carried for our approval. The 1976 NMSC will be held at Notre Dame, There will be a Council meeting on August Indiana, 28. August 24-27.

Counci 1 Meet ing Da!us 9/27/75 - at Kansas City, Mo. (after the NMSC, until 4:00 p.m.) 12/16-18/75 - at Ft. Lauderdale (arr 6:00 p.m. 12/18, Iv the morning of 12/19) 3/28-30/76 - at San Pedro (arr 6:00 p.m. 3/28, Iv the morning of 3/31) 6/28-30/76 - at South Bend (arr 6:00 p.m. 6/28, Iv the morning of 7/1) 8/28/76 - at Notre Dame (after the NMSC, until 4:00 p.m.) 10/4-7/76 - in Philadelphia (air 6:00 p.m. 10/4, Iv the morning of 10/8) Three Streams Conference Charismatic Renewal Services New Orleans and Houston. We will make NMSC (9/27).

will do further

research

into Kansas

City,

I

the final decision

about having

the conference

after the

The l\'lI1SC funds will

reimburse

CRS for the research

costs.

Our R~lation Together As of today, we are beginning to relate to one another fu 11 covenant relationship in an underway comrnitment. a final comm i t me n t in August. Paul will dratt a covenant.

as if in a We would like to make

What we are looking for is representation of any part of the body of Christ sympathet~c to the charismatic that is in committed relationships. Bruce Yocum can attend meetings.

Pastoral Newsletter The Council will

support

"The Pastoral

NeWSletter". about how the new

Kevin will con~ to our August meeting with a proposal publication will be promoted and sponsored.

~lI~UTES:
f.'

Catholic

Cha ri sma t i c Rene waL Service 16-17, Indiana 1975

Committee

~

"U:J

MEETING NO. 7502, April South Bend, PRESENT:

Stephen Clark, Bill Beatty, Rev. Harold Cohen, Ralph Martin, Jack 13rlllllbach, Pa u L DeCe Ll.e s , Bruce Yocum, Re v . Kilian McDonne 11, Bishop Juseph McKi.nney, George Martin, Clem Walters, Bert Ghezzi, Kevin Hanaghan The minutes The agenda for meeting 7501 were and to approved without change.

C2.01 ~2.02 C2.0:3

was discussed

approved. on the following dates:

The CCRSC/BD-CRS agreed 7503 7504 7601
71.iU2

meet

7603 Kerry

AU~;\IS 4-5 (Ann Arbor) t Novc mber 10-11 (SouLh Delld) February 11-12 (Ann Arbor) rvla~1 13-14 (South Bend) September 14-15 (Ann Arbor) was elected not to !'~elllbership Service on tile Service Conun ttee. i

Koller

G~i!Je Meyer will

be on the

Committee.

BD-CRS memhership: Jack Brombach, Bill Beatty, and Hal Coilen were c h o s e n Service Conun t t e e representati i ves to tile GD-CRS.

~ .:~.r;; c:~. 05
C2.06

~

c~::j --"-.s:....~ Mt,_

Steve CLa rk will write a thank you letter to r c g a rdi ng the ad hoc c omm t t e c of b i s ho ps . i,

Ar-ch b i s ho p Eernard1.!C

}1'/7 ,

"'CCJL.SC wi.}..ycome up with basic p r i n c i p l e s Ln t curct i n., loud praise int~'-a-"'trllly balanced approach to wors h i p , 'I'h rc o walters which need t o be de a r t with especially are: 1) c a co phonv , 2) question of c.vnne c t i on between loudness and power, J) attention paid lu sLyles 01. leadership. Be r t Ghezzi is commissioned t. develop a statement un loud pr a i s e :'''o.r the cClue and to de ve Lop articles and tapes wh i ch will be helpful in t he situation. He is to co ns u Lt ,JiIlI Cavnar as a resource. Paul DeCelles and Bill Boulty will be l'espons"ible Jor relating Bubbie Cavnar and w i Ll. de t e i-m i ne a solution to the question of whether t o sell, Withdraw, ell' replace fr-eedolll in Praise. C2.07 tLl

It
<"'.

(' S't e ve Clark w i 11 respond to Bi s hop Pu r s ley in the name o I. the CCRSC 0 WillialIl G. Storey! s correspondence. Kilian !lkD()llJleli will p rov i de ) further Lnl or-mat i on r e g a rd i ur; Josephine Ford to members o f the h a e r a rchy w n o need t he Lnf orrnat r on . Theological study sponsor an annual conference for North American theologians,

C2.08

~\. :"J

"

The CCHSC will

f'.li. l)\),

lu.i



/\[111

AIIJur,

Mici1iljcH1

48107



(313) 7(jl-8505 April 24, 1975

1\lu::; L

P.O. Port

!kverend Leo Pursley Dox 390 Wayne, Indiana 46801

Dual' Bishop

Pursley,

As a result of a discussion we had at thu recent meeting of the Cu t.ho Li c Charismatic Renewal Service Comnu t t.ee , I would like to write y o u about 11)(: material Dr. Storey sent you earlier this month. We ire, of course, open to any investigation, theological or canonical, o I t he Catholic charismatic renewal. We encourage investig·ations and there h a vc Lee n a groat uiauy t he o Log Lc.aL studies over the Las t few years on tllU Catholic ch ar i.srnu t i c renewal. One of the most competent ones was 1.IlU one done at Malines this last year by a team of internationally known Cu t.h o l Lc theologians under the presidency of Cardinal Suenens of Belgium, anJ that study treats most of the questions Dr. Storey mentioned. I lJu J j eve we sent you a copy of that study, and we wou Ld be glad to send yOll as many more as would be helpful to you. seem to have in mind s cme 1II0re f orma I kind of au t ho r i t t e s . It would s e ern that s uch an investigation o4ght to begin with a s pe c i fi c.d and d oc uruc n t c d list of e r r-ors r-;<':J18rally taught in the Catholic cha ri smat i c 'l'Cllew::il.. We, and other leaders in the renewal, fecl_c~ pallt9ra_,LrcspOllsibility for sound teaching i 11 the renewal, but we cannot be fairly Ii<.:_ldresponsible f o r anytl~ng c ve r said. If there are -things which are being; ge nc ra Ll y taught which are ~J·l·ors or even harmful distortions, we would be very eager to.know what those were and how they are being taught and wuuld use what influence Wt~ have to change such teaching .
Lir •

Storey

does

i n vc s t Lga t Lon by church

.r--

It is unfortunate that [Jr. Storey used the mat e ri a Ls which he did to try to e s t a b Las h a case [or serious p i-ob Loins within the renewal. J~scphine Ford, as yo~ know, ha::; been a difficulty for,quite a while. Bur Lat e s t statement IS no mor e ic Lt ab Lc t hun Iter e a r Li.er ones. I believe that you had a report .sulnni. tt.e d to y o u last year that described 11UI' behavior and answered her mor-e serious cha rge s , If you did not get t he material or would like rno r e cop i e s 01' would like some kind of all updating or expansion, p Lea s e lot 1I1e) now and I would be glad to SC't' that k you have whatever material you want.
'I'h e TruC Hous e material .is even more unLo r t un a t e . To my knowledge, it is an isolated case, and we handled it as wel I as we knew how. True Hause is no more and the leader involved is not Lunc t i.on i ng as a leader ill the charismatic renewal. It is, indeed, a warning of how things could l!:u badly, and we have tried to t ak e it as su ch .

..
,
,

!lIas t Re ve re nd Leo

PUl'S

ley

-2-

April

24,

1975

You mentioned in a letter to Kevin Ran agt.un that you felt it was not r Lg h t that you had not been an f ormo d of the ma tt e r as the ordinary of the d i and that that i on Ll c t ",'<1 on the operation of the charismatic renewal in your d i or.c I kc.d Kevin to let me reply to your letter since tile matter was handled by t ho n a ti o na I service c onun i tt e e (The Catholic Ch a ri sma t i c Renewal Service Conuni t t e e ) , 01' which I .am now chairman, and not by the local group.
o ce s e onu ss r e o s e . a s

When the matter carne to our attention, we felt that we needed to do 'something, and we were also aware that since it was a matter of potent tally scandalous nature, harmful to ma ny people involved, we ought to do r best to h d it in a r that not cause any widespread knowledge of it. We did consult the bishop who we were in most contact wi [,11 and who does regularly advise us as a c oumri t t.e e . He was not, however, any more ,than an ad v i s o r'-o-Lh e ma t.t er was h a nd l c d by ourselves without his being present at the times of decision. On t h c o t h e r h aud , the spiritual d i re c tor of the main person involved was p rc s c n L wi I h us wh e n we worked o u t all dPPl'oach to caring for the s i t ua t Lo n . When we d i s cu s s e d who Should, be notified, he assured us that s i uce it wac; a matte!' of internal f o r uin and since he was the spiritual director of LIll:! persoll involved and also i:l p t who lives in your diocl;se,hL: Ld L~ike responsibility for the it t and there was no need t i Iy LJll; L)j::;lwp. \\'e accepted his
o u a n Le marine w..u Ld ri e s c o u s u a Lon to n o

'advice. As I hope is clear from my letter, 0111' <lesire as a s c rv i cc c onun i t te e be of service to the bi::oll"l'S in any W;IV, t h a t \\'ee call. We are very eager to provide any Ln f o ruia tLou we call tiled wo u Ld help yUll to understand h ow to respond to Dr. Stol'ey',,; l c t t e r.
ts
to

SlIICCl'l:' 1)'

ill

Ch

rLst ,

S t.eph c n 13.
Tile:

CL.u'J,;.,
c

Ch a i ruran
r v i cv

Ca t h o Li

Ch a iLsura t i c Tle newa I Se Commitl.ee

-c c

SBC:dc : Archbishop Gti o v a n n i Dem; Ll i ArchIJislllljJ Joseph L. B"'l'ltal'd,i,ll Bishop Joseph r. Cruwley Dr. Bertil Ghezzi Al'cllbisllUj> JC~lLl .Ja d o t Father Kil.ian McDollllell, O.S,B. BisllopJose ph ~kKi n nc y Dr, Kevin Ra n agh a n Leo Josef Cu rdi n n I SIICm)IlS John J. Cardinal \V l'igll L

... -..,.,~----.---""----~-'"~.----- ----~-.Coor-d Lnt or-s ' He e t Lng
..

}.j./25/75

to

III W b n T. t b i e wh ole :.)(:;,_,P-y '>'ior\{ a c c ornp Ll she d , I

C ornmun 1 t Y to IHl VC1 an want e v•.. ~I'Y person co

~1 UC,bi'

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(:1a

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b,,,

bo

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.8 (h:~ir"j to ,;(,(; my s aIve ti on c orre to this w or Ld , I W!.iDt to hUflr!,tH' anu t.h i.r s t for it, to pllnt a t'Le.r my power and \'JO.lJ:U. today. I Hunt 'l'OLl L;:; 30eak about it t o one W1oth6J', itJ~;'-' dream of ir;; at, n.1bbL I want y,'iU "Co be d ominat e c t.l dci:3LI'O to 3E:f..l all of my will done. I ILLll s e nd yon t o ur'!:; r.o t. td{niliLH' with .. I \,fill have you. ~»):)tj[;~{ my i OL'd to 1 1,,-,'.'<..: chosen to uc t; i.hr ough YOLl, and I w a rrt y ou to give
v
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you
.

to 10(1l!, .ro.¥' it, my \Jorkj~n,;! Ll tLd tn tbJn~ 11bout u['.d LJt)~,t.;I;j,JCld ;!itn

plact:>Jchuc j''>.l u ho L« nal:ioL~!.YL~~l YOu..!' Lave s !'OX'

t.h a t. ',;.)r'k~t'

P!:lS88f~8

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1:1

w or-ic tl1'1"Jl\!;h

t he

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3:7~l.3
01' v l s i o n of n ldI1cl,: ilt-JUDle, or-u e r e d w no n tLEJ 10DdeI's iL'u rn'c;u;:·tlt GO the 1J11.Q\{ the \,fk!ole pe o p!.. t o Cl'!'h.; ;ll.lie!(lj!·~i £OLd
Lhl':J,

sense

s t.ruo t : i';:.;d ..
t

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s uc n a w&.\r that,
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3L','('tl.I',) ,,1'

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will Lord , (Jrl)

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g ive t he rn to !no. l : no ~,j!J(11 u crlc t.he m, It l~; no ~"lD.l1 :~L!·t. ,.::,l,. I },[lVc! gLlien t hs t I c an wor k ~J.ttL r.r.«. , J., the IliAJ tJl1JL I (,t;,l, \ ..V) to
l!por'

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a se r I ous and not just
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liT h"vc; r;.,!.tt.' IOU;' vo i.c o IH::e that of b h er-aLo . I _181'0 ;:,f;,,<~ YOU}' voice Li.ko u LJ':ulpet;'. And it will be he ar-d from ,)r.8 e n.l OJ.' uhe u,<!'C\1 to the 01.:1181'. I ~JiL: :3p0,-U r.Iuo ug h you to w ho Le nat.Lon.r : ~-nld <:Ui',)U,f11 )':.,: a s p Lr-Lt of t.r ut h an d c o nv I c t Lon will s e t t Le upon t.flUm \t)~> L:~.r·Otlt!b :l0~,L I will make tJ s o ir Lt 01' t r u t h and judge me n t to foll OtJt/;6 e ur t.h , I'R""y .'", >'~ t y 1./"11 •. l~v t v-.J.. you ~('''.ja ·fOU ..~ .i no oe d, if' they con t he v wl lI idJ.l y o u , But rely on me, I'o r J, Lv1~L: En .sp e a k T.,i'r·':)Ut~r; vo u l,.Ji t h pOWBi'. 11
v

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,A sense t'r cm Lhe L011d. Yotl o r a v Lnz and l' astir g .~j:L',:JUld be free 'i"?"pI'uyer (DG)
0 • lit $ ~

s ho u Ld spo ..J.<

;j

[~r'eat

d,68.1

n~OT~ .. :
i:;,)

enough

to r e sp ond to

~:.'~1:::;

III felt toe Lc.rd wan te d you to b.J his mout.hp i.e ce ; tel ::Ji'::':' E.:';: to bur-de ne d he ar t s, to s pe ak vJurds of r-epenc ance to lc},leI'8 or n'~ci,or::.g and to Le ade r s or' c hur c.he s , Ht; Viill s t r-e ng t no n you.f'o(' t h.ls ar.d ;yOU shouLd yie Id to his word Ln an und Lrni.nd s he d vlay II (Jl:J)

s t'ronge s t sb ou.t Ra Lph - that his !f(;:1>:cslI t s C'10~'t'.15tt,) '., " d ~., v "·8·1·'1'..... _1 irn to 0' h And' 1,,,1+- t.ha t be Lnz ;tqC_t :'"";'f .•,,,~,H 06f;..!...I,1, '.r;nnj~ t\ 0. Lor Q..L.~ t.J .Lv .~ "' ...., .~ Has c11:30 most immediate for rtalph and it means a sign:1..:f'icEllli; Gb,:(:,~(~ L-:l r-e s uons Lb Ll.Lt Le s in the community and in ClL~). Re su Lt i.ng in (j ras jc. s c he du I l.ng c ha nge 11 (fW) IIFelt
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liMy s on , I have put my Her'd ui t.hLn y'ou to p:r!opl'kl.!,'i; arid ~JaC'L·~i:j I h av e called YOL.l to it, I .,,:ill come a n.: tijJ:.:l, sHay i'r'om you UiO d o uht s , 1'\HLr'~1' Lnse c ur-Lt I.e s , he s Lt anc Le s and tLwldH;y you exp6}'itHlca. And I1[J1'L c as t them. {20m you and set you I're e to s e r ve me with b c Ldns s s , i\ (HC) HI have put my word deep

wt t htn you,
to tho

Speak

'i..-t;

ou t ;"
P,,'Of 2',

(h.101)
':/

n~3peak

my 'vlord;

spe ak my w ord

pe op Le .•

to
int

HI'

•. ;"1i
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'" ;i

pe op Le , Rally the troops, your' mout h , Pr cphe c y 'iJhen speak :ny word when r give
n •• It
••

ca Ll. my people; on. I have put; mJ ,h)hil you .I1:'e ti.r'e d and \lhen you "':r.·t' ~:iL~'()l'lb~ it to you. I (DC;)
unci w l s d om to
1. es

o

LLrG

~..;J'

S'C('ong sense
:,[,OJ!i::,tic c oru.nun.l t.y
t,

quickening Lns tght of your remgrd,ng OVal'

:Len

CJVt:l'

Cioc ~c

1";')1').1",
;"r~)

the

people

of

God (HLin

to

::-:,-:;JCi"Wtl)I,

1irrhe kind of' p ro phc tLc gil'l~ t ho Lo rd has V.;:!:.V6;2 ::}",):.... .1 .•.• on., uC vision, i.e'J knoH:i,J1b ""ld 8a.:!in!~ ~r;.vt; t h« LCIL'd \I,.()-,~,; .,'u'" (., in t he w or Jd , or' in ti( y o t hur s t uuat i on , Kno«linr. :,n,1 '~t[tiH? ,-i,; Tord "s ooint of' view a bout L hi nJ;':J • "I also felt t.r.ct the LOY'd ~J£1nts t o work t.n r ou.th f~ lot ;, L:.'e in prophecy in day to day ~ituDtions. He W8n~s you to Idt ~OG8c ~nd Ie t his word come for t.h a lot mO:CB II (PW)
. ,..

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w

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ar B give n , II
t\.!' you

an

.:2.Q~.,':: DE i

t beL
(

36DSE.J t.h a t going on in pr-ophecy for' you -- obedience t. the Lord or d

IF)I:1d t

U.c'.,cYI

o

:~p8

L:: cui.

mer-e ;"rh8t

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y.u.

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even

idea
( Jl~/)

t he L01'd ~htrlts your vision. to be :l.llu) Ill.::! ~ e s p e c L» i JI he ir a n t s p ar t Lo ua La r Ly r'o i- this ·urrJ'r)l.l.L1 ty" (ou,·,tlO1.11c e x ue c t h Lrn to g i v.. y o u 'lt t eru I v:L ions to a c c omp lt an L ;',~~, \Jt;:r'k '1'J'L1 '~';}:;[;t you wo u I.t r e c e Lvo the Lord's vl s i.on lor U~{ v,<c.l:J vuJ'Y Stl'O:!i3 to ,:,,,)~Ii to see
UI1Bt

III felt

Doug; III want y, u to believe in my power ab w ork ::'1: .ou , BI'oli::en be me nd o d and w o unde d souls ma de who Le Be 1:5,0\lC,i In, rJ:Y P01rJ(;H' (,HC)

b od t e s w ill rely on It.''

power'. 'di.th let YOLU'soIt'

"Do not bold b~l(' k in s erving me. I g Lve you both these we ap o na '[QU. can o ve r-c ome c hely on my- power' be held bQCk~b (0I)

1'8) U\ and
b110
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n..t.

"Phe Lord al.s o Sf.dd to me that he has given yo:. ~ gift .. f' pre ac n i ng , ,.) ne a I and t ur-n m.m ' s hearts to him, to .l6~: s cvt a , l':rrj C.:1.Li':, :.)OCfI80rlO e Lse s har-o d about YOUl' leading a n tn'f,lY of man I X'e.tllly i\3J, ;-rElEi l'ight. 'l'rJO:J0 important Ln the Lor d t vt 8S O':btH' Lc he has {s -t1 ve n "rn'~ /.q (r~~\l\f j \,.} ~,.
T:tilnV~-l are as s ew s er v e,
~I' l'

"". ~armointing
E,!}
Llr-my

YOlU'

hands
foy'

I'm" he a i Lng and
the Lord ;."

\HH"e ••

1.-Jollld

leRL:.

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o

war

and

v

t.ct.or-y

(32)

~Jtrn :
III have set YNt on a e Le a r pu t h , Do not be h Lride r-e d or Lu;;.1.t::!tt.> path T ha v e s o t you on. No o bs t.u c l e s w i.'l L be in yo ur wE/Y., \-J&.L~.{ I hn va set you on ," (J'C)

I,,)

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t ne

l,t·:u

n8t.L

"My s on , do not sny any lonr,er 11 arn Lnexpe r Le nc e d ; I tl(a :;rOLEl? ir. t h e wnys of the Lord'. I am gi ling you () s o ir i t of w Ls d om ~.1nd ie ve r st ion tiflyond y our... ye ar s , .••• 11 (RC)
liT will shine t.hr ough you thL1 cLe a i light of t he knoulacige 01' people to see my p ower 53 ru Lr-r.c Le s a r e v.Jol'kt;c) H.l'Ol1g1! YOl.1.,. I \:U(]!,; ne ople to see my love and c omp a s s ion L\::l broke n D:j~Hc;s t l 'J h,.11.11""d UT·,ld' 1 It·, . \~.,. \.. .. 1 :J;llu'HHlas~ wan my W1SGOm t o S!lmJ 101'tn t n YOLu' s pc ec n , J.. ltJ8nG you to re ve a I to men the t n Lng s I re ve a I to you. II (8'1)
.;:.id"

I want

I

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J,.lhat I am about with you is raising up a kingdom where I am the Loz'd a.nd. I am 'the mas t e r , and I am the king" ~Jhat I have done with y:.. Ls u made you ci. t i.zcns of the kf.ngdonr.of God" What I have worked in your lives is ro t r ausf'o rm you inside and out: so that you could be c it izenn of my k i.ngdom , and so that you could proclaim it to the nar.Lons , In-

vest yourself

in the work

that

I'm

doing..

Invest

YOllrself !..!omple 81y

in the people that I am. raising up. Give yourself completely to myse lf and t o my k i.ngdotn, For this is wha t I am do Lng : I am bringing abou t a k ingdom, that men vJill see and come to know that I am high Li.f r.ed ut. and that I am seated at the right hand of t.he Father and t.hat; I ilU tL:., Lord. The tugs tho "the pulls that you f e e I and t.he ide s Lre s that pu I l you. other YH::!yS are not from me, Come to recognize and unde r st and rhat some of the troubles that you experience are just the cc.is cqueuce s of your own desires and your own incl Lnat i.ons . Lea rn to r':':"o-::nizc th em more quickly; Learn to see whaz i.sn I t of me" Learn to rac~';gnixc; vnat;
I am calling you t.o , And invest your se Lf completely in t.ha t , for
cL.::";

me, and my call, and nty k Lngdom , you ,-.ill hal2 Lerns and less has s Ie s-o-Lf you simply d8C lac to follow me and yourselves completely to wy work , COllie. Follow me, Come, Lnto living stones and into a temple" Come.. Be t.ru Iy b tilL as Sir10WS and bozses are put together :LitLO a body , He f o rmed j n to my k tngdom, Invest: you s e s .ornp Le t e Ly , for I am am high lifted up, and I have given you the privilege of 1.::\-.;.':
r l.ve tho

you recognize

Les s prcbg i ve: ..~ .• Be; bu i.i r. Lo~,.;.thi'.::r , He': m" :.1.0.:
Lo rd ,

1-

Gull

of

following me.
Happy .rr e they
are t.hos e vho

-+who hear
c a LLed

Lord and r e spond to .;.L ~ Ha~}:,. yes to ;J,ld ~\.·,)llGU patrls.When. I gave my word t o il.'loses and he c a I Led t!;f: peo;J'~G ou, '~l)'By saw miracles that they hilli n eve r seen bcfo re ~ Th Y tu rn eu G Ll.ngJ.Q:L: upside down, ami 'Were fol1c.\vLlg h Lm to a new Lt f e , They ::32.1.1 t.lu ngs Ch2.t: were talked about for g~n~rdliuns,tha£ would mold a peopl~, tllQl would bring them. f a i.t h by t he t~11J[!g of the cleeds , When J cal Ler !fi,'l disciples) they did not know \.,iiat they wer e ge t t Lng into, bur; they foll.:.,~-,{.:q me and they s av nn rac Les . They saw the dead being r a.i.s ed Co Li f e , 'i'th';lY saw demons being cast OUi., They saw the sick being he aLe d , They: '3,'.J multitudes being fed. 'I'hey saw life and they responded cc .i t, Tr!.rc,.:')1~ out the generations I have given my call to people" 'I'hey have ~\ai..:l yes to me and vth ey have r ece i.ved my Li.f e , And, yes ~ ruy ca I I L; COhUXgclre

are

/or d of by Cud
and

the

who

say

him

ha

s

out to yeu~t.Jord o f Cod ,.. fvly call is to you: be the p eop Le Chat 1 lL].'\I'; called you to be. H8;:;Plllhi to me. Follow me, Give your whcLe s e Lve, rc rue. Lndeed , have not :i caU.I.:,..1 you to be light to rh e na ti ons ? 0:.•. ·/2not: I called you t o r ec oncLl e the wor Ld to myself'!' t-LlV':: not I called you to bring all 1l1'c\'Jd.n.d 0 ruys e Lf'? Yes, ; this is my e a.Ll, to y ou , 1Iord Qf God. Be ruy vo rd ; be the p eop I. I I v e called you to be ~ Say y0:~ t:,~; me <> Happy are tha:tl} that he a r his wo rd and say yes to h Lm , Hei.s f a i t.hf'u L. in a I 1. the thirt);i chat he ::lay s ~ He is f'af.t.hfu L, His word t s t rue lie vJiIl (10 :i l ~

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or

GOD and

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A
~~ Prophecy to Ralph, given by Cardinal Suenens

5/14/75

"Take courage my son. I have called you to give your life tor my Church. Walk out on the waters. Open up to the wind/of my Spirit which is blowing. Don It look at your ieet but at my smiling face. "

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Dear Trio, ·"1 appeal to God to witness what I am going to say. l,s.t.akemy life upon it. .We are working .with you -C;r- your own happiness" ..."...~ II Cor. 1 :23 Or rather we are working with you for the happiness of the Church. Coming back again on our covenant - 3 and 3 - with Kilian as bridge (and Margie) I dare to say before the Lord that our being "one" is a unique grace God has given to bring the Church - an institution - at the very heart of the charismatic renewal and to bring the charismatic renewal at the heart of the Church. The danger for me is not that you overestimate the charismatic renewal but that you underestimate the grace the charismatic renewal mean~ for the Church in all the dimensions. I see the charismatic renewal bringing a new life in the sacramental life, in the liturgical life; in the pastor~l ~nd social life of the Church.
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But there is one condition that the charismatic renewal should be not near the Church, but in it, fully in it. Not by a bond of loyalty, but by a bond of identity. Th~ Church has to be charismatic and the charismatic has to be part and parcel of the Catholic and Apostolic Church. We, I mean the 3 of us, offer to be with you that visible oneness already realized. An icon of what the Church and the charismatic renewal should be in their deep relationship.

:

'.

T come to you as a humble servant, with one question: how do you see I can serve you best for that purpose of oneness. I ask you to answer this question on your side later on in a letter from the States. So that we can realize the dream of the Lord with the renewal of the Church at large and extend the grace of the charismatic renewal. We may not be a reaction - a ghetto - I offer you - we offer you - to be instrumental for the catholicity and the holiness of all the people of God.
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I proy our Blessed Lady whose unique word in the Gospel was "do all He will tell you to do" that she should inspire you and teach all of us how to obey the Lord and let the Spirit blow over the land over the whole ecumenical land •
. .;.,,'

Very affectionately L.J. Cardinal

yours,

Suenens'

Rome

14 May 1975

----------------------~-----------~--.~---.-..

-

J.
RENEwING THE RENEWAL Outline of a homily d~livered ~t St. Nary's Chapel. Ann Arbor MQ.y 17. 1975 Introduction Pentecost mean~ that the Spirit w~nts to continue pouring out His gifts even more fully on His People than He has lnthe past. For our part, we must dQ whnt we can t~ render ourselves more receptive before Him. Na.rrRtion From our ,~xperience ~8 individue.lsin community, we know thRt the Ch~rlsmatlc Renewal is the best way for us to r~ceive the Spirit's eifts ann guidance. But th~roTS more good ndws: Abp. Quinn (Okla. City) a few weeks ago wrote up the Theological Rep~rt on tho renewal for tho American Bishops in which there 1s pr-a Ise and afficial enc our age rue n t Qf Our W9.y as a good and valid way to the Father. Nn longer i&" . the stanco that of Gamaliel from the report of five yrs. ag~. Yet the bishoPQ have three cautions, three suggest10ng for us. To their three. I'll Rdd one of my own too. Argument Each of the- bishops' concerns about the renewal is a WQy we oan correct our life-styles so as to be renewing the Renewal. Each "danger" or "exc e ss" is ,a half-truth based en a truth. ELITISM Truth ef our experience: God has ways. Half-truth f we, s r'e be tter than This problem is not reflected in in the way Charismatics behave toward examples from st. Thomas parishioners;

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dealt with us in mar ve Lcua other Xt Lan s , toaching at all. but rather other Xtians. PersGnal from Indian Xtians. in Bihar

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·.

BIBLICAL FUNDAHENTALISl1 Truth of our experience: God's Word is powerful. concrete and act ua L in our lives. Half-truth: we can literally and .unc.r-t tically interpret the Bible without reg~rd to scholarly nuance and 9.11 that is good in modern Scr.iptural Studie". Local example: women's roles. Without challenging at this time the teaching on this. I protest the effeots that many women, c;;speciRlly single women in professions but other!; toa, are made t$ feel like second-clnss c1tizens, like n1ncompoops, 1n their subordinate positions as these are concretely worked out.

III.) ANTI-INT~LLECTUALISM Truth of our experience: Religion 1s deeper, more personal, more emotional. more ~llve than theology because 1t 1s ~ relationship with the Lord. Holf-truth: relig10n i" reduc~d ta emotional experience and theology can be ignored a" irrelevant. Local exomples: Unlvereitystudents who vIew their w~rk hore at the U. as e.n oc<?upa.tlonal hazard fo~belng in the W.O.G./Snide comments that Hsuch-and,..such a preachertl is "t~o theolog1cal." At root here 1s an anti-Incarnat1onalism. ~ spirit of fleeing the world rather than le~vening 1t with Christ. AUTHORITARIAN rsn Truth of our experience: God communicates His Will to us through community-designated he~ds. H~lf-truth: this is the orily way that dec1sions and discernment 09n come; heads can d. no'wrang. IV.}

Pentecost

Sermon

Outllne--p.

2.
"I'

I protost the c ree p Lng f orrna Lf cin within tho community tho rlp;1dlflcat1on, cod1f1cation of ell of lifo 1nto "rIght" wa~s,of do1ng a Iie ost e ve r-y tn i ng , Hhat 1.:;cgnn a f:cee rnoveme n t. of tho Holy as Spir1 t 18 1n d ange r- ~f be 1n::; t~l\t~ n OY0r by the 0r(H.d opir 1 t , Concrete a bu ae g nc ed t ng uttc::ntlon--

1.) The btctlc of throl{ing pe opl.e out of their hc u se s , rlh1lo Individu~l c~ses mat m~ke this OCo:lslunally suitablo, the t~ctlc is wha t bothers me. '£1"11 B has nu ppe ne d to II number of pe r sons , arid oven more fe~r it may happen to them. As a means of s0ciAl control in a town w1th a tight real estate market, this is gr~Rt. Yet it 1s unChristian at the root and should "be only rHrely employed ~s a disoiplinary taotic. ~

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2.) The implication is given th~t heads may bind under sin. This ls not true. at l~aBt for C9thollcs. In certRin rellg1ou~ Orders and with the uunction of the Church. (tnd under very explicit circumstances, s t n Jn~y M the effect of d i sobed i ence , Yet th1s burden WRy not 1:>0 imposed by W.O.G. chiefs without further clli'.rificA.tion Hnd communication with ecclesiastical authorities. This 1s a means of imposing a burden rath~r than freeing us to rece1ve tho Sp1rit.

J.) Religious voc~tions and c~lls to. the pr1esthood are systematically discouraged. Males, females, Protestants and CatholiCS are uniformly denied support for So chcice the SpIrit may 'be calling them to make. The "good" reason heads give is that nowhere w1l1 the sSD1rant receive support as s/he does here. The "bad" reason smacks of-elitism--the Lord 1sn't working anywhere else like He's working here. These true/false points (I think both are false) still do not nega.te a genuine call from the Spirit tQ move on and out.
Digression My concern about the abuse of authoritarianism 1s increased by my knowledge that, unlike religious Orders which survive for centuries, every Ch~ri8matlc Renew~l Movement in the History of the Church hs s pe tered out and died 'becau se Qf au t hor r tarii'n he ad sh t p ,
He commend n t 1ons:
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1.) For non-heads: communicate 'with prudent brothers/sisters about d1sagreement with he ad s , Don't let the 1901::>01 "re"bellious" stifle a genuine insight. In the end, a head must be obeyed (not under sinl)·, but only after genuine discussion of diskereemonts • 2. ) For he ad s: 1/ By the t r fruits you sha Ll, know them." If, after six months or a year of he ad sn i p , your whole experience has been strain, hassle. d1sagreeTT11\ty t h subordinates, recogn1ze that your gifts .may wi l1e el~ewhere ~nd resign yuur position.
Conclusion The Word of G9d 1s too precious a gift to us »nd to the, Church t. allow these four abuses to lesson its effectiveness. Let u. strive personally and as a commun1ty to change our WlAy.. Augustino's dictum comes te> mind: "In points of necessity, unitYi in mattors of opinion, diversity; in all th1ngs, love." (Permission is hereby given to reproduce & criticize thl~ before ~ny audience except the news medi~. For the latter, the author's permission must 1:>0 expllci tly sought.) /7/'.,. .• ~ ../7 ~-c-t.<--d-r-r' , __);c.r_-:o/-- J~ ,..... • 'Willl~m J. Sneck, S.J.

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To: CCRSC From: Steve

5/27/75

At our February mce t i ng , I was commissioned to do something about coming up with a pastoral i?;uidclincs tilat the eeESe mig;ht issue for the renewal. As I looketl over the variolls materials I have, I though that we might do well to simply use as a starting point, the guidelines that Bishop McKinney submitted to the b i sb c.ps (which in turn were a :revision ot the guidelines I wro t e for us). Luc Losc d is a draft. Are these gUidelines the right basic type of ducument? (Feel free to make revisions

What revisions wuu ld you make in them? on the draft and send them back .)

Would you please send a reply to m~ by July 1st, so I can work on these before our next meeting.

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. ..
CATHOLiC CHARISMATIC RENEWAL •••

SERVICE COMMITTEE
4655·6 • (219) 282-2508

P.

O.

DRAWER

A ••

NOTRE

DAME.

INDIANA

.May 30, 1975 Statement on behalf of the Catholic Charismatic by Renewal Service Committee Kevin M. Ranaghan

(Kevin M. Ranaghan, Ph.D. is a member of the national Catholic Charismatic Renewal Service Comnlittee, and President of Charismatic Renewal Services.)

This week I returned from the International Congress on the Charismatic Renewal in the Catholic Church held in Rome, to find that sweeping criticisms of the Catholic charismatic renewal and the national Service Committee were passing across the bishops' desks and filling the columns of uational and diocesan weeklies. Willianl G. Storey, a former participant in the movement, has issued a rather broad disapproval in the May 24th issue of A.D. Correspondence. I wish to make a pr cl.Lmi.na ry response to his statement. The wonderful success of the Rome Congress and the warm welcome given us by the Holy Father as we v i sLb Ly p Lacc d th,is movement under his direction at the heart of the Church ought to be rea ssur i.ng to all Catholics. I know that the bishops receive critiques of all sorts almost every .1 ly. Wi thout wishing to enter into amaj6r controversy, I do want to present to the bishops and the public the Service Committee's side of the story. I would like to begin with several "general points and to follow them with some specific comnlents on the Storey interview. 1. The Catholic charismatic renewal is broad, diverse, and considerably ganized mov emen t in which a variety of ideas and practices are current.
.j

unor-

2. The national Catholic Charismatic Renewal Service Committee, which has a long record of open communication with fhe American bishops and the Holy See, attempts to take an overall pastoral concern f or the movement .and to develop principles and. teachings which may be beneficial to local charismatic prayer groups. . 3. In a movement as large and fluid as the Catholic charismatic renewal, theological and pastoral problems undoubtedly do arise. It is our opinion that occurrences of faulty teaching and practice when they have been de~lt with by the national Service Committee have been handled intelligently, responsibly, and in conformity with the Catholic tradition. 4. We are sure that the work of our committee, as the work of all the dedicated men and women in the charismatic renewal, is nbt perfect~ It can benefit, as the whole Church can benefit, from constructive criticism dnd from the pastoral direction of the hierarchy.

f'

5. The Service Committee has always cooperated with the()logical and hierarchical inquiry into the renewal. We would continue to welcome theological, canonical, pastoral, etc., inquiry established by competent ecclesiastical authority.

6. Dr. Storey alleges seri.ous theological and pastoral mistakes to be the belief and practice of this Service Committee. Our belief is that these allegations are basically ill-founded and seem to be based on misinformation and impression rather than on fact.
7. Perhaps the most unfortunate element in the Storey critique is tlte threat that the Catholic charismatic renewal at the level of its national leadership is iuuuinently schismatic. While I find this personally offensive, I also believe it is perfectly groundless. It is our conviction that the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in general is char.'1cterized by a more than average, active fidelity, loyalty and obedience to the Roman Catholic Church in its hierarchical authority, sacramental life, and spiritual tradition. While aspects of the charismatic renewal may be controversial, may demand vigorous debate within the Church, and may need the corrective discernment and guidance of our bishops, the overwhelming majority of participants and leaders are deeply, personally and totally committed to the Ca tholic Church., To talk of schism as any kind of real possibility. is in my opinion l->atelltlyidiculous and highly irresponsible. r

Since each of the bishops has received a copy of the Storey interview in A.D. CorresL'~I~~dence,I would like Lo make some specific responses to some issues raised therein. 1. Dr. Storey alludes to a serious moral sLt.ua Lon pretty widely known within t the movement which was dealt with by the leadership but was, he says, concealed from the local Ordinary. This statement.is so misleading as to be erroneous. The f ac t s are these: the national Service Commit Lc:c was asked to advise a local charismatic group ell/Outa serious moral problem wi.t h.in the group. The question was raised, is it the responsibility of the Service COIllil1ittee inform the to local Ordinary? After considerable discussion.the Service Committee agreed not to directly inform him for two reasons: a) a local priest who was a confessor and spiritual director in the matter insisted that such conununication with the Ordinary 'Was his prerogative and responsibility and not ours, and b) we were subsequently assurcd by members of the local group that the auxiliary bishop, the vicar general, lhld beun i nformed of the situation. We: did, however, directly advise ill !>j"Jp .Jo se ph HcKinney, the Service Committee's episcopal adv i.s r , who regularly o handles liaison between the Service Corrunitteeand the hierarchy. These being the bets, I wish to deny that the national Service Committee sought to conceal t h I.s problein from the local Ordinary. All imp 1 Lea tion runs throughout the Storey Lnt erv i ew to the eff ec t tha t the l\~"J..:rship and their commun i t Les are hypocritical. It is suggested t i..1 t 'oil.! bdJ' and do some things in public and o t.h rs in private. e That we put on •. II.p1.1:.,; ! uf authcn ti c pLe t y for bishops and theolugians, but engage in highly ; .••. ., t 1 ')i,.Il> 1I.! pI.! rsonu 1i t y manipulation scssLons in the' secret recesses of our ;.;~,·,.,ii.l'. t t rLbu t cs a deviousness to us which we deny. The basic teaching '~:,~.:, .••. 1,:,,';"11', , <.lDl)ul life in Christ and in the Spirit, about: practical steps ~ .r .; ~.,: i·.~' ()d'btLlll life, how to deal with t cmp t a t Lon , how to deal with the "J :',:i, .. vr cng doi ng , how to work out right Christian relationships, dl: ,,'" "~<"I;!"rl;:llp in p raycr groups, communities, households, etc., have )
.i :., ~ •• : •• 'w

l;oIll,)1\,11

')

all been published in printed form or on tape cassette and are readily available to be studied by anyone wishing to do so. 'I'h is does not· inean that there have not been abuses in certain areas in the brief history of the Catholic charismatic renewal, what it does mean is that a) we have been completely open about our positions, b) we have labored with considerable effect to correct abuses where they have oc.iu rred , and c) our theology and practice have been available to any people seeking to examine them. To the I,,·:;t my knowledge, which is extensive, of lists of "spirit-f: lied" or "spiritually authorized" priest: confessors, the psychological man i pu La ti.on of the "b re.akt.hroughministry" and any .La rge scale preference of prayer meetings over the Eucharist have never been widesp.read in the Catholic charismatic renewal and do not presently exist. Certainly they do not exist in the communities to which the members of the Service Committee belong .
.~;:.

3. Dr. Storey is uninformed when he says that the national Service Committee is a small, closed group of seven persons. The Service Committee is, in fact, an expanding group involved in a process of growth to keep up with the demands for p as t oraL care in the renewal. The rapid expansion of the rc uewa L coupled with changing pastoral situations has led us to expand and to seek. to be more representative of the movement as a whole. The members of the Service Committee are:

Mr. William Beatty, Augusta, Georgia
Hr. Jack Brombach, Ninneapolis, Minl1l"ciota Rev. Harold Cohen, S.J., Chaplain, Loyola Uriiversity, New Orleans, Louisiana "Nr. Stephen B. Clark, Ann Arbor, Michigan Dr. Paul DeCelles, South Bend, Indiana Rev. Thbmas Forrest, C.Ss.R., Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico Dr. Kerry Koller, San Francisco, California ~rr. Ralph 11artin, Ann Arbor, Michigan Dr. Kevin Ranaghan, South Bend, Indiana Rev. Hichael Scanlau, T.O.R., President, Steubenville College, Ohio The Most Reverend Joseph McKinney, Grand RapiJs, Michigan, Episcopal Advisor Rev. Kilian }1cDonnell, O.S.B., CollegeVille, Hinnesota, Theological Advisor

4. Dr. Storey allel;;esthat in the ecumenical communities of the national leadership there is a gr. "t dilemma about the Eucharis t. There is in fac t, no dilemma about the Euc La r i,s c , Hany Catholic prayer groups an"dcommunities regularly celebrate the Eucharist together. The ecumenical communities of which he is speaking clearly state and support the teaching of the Catholic Church on intercomrnunion. Since members of these communities are also members of local parishes and"congregations, it is there, in those local parishes and under the authority of the Church, that they celebrate rhe Eucharist. To imply that we are non+Eucha ri.s i c t or otherwise anti-sacramental because we do not celebrate the sacraments as independent communities is clearly wrong. He are highly Eucharistic and sacramental in conjunction with al!J as members of the broader Church to which we belong. This clearly must be seen as a sign not of schism but of integration.

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5. Dr. Storey alleges that we promote in our Communication Center Catalogue fundamentalist Dooks on exorcism or deliverance from evil spirits, books not 'in conformity with Catholic tradition. He singles out books by Don Basham and Derek Prince. It: is possible that such books were sold at a specific conference in response to a bibliographic request by a speaker. However, the books of Derek Prince and Don Basham on this subject are not now listed in the Corrununications Center Catalogue and never have been. 1 say this not in any way to criticize Derek PrLnc e and Don Basham, whom I believe to be outstanding Christian ministers with much to say the whole Church, but I say this as further indication that- the Storey interview is based on faulty information.
tll

It is also ill~founded to say that we actively promote a Hutterite style of community life through sale and promotion of a particular book. The, book, "The Joyful Community", is only one of many books and tapes on community that we ca rry , While it is an interesting sociological study, it has not had any significant impact on the formation of charismatic renewal communities. There is much more that could be said and that probably will be said in the days to come. This has been intended merely as a preliminary response and as an indication of our belief that the criticisms raised by Dr. Storey lire grossly exaggerated and substantially unjustified. Hay I reiterate the upenness of the Service Committee to constructive criticism from all quarters of the Church,and'our willingness to cooperate fully with competent ecclesiastical investigation of this renewal in general and in particular of those teachings, publications, and events for which we are directly responsible.
.ib ou t; the Storey interview

"'-m"~"~
,

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Thoughts on Community (for hcs to do) Needs .

l1:'11eollt;0hng are things that I feel we should seriously consider as needs of f the community. They are all things we would have to make time fot. Probably the three of us would have to take~ the initiative in them. 1. l:riority N1
I

Before we can see what we can and should do for development, we have to be clearer on OW' basic system and see how ~ we wUij;over all the bases. We ought to make In-stjx priority "getting tt tog ether r r , especially: 1. services and the district system (splttting , getting new heads, etc.) . 2. common finances (work it out so we see wrat kind of resources are available to us materially) 3. adequate scheduling (we ought to understand better how much time different things take so that, for instance, we know how much time it takes to a) raise a family bi have a household c) be a district coord d) have a disciple e) etc. II. Things me community needs

1. We ought to be thinking about and studying tile ecommrc situation and possibly the political situation. We are headed a) into a serious depression b) possibly a significant Lr eakdown in the technological society we all take for granted c) possibly the breat tribulation. We ought to think about what this all means Ior the future of the co mmunity (and other communities in the country), I feel there is some urgency in this. Xk Related to this, I feel we should be Ul!inkin~ about the political situation in Washtenaw Cty. We are getting more and more pastoral problems because of the policies of tile govt and the social changesxxX.~ (e.g, approaches to men-women roles in the schools). 'We are also getting to the point where we could have some influence on the situation. It might pay tCthink about it especially in view of the impending distr-ess. 2. We, as head coordinator-s, seem to need more time than we have for creative development and r e-etructurtng of things. We are always behind .. We are doing fine with our paste pastoral rcsponstblhties, but I wonder if are getting behind on some other basic meeting of problems. I think a organism as complex as our COll1111Unity in the modern world needs more. Significant research and thought ard seeking tile Lord. - He lated to this: it would really pay for us to do a headship study and some other kinds of studies. 1 think we could train heads more quickly if we came up with a clearer approach. Maybe also care for people better. 3. I am feeling the need for sone kind of training of "teachers", i.e. people who think a ~~ and who ~ do teaching. The community does not have much intellectual for mation. ~orne of tile younger brethren particularly. are susceptible to getting ae rtousty affected or even picked off by currents ' in modern thought. Also, we could use mo re teachers.

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4. An old prtorrty, one that we have not yet gotten to, is "doing things more spiritually' I. Healing could work better and mor e consistently among us. Answered prayer could too. We want to ser ious reconsider reinstating the old individual deliverance sessions. \Ve could probably get rro re distance out of prophecy. We do need revelation from God in these times. 5. We have some thoughts sitting around on freeing people to do some important Christian service: '
J - evange l'18111' - developing minority group leadership - special services (doctors, mercy) - relating to pastors of churches.

I

A
~

and ou trcach

III. Things we ~vant to cIo outside of the cornnullity 1. Relating to (drscipltng) other communities - already much discussed. ' . 2. Helating better to the other churches in town. It wi ll take some investment, if we are to do it. Two things \V0 need to consider: a) investing some time in relating to pastors b) Iravin , some people study to get ordained. 3. HelaUng to the Catholic Church at lU:I',;L!. 1 think ,',Ii] are prestlgtcus enough now to get mer e of a nearrn.; in tLe: CatholiC Church tnan we have yet. It would probably invoive ~~0inc; to SOlYH,:: iil';';l:tmg;s. It might arso involve some direct efforts to CO:_ll,iunicate. Helatl:.'(i to this: it doe s scer-i that tuc ,:aUJ.OUc CllU.CC11 u:~,}.(ard probably worldwide) is under heavy l':L'01"a,~~tnda about \'lo::18n1:.:; roles. ibc No one is speaking out. yo, u piobal.ry uUsllt to, if WI.,; can. That too would take time.

Conclusion:
I know we can't do all of UJ.8 above. I do f0d though. What does tile L01'.:.l want us tv do,

'v,here

a need to s0t SOfWl priorities, ar e W(;)headed ';

BY:

RM: SBe:
Ron G:

EG: A co~ple of comments about the enclosed: !
1) There's B rumor going around that I.asked Fr. Sneck to write a rebuttle for publication of Dr. Storey's charges. Not true: what happened was this: members of my household heard Fr. S's Pentecost" sermon (or heard of it) and brought it up during a household meeting. Thete recollections were couched in very general terms, but it seemed clear that Fr. S. had reservations about the way headship was exercised in the community. Next time I saw Fr. S. (after a 'l'uesday Liturgy) I asked him if he had read Dr. S's interview. He hadn't. I said that I disagreed with Dr. S. in largest part, but that he did raise what I considered to be a valid a~ea of concern, namely, authority. I said I would be interested in Fr. S's reactions to Storey's criticisms, and that I thought he (Fr. Sneck) should make whatever criticisms he had known to the coordinators •
. •• 1i.



~.

2) The enclosed is what came of this. You may already a copy of the sermon outline.
3)

have

My

own views: a) We should try always to react to the criticisms we receive, and not to the criticizers. A criticism may be given in a bad spirit, and may be largely inaccurate or unjustified -- but yet whatever element of validity it may have should be seriously considered. b) I think the most substantive question that Storey raises is the question of authority and its use. I don't like the way he expresses it, and I don't think his "data ba se II (True House) justifies what he says.' But I think the issue he raises is a real one. b) I think Fr. Sneck's thjnking is heavily influenced by the people who go to him with their probdems. While this may give him a skewed view of the community, it nonetheless gives him an insight into some real hurts that ar~ perhaps not otherwise expressed. d) I think that both the theory and practice of authority we espouse should De examined; theory:-I have difficulty seeing that IIsubmission is not just a peripheral aspect of life in God's kingdom; it is in many ways constitutive of the very life of God h Irns e Lf'v " (Fire on the Earth,:) There is an element of truth in this -- but I th~~k it is receiving undue prominence. ("Heresy is truth gone beserk." I think we're pttin~ to be i heretical.)

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(theory, continued) - I have difficulty wdth adapting 1 In 1:19 • to r-e ad EJ nd mea n , "How ca n you say you obey God, whom you cannot see, if you do not obey Y01jr brother, whom you can see. II (SBe, Jan. Adcomm r-e t re Again, I think an element of truth has been blown so big it is no lon~er true. practice: - I see (or'h~ar of) some heavy handedness in the exer~ise of headship. (NB: I've never experienced this myself.) I suspect muc h of t h i s is due to inexperience, but it can be a persistent problem, nonetheless, g:iven the need for continually creat.1nc; new head s for increa s inl~ numbers. Perna ps my difficulty is only a difference in judgment: I tenri toward <? relaxed style of headship that overlooks small things. But some of the punishments I've heard of (eg, docking people's allowances in in-common situations for :infractions.of rules) strike me as someone getting carried away with headship. - On the part of community members, I perceive a larger preoccupation with headship than is healthy. I don't have the historical perspective to know if this is a new thing or not. Some of what I perceive is a chaffing under headship, sOme a frustration that heads aren't working things out better for them. Sometimes their problem is a logistical or communication br-e akd own (eg, in getting permission to see a girl once a week.) Sometimes ·the problem souilidslittle, but looms big in the person's life (eg, do, the heads: approve of the clothes I wear.) Overall, I'd say its , an excessive preoccupation with headship and getting ., approval.' , Irion' t e nc our age people to corne to me with their problems (unless they are in my household), and I try to support the community in any discussions I have. Nevertheless, I do get a fair' share' of spur-of-themoment encounters which reveal dlsattisfaction with crnnmun:ity re~arding headship. I thus tend to believe that Fr. Sneck would hear ~uite a bit of disatisfaction in his confession and counselling work, and I thus' bel~eve that tt~re is more disattisfaction abroad than the coordinators know of. I usually (almost inevitably) advise people to tell their heads how they really feel, and most often c;et a reply "Ilm afraid toil or "If I do, then I'll be typed as a pr-obe ern person". I therefore suspect that the suppessed disatisfaction is more extensive than thiought.
'

4) I donlt particularilly
, '. .. !. \ ,.;

agree with,Fr.
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THE

UNIVERSITY
PSYCHOLOGICAL

OF

MICHIGAN

CLINIC ST.

1027
ANN

E.

HURON

ARBOR.

MICHIGAN

June 24, 1975 I1r. Ge orge Martin Dear GeCiirge,Peace of Chriiltl As ycu requested, I'm sharing with you a few reflectien,. about the storey-Ranaghan eXrohange, and about the functlenlng er authflrlty with1n the Werd of God Communlty. Yeu may haye thl,. Le t.ter c.pled and. dlstrl but~d· to whcmever :yeu wlsh. Let me fIrst refer you to the enclosed hemI1y eutllne : • ef my Pentecost Sermon. Unfortunately. the tape copy didn't take tee well &8 this wl1l have tCD be a ,.eoond-best. I have been struok by the reactlon te It: applause f~r a full minute upon its completien;·· uniformly pe s r tive comments frem non-heads; unlfermly crl t1cal com.' ments from head,.l As a psycholegi,.t, I nGte tho phonemonon of ,.eloctive P8rception by my cr1tlcs--orltlclsms had mainly t. de with page two rather than pa~ one, and with the opportuneness of my addro,.,.1ng the Npe~ple't rather than the leader,.hlp. I det.ect defen,.1vene,.,. arGund the Issue of authorIty: naturally enough. ef course. In addi t1en, I had an Interv1.ew wi th ~lary Ann Jahr ever the phone about my foe11ngs as a psycheleg1st c~~~eR~~liRSI~£O.G. Unfortunately, all the critical comments got .di~ed-wtttA y the pos1tive remaIned. Perhaps you can resurrect her note,. ef our conver,.ation as further input inte this issue. I should ,.ay that when I preached my homily mn May 17, I had no idea that Dr. storey was about to be publishod in ~.D. Corr. the follOWing Friday. As Kevin pointed ~ut. Dr. Sterey get-a ber of h r s orucial facts all wr&ng. NeverthelesliI, I think that Kevin falls te re spend to the two main po·lnts raised by Storey I grow1ng auth.r1t •• ianililmand a f~8t-1Gose and fancy-free dealing r w1th intimate confidential matters. Though I have no nat1enal persoec t t ve claimed by.Dr. st"rey, I d.e gee evidence ~f these tWit abuseQ all tel) prevalent wIth1n the Ward of Gad. A flnal po4nt about the homily: •• those attendin~ n0ted 1ts pos1ttve and constructive tone. 11 The reflections I offered Itre derived from a genuine love for the Renew~l and the persons I know in this Commun1ty. Please read these remarks in that same spir1t. .
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num:

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*

Santayana, I believe, notes that "thQse whlJ do not kn~w h i st o r-y are condemned to r-e pest its mt st.ake ;." From my understanding a ef h1story (see especially KnQx's Enthusiasm). the reaSGn why char1smatic mevements 1n the past floundered and d1ed 1nstead af $urviving fer centuries like religlous orders stems from an abuse of author1ty. of headshlp. What beg1ns I\S an extraord1nary outpour1ng of spontaneous worship ann living gradually gets rig1d1fied and codified, structured and legislated until alternat1ves are imposslble. Now I see emphasos and trends developing in this community. certaInly not ameng the ~ajority of the leadership, but among an increasing minorIty.
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T,lIr

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';1
CLINIC IS A OIVISION OF THE INSTITUTE FOR HUMAN AOJUSTMENT

PSYCHOLOGICAL

1..•• ', .••

George Nartln--p.

2.

Whereas the intent .cr the 1ienewal is ~u crew-to sGITletNJlF'm81c. t?e atmosphere of the earliest Christi~n Communities, llioreApeop~~ s expe r re nce around here ind 1Clio! t ha t wh •••. te a t wcs' r e c r-e a t Lrig 110. seventeenth century Puri tain Erig Land rather than first century Corinth. '1'0 repeat: tru s 10 NOT the e x oer i ence of most, but of ~n lncre.sing and unnece ssarl1y-sufferlng mi ncr i ty. 'I'hu s , e xce p t for hls f4ilctual e r-r-e r e , I found. mo s t /of wh~t Storey stliys ~bout il developing splrit .f authorl tAri.nism, a t oo w1de d Lf'f'u s Lan of Lnt mra te per acns.L information, and a replacement Qf ~l.ss by communi ty e xe r-c Ises true of what's h.ppening here in .the W.O.G. 1tem--while my sermon speaks of the tactlc .f throwing people out of hQuses, I could h~ve really been inflammatory had I mentioned the threat ~cme persons h~ve received ~f being spanked (ladults n"w, nC)t kidsl)or being l<tcked up 1n a dark basementt Item--many persons CQJlloto Fr. Charly and Jlle for counR.lln~ and say they dQ SG because if they tell their heads their problems, it will be noised about at co-urdlmiltcrs' and household heads' me e t rng s , There is at sense th~t confidentiality does not exist in this communi t y , He ad s' met t ce s seem to be a tl-listedsense of "What I to 11 you in secret, preach from the housetops." When I mentioned these f~M~s to Qne head. he replied that such trust exists in th~ community that pe(l)pl~want their heads to share informatl.n and discernment. My experience, r9ther, is thet for those suffering really difficult stuff, too much is known by too many with little oensultation of the sufferer, .nd deCisions have til fait Qccemuli feeling. when defensive heads have told me that my persp8ctlve is twisted because I see only the problem people, ~fter a vigoreus denial that I a ssoc ia t e only wi th the maLc errte nts--'Rfter 61.11,11 I say, ~'m speaking with you now, aren't 111"--1 reply that my pe t n t is all the more v·a11d because of needless suffer1ng. Item--more peep Le than I Cain count have told me that they can't come to daily MMos or even tho Tuesd~y Community Eucharist because houRehold dinner st••. :promptly at 5:45 or 6 P.N. At least rts in Storey's article a prayer meeting p~e-empted Eucharist; here 1t's meal-schedulingl . George, I could write more than these fOUT nage~, but I ve ve u here a flavor of mv c ence r-n , I'd he ~lad to expand en ~ny point, to respond to criticism, or best of all, to be shown that I'm wronp;. But my foMtr rather is that. a ns tead ef hearing and learn1ng from Story's and my criticisms, these in ch~rge will rush to the defense .f their styles of au t he r t t.y with Scr1ptures in hand , ready to br and us rebelliousl Nay be ne t , though: aftor a Ll, , you did ask for these co~ments.
1Z'1

~.

'<JfjJ

-:«

Let e Lo se by restating enthusiasm for e growing pains. me invGlvedto in it. n mywhat I'm worried for each person -,... phase be gotte through •
}lay
fl.

the llenewal and .b0ut only be

.Jinceroly,
~_
r:
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~

c....( ~~~-(!./.;

William J. sne ck ,

0 S.J./-

...3_

TEE

,A.,·

WW

CHUI1C~: A (;C' WrER CllLTUPE or IIIn the world, but not of it"

I. The Church and Culture A. What is culture? - 2. we b of va Lue s , cus tcms wavs of 'lookinG at things, d orng things embodied 1nl Lns t t tiu Lon s as \-IIe111 how oe op l.e 11ve t 2.8 - 1 ife al :'J. .ys has a cu 1 tural ex=r-e ': :310n; culture 1s ne ither ne ga t iv':' nor positive in itself - yet, culture, in the .J.i[;ht t he 5081"el, 1s almost a Lway s negr·t.\·" of or positive
j

B. The body of Cl1rist does have andshould
11fe

have a culture reflectlHt; it'.:
t '.e culture

C. The chui ch at tln::e in hi story has s naped s

of t ne wor-Ld

D. Oftentimes

the pagan culture

of the world has shaped the church·

II. The 'Cassin;-of Christendom
A. "Christiah Ame r Lc a" founding fathers IIn God we t.r-us t. II I o ffi(; lal rr':1yer ho.jbla ins ,c
B. T,.Jas ev=r it
f

Chrittian? oudd i ng f'a t.he mur-ky Chr'stiiinity (Jefferson, "'r.?nl-:-1in, r-s etc.) - The American spirit (of comDet~tion,individua11sm, private rrooerty, gettinG aheAd) In God •. t r-us t? re

c.

the situation now : a rude awake n i.ng - The Supreme Court de ci s Lo n s ; prayer in schools, abor t i on - anti-Christia~ presGures in the schools - an t L-Chr-Ls t.Lan rress1:l'es in cus i ne ss , :'rofessions (doctors, Gists, social wor-ker-s etc.) Vietnam, water~ate The New faganism

PS:YC~lC

III.

A. VestlgeH of Christendom bein~ ripped away - Catholic Fr-ar.ce Lt.a l y , La t i n America , - Protestant America, England, Scandinavia B. Decline of the major C~ristian churches - no reason for joy - last bulwarko against anti-God, anti-life forces in world remov - secular humanism, communism; persecution of Christians C. The new international paGan culture - experiences in Austrail la, Italy - anti God, antl Authority, anti wen-women gay lib) ; the spirit of the aee ( distinctions (wo~en's

'./

r

...

IV. Our Resnonse
A. One t.e nie nc y : "Ho ld on to CI'lri1-~te'lc1(l':lll prayer ':~IT'e;,:J.mp.nt, abortion nmeY)rJment - "pr ay for America" - need to be ac;gressive, in not ;:;1.vinc; un r:,round, but can It io/' ose Ci·lri8ti8.nTTlor~"llt.\' or pr:'ctices need to ev~nG~lize Lefore morRlizlnv '" :.J _

ree;ainlng on fJa~an

ground; s oc ie ty ;

B. Another

tendency: IITd\t11dr~;,w f r on thr> -ro r-Ld " - s t r-ernrtn.s i.nd we,3.1-"nesc:P8 of "r::ll~ttoll ar-pr-oac h , the Am i s h , e-tc. - "f'Lmda!T!ento.llst cu l t ur-e " - need to be tn the wor-Ld but :Flt ufi. t, but not withdraw' or rno}:'::! oneself If ser;::lr'.-ite" in unne c e sr-s.r-v \'/:lY-::: some t m.ngs in \'\Torr.pns,l\l no ma t t erv:orld
1101'1

C.

Ano t he r- appr-oacb : "Hode r-n c111t ure 1. s r ;~ht" - some tl1.~~r.~·.;s ir; uic-Jer-n c u l t.urc ar-e richt;

.!L

e.c;. are right but, much is wrong, end. we need t o see t ha t clearly, unpopular many ma j o r- churches c::.tv:i.n~ \n to '-·ressure from the ras i c ductrLes, rno i aLr t, of trl','" r·:o:=:rel II the f'o Ll , of letting the 1'ic'r lrJ set .ru r 3.l3'e-r:da"
a Counter Culture

on 011e

v.

The Church:
~

'A. The world in the Church: the n~ed for ourification - s e n t Ime n t.a I Ame r a c.an i s m (C8.rdlnal ~:;pellman} church-state S L.; C u L..•. huu.e.n ism r the Amer a crn her i ta;_'.' (.'LrJd i vt dur. I ism, de moc r-ac y J egali 8. emerginG bodies of Christ - love and forgiveness (e~~n~~lical-charis~atic

confusion)
t ar- ran

- Catholic)

l.l.€;ht

in

t he

--~.---- ,---~ -

.•.

------ -~------------

--

-~------

__ ..

The Ln t e r+Cormuun f t y !load Coordinators Meeting (The People of Praise and The Word of God) June 30, 1975

Ca rd inaI Suenens and_,LSS It a the I' than make a decision

discussion

of ecumenical

in haste about LSS, we should approach ii r s t , Suenens

aim at a full

We should have a discussion with Cardinal should sublllit to one another. Conference of the two commuE.ities (The program was prepared.)

about what we and he

Federation of the communities We will prepare a document that includes the statement of community order and the interrelations of the communi ties. This will include something about men-women roles. We will mail it to the different communities early in Sept .. olJer " and talk with them about the relationship and the elders meeting. In talking with other co~nunities, we should make it clear that entering the relationship would involve initially subordination to some other community. It is OK to enter discussiollS with Work of Christ, God and God's Delight. Lamb of God, Mother of

Steve will write Kerry about tho federation
We will bring up our plans
Ra Iph will

before

the next CCRSC meeting.

at the CCRSC. Suenens
a bou t our. plans.

commun i ca t e to Cardinal

We will invite Ruth~rford and Providence to consider the federation if they might be Ln t e res tre d . We will not invite Children of Joy, bu t we will communi ca t e with them about it. NMSC We will communicate pur concern about the Whole s i tuation to the Council. Perhaps we will call together a nweting of national leaders to discuss it if Derek and 1300 would approve such initiatives.

Supplementary Meeting Aug us t 12, 1975 Elders meeting We will only invite to the meeting those seriously interested in moving towards the federation of the cOllimunities. That means that their coordinators (not necessarily their communities) would have to be agreed to move in that directiun. PP \'Iill communicate wi th Servants of L'ig.h t. , Alleluia, « nd God's Delight. WIG wi.l1 communicate WiLlI Lamb oI God, M,J!.llel' of God, Work o f Christ, Providence and Ignatius House (as above),

------ ---~-~----~-P.

WORD OF LIFE ...
O. Box 331 •
ANN ARBOR,

PUBLISHING

BOOKS

AND TAPES

FOR THE

CHARISMATIC

RENEWAL

MICHIGAN

48107 •

(313) 769·0863

July

1

;/
Fr , Charlie, I w an t e d to formulate (m a l n Ly for my sake) c onc Lus i oris I came to dur-I nn ou.r t a Lk the other mir:ht be helpful for me to share them w i.t h you, uo to da te on one [mot he 1'1 s thoughts.

,

/'17 <;

some of the day. I t houz h t it just to k:eep us



~irst, I wont to re-affirm that we do have a commitment to work t'_)··:cthcr w l t h you in serving tho Cu t h o Lf.c members of the co:nmunity. 'l'bo r e is an overlapuin·; conce.rn that requires our combined efforts to i:1.3U]'8 that ue ooLe receive the care tile Lord wonts for them. I am :'l[:(i \:!'!Jt so' fe", difficulties hav e arisen over' the ye8rs, and I want to S(;~: t h a t t h a t continues. I am .~3W'O that He will encounter some areas of llis8i~r~)Grr,ent, mLs undc r a t a nd Lnrt or tension; when human beings are i:;'lol'leci, such t.h i ng s ar o probably unavoidable. But if we are serious a bo ut; s or vLnz ono<"lnother', nr ob Lems c un be handled. We're serious about 'Aoy'dn' t h t n.rs t hro urth 'tJit!l you u Ll. whe n di.fficulties come up. \ve want to be awar e the t h i nr;» you t.h i nk ne e d to be talked through. I know t n a t 'rod Ln t e nd s for us togethor' to s e r ve h L:n and his people: He are C811itted to settle for nothin~ less than 8 solid, supportive and mut ua LIy s t.r o ng t he n i nn r o La t Lons h i p with 3t. l-lar-y ' s , ~-Je "r e willing to s t e o b8C~ a nd look at things; to repent or chango course where that is r i)'lt to d o ,
I

of

Second, I do t h i nk t h er e is a c urr e n t problem with IICathol~c life" 1:1 t he c c-rnun i.t y , ;':0 ha ve be e n discussing this a bit lately, and we are lOJ':in:'.~ for the 8YlSHor. As VIe a[[rood lost ·leek, this •. Ls n ' t easy to·, ha nd Le jn 8S t hor cugh Ly o c umen Lca L 8 situation as ours; but I'm sure there are answers available for us.
. .:.:.
,;, I'

'Third, I t hi nk t h a t we hove s orne problem. now with headship as it is exercised on some occasions and in 30;110 p Lace s , 1:!hen yo u have young ~eople h8ndlin~ heavy r~sponsibilitios - mistakes Get made. We are c o nm i.t t e d t o ge t t i ng these t h inr-s work e d out. And vJS want to help n,3 0:) Le who h a ve d iff ic ult Le s be c a u ae of he adshi p pr ob Lerns • 'There ore s orne f ac t ors vrhLch I think important to keep in mind in e ve Lua t i n.: the \'JI101e s i t uat Lon , {<'OI' one t h l ru-, most of the people who e nd up h av Lnrr difficulties w Lt h h oad s h Lp in a significant \0./8y start off with difficulties. That major problems develope is not usually a s uror Lse to us. I don't mew" by this to take back what I have already said about r e a L p r ob Lems e x i s i t Lng in t h: \-ray headship is exercised. 3~t it is important to be Dware thot people who have problems with the headship e x e rc t s e d in their rc!~ard frequently have caused some :Jr .ib Lerus t herns e Lve s , 'I'he r:e .i s usually bJ6 s Ldos to the story. And both h av e s o-ie t h l ng Le g Lt.i mat e to say in most c a s e s ,
CHARrSMATrc R,::" .'

~ ~


(

r

WORD OF LIFE ...
p, 0,
Box PuBLISHING BOOKS ANDTAPES FOR THE CHARISMATIC RENEWAL


s anLar

331 •

,ANN

ARBOR,

MICHIGAN

48107



(313) 769-0863

A n e c ond c onc e rn that Ihavo Ln vo Lve s the "Cut ho Lt c Li.f'e " in t;18 c on nun Lt y , You r e f'e ru-e d to a o.ne people as IIsuper-Catholics". I t hi ~~ t t.a t is a c;ood a nu Lys Ls 01' the reality. Iliy concern is that we •. not be me a s ur-e d in the depth or sincority of our Catholicism by the t d 8 t i c u Laroa ch to Catholic Ll.f'e or devotion •. Once 8~'.8in, I do t h i nk 'vIe have to mak e some creator' efforts in this ure a i :':t.r.e c ou.nun Lt y , 1;ih8t I am ;,ayin2: h or c is not intended to t ake b ac k HhcJt I s a I d e ar Li.e r • But at times I hO'JO bad the uncomfortable feelini.::; triac s orne pe o p Lo I'e e L that they can do t e r-m i ne wha t is Le g Lt Ima t e Ly or I~:~;'lu.in(;ly Catholic in terms 01' t.he i r OVJr1 de v o t Lona I style. I don't t l. i n~{ U18 t a o p r: 08 Ch Ll 0 i the r 11 Cn L h 0 LLc " o.r c a t 110 1i c •
of oar a ppr

I !'Joul~l like t o re ue a t my c onc e r n ior the situations you have to t.h , Ploaso foel I'r-c e to c a l I me \'Jh(~nevur s ometb i ng has to be t.n Ike d t hr o ugh , And if it s e e ms t ha t [I parti c u Lar situation really C(;,sCPVt33 d Ls c ua a Lon , p Le os e a s k t!1O »U~l':Jon if you can talk it over '.-:it;-j (110. 1: d on t t want e i t he r OJ' ust;o a vo i d dii'l'iculties - let's face
cic81

H:

t:.r'J

.~ 3:1(:

~'iul'~{ t

hen

t

hr

cur-h

in

tho

Lo

rd

,

~<[jVthe

LOI"d

bless

you

in
1'01'

:1l1St nr.v e 8 f"r'L!8t

a I'J'o c t Lon

over''! '.-ILly. I a .. convinced n y o u •••• your
~

that

he

br other, 'locum

BFuce

___________________

C--:.:,HARI'iMATIC r{EN.'

WAL

SERVICES,

INC,

.. -

~-"'-

·---- -

---------~-.~. -----------.~ .--

..

Gerry Rauch 7/13/75(at GCG)--I ask you t.oday, wi.L, you serve me? To~_, cone Lder-c-wi.Ll. you SeT' e m2'? You must decide to se r ve me. Ivill you leave behind everything else in your LtG in order to RE:J've me "d.tn your 'V} 10Le life? 1illiat do you hold ont.o-c-f'ree time? occupat i.on? :(r.Lenuships? rno>:y? iL':'~voui-ae Lf. I ask you to decide no.'! to serve ill":'. Dec ide today, come Vlitt'" me, S81',C, with me. l'L.nt:y ~vilson 6/23/75 (in personal prayer) --Many of you are fighting j_11 my battle, you have put on my armor and x.r-e eng~\;~,;d in battle. I am 'Using you for myself. There are many I am t.ra Lrring :'01' b:..(ttlt.·~nd I L'Lli equIp i nr, t.hem , Continue to teach them and help them. HuL my ~,(J.del'10 many are unwi.Ll i ng to fight. 'I'ney are r-ef'us i.ng armor, l'<';J:'t,.:.:i.ng d ire ct.Lons 'Jut they still say they are f'o l l.owi.ng me. They 'have been trained, C;i'Jel1 e veryt.h ing they need but they ,iill not figll t . My leaders, shake tL<ftl up. HeLj, t.heu, to see where they are. I am behind t.hts "WI'1\: you are do i ng . E,VE': .my Love but he b Ld, for my kingdom needs these children to grow up and be my warrLors . I Love you and I am "lith you. Hilhelrn G/23/75(in personal prayer)--I aLs o felt the Lord asking me and pea-haps mor-e members of t.he BOl!Y to pray ].:O!.'e Pe ihap.: 'rJe cou Ld boldly for the situations "Ie are learning i.cIJOut around the wo.rLd , ,n,:;.f:i.t from a teaching on the powe r of intercessory prayer.
1
kid

I3f:,·t

Ghezzi '7/2/75---

When you are co! -i der i n g wh at t o say to lile c o mrn uni t y In the n e xt rno nt h or ';0 in tern-Hi of main teachings at C:;CG'::;, I wo u ld like to sug ge st .a e:C'lJ: c,)c:[.,le ',:of ::,:cc<ts v,":'.:h I think the Lord is working on. 1) 1 r hirik the Lord wants the whole: c or urnu n it y to gl<OW in giving a nd r2ct..:ivli::; affE:cLion,&encouragcment. I think he i s r e a dv to teach us rrio r e ab out it. Beb,:J. it I thin k, too, is X his desire th.u We lo s e OUT self concern a nd j<,Ce[) Ol.T c y os ,,11 11k interests and rie e d s of b rot h c r s and s i s t e r s . Ir s e e rns to me that heads need l,; SL:l. an e xarnp Ie in this area. 2) People (sorne p e op l e at leasL) n e c d to hear a review of Lo w j;,.:cLd!:;hip is wDrk;ng and intended to work. They n c e d to be e n c o ur a ge d to share th,'.~: '!-,'md lith t'.I.:::ir heads. When t he y ha ve fe a r s uf dis a g r c e me n; s , they should k uo w tilat they canX0 talk to their Z~:tt}fi.r,jvWh~;ll oi.he r s c o rn p la i n to t h e rn that t he y <U'C being (:<.::a.i.t xvirh b y x a head i,r~.hy.b !'5rot.h(~rs sh ould not be quick to agree--they should rath,;c ,:rlcoura~ the person to oLt;y t h c i r head 01' seek r cd re s s of any grievance thr ouuh the rl:.,:ln '-'harme l, The corn i nu u irv needs to hear that different rn e n and W01l1elJ exe r c is.. headship according to their gi{ts--sorn,; give 1'11.o1'e, S01ne giv~ Ie s s , SOIne do <.:l.cing.s differently'. Plul':disll'l is ok--J:mk s top c orup a r i nj, and look to t he Lo r d.; be ha s given you the head !Il.: \V;Hl1.!:) yClll to have. 3) Regarding the cOJilmUlll1.y s rn is s io n a) s o me people a r e unduly af r a i d tlf b e i ug s e nt a wa y (:no.t:x.. '1'J& ~cl~x 1,Ve s houl d encourage rhe m t ha t tile Lord will. not send anyone to the h ea rt of Far Awav .P.La.ces until he puts F'a r Away Places in their hearts.
1

Bfl While it is impo r ra nt th:cxx t o see the ca rl, first We should aIl grow in loving the Lord a nd letting Ll e Lord love us. One of the 1n05t il'npr.essiv,:; wo rd s that 1 h e a r t li e Lord suying over and over a ga i n is that he has U~ £ir~·:t in his th ou aht s , do \'.e have h i rn f i r s t in ours') I think we could l,::;e a major exhortation on k\Xx loving the Lord and t e a ch 109 on how to do it rnore.
i

Barb Shaul

6/26/75--j i;;
yet you to

'I'he WQ1'd I have s own among you has mu.Lt.Lp.l.i.ed a hundr-edr'c l d. You prc.Iuce abun.iarrt seed in JTOD.Y' fruit and tlJe f'ru.i, t may be eaten b~r ct ner-. thE.~ seeds pl a rT ,·\(l f or [;'~Oj"E; trees and more f'ru.i t , T([hat I ga+uer from you now., v i Ll, ~,ee "".).J much L'ui.t, I p i ck 'Vvi-ch gLadnes s and pride Ln I reap T:i:Hl1 ,;vY tkc t'att.hru.lness of a people. You 8rf; people. You have gr-own out of.' me , you aTe ]1'Y sons, offspring '. You are the of' labors.
l!iyr'ruit you. my fruit at my my' fruit my

Ivlark Coven-c- ttS we

In gelvl'al, I feel tlJe Lord is revealing himself not only to 118b .. t to the wor Ld r Ll., and tl'<J.t n.any people \\1il1 be giving their lives to him. I 8.L30 feel s omet.h Lng is li:.l.PDeH"·l:'~ vrithin the chuz-che s-c-pe op.l.e becoming more r ecept ive to tIlt" c' ;id;:;rL~1.'Lic r-enevaL cll: '. waking a deeper comnutment to the: Lord. I have tieen sayang to you Is rtrue , and I want you to wri.t,e it c>!, y ou r t>.'m·;,;'; u'i.'; .ve it upon your minds, and use it. I \Vaut you to know arl-lo.::;lL-;ve me when I Si:.L.J' "J. :Wl the Resur rect.Lon'' and I wnrrt youLo Li,ve "lith that kr ow:l.edgG an.I live in that power ,
hl';,;.
ELnd

Pr errt ice Tipton 6/3/75 (during pe r-uona L prayer )_ ... Also, I have sensed a couple: or' times, that the Lord is :U.,dicc;ting the COIlJTYl,niLf conference as an Lnrpor-t arrt time for The V!uL·d of' God. and 'l'he People of Pr a l sc ; a tj.!fie \,11en he: de s ir-e s t c "TCll'k power-f'u.l Ly , I f'e e L '-"0 though the Lor-d is .i nd ic at ing t.hat. Lt: (tLe conference) t s wor-tby of ow: pr-ayer-s EL)Hl I'e.st Lng, of' have called you rfle. va,) C,ll e.ic ount.e: Chl IJo!'J you)' Gud in a new way. I ca Ll, you to a f'e Ltowsh l.p and communLon IrU.l! !f,C"; l~t!i~t you have not yet experienced or known . And my ce,Ll goes forth to all '.J y.::;,~·-t(l th.:.'sc~ of Y<YLl v.'-L,:, cons i der yourselves the 1e118t .i n my body, to those 1'110 aI',,; cons Lder-ed g-Ccdt, For pr-ec i.ous and. beLove d in the sight of the Fat.her ar-e each of yuiJ. For my work Ln the world toduy requires that you LnOl<I llle more Jee'pJ y. 1'/1ywo r Ln the wor-Ld is se r-Lous arid t1'1(; things I now do are such s.s 'Jle 1:i·. ··.'t'l L~3 noc e :-. ,.
P,:'(;"le God> I to know I am caLLi.ng OO .1

are co-u.ng -:'1pO t.he C:[:.(tll £<uel Cli.y~ wnen my people wiLL have to lLOI'('; sc rr ous Ly C0l111t the cos t of i'o11u\i1.n[£·(L f,el''!:ir'i:' me. And at t.ho se t i.mes shsLl.ow ieLat.Lonsb i.ps w i t.h me ;311C1.1J.not :nsL:i:i.li you. linG the f'e Lkowsh.i.p w i t.h me that you now have, gOOCL though it may be . \.!j'i ..J. r.ot enab Le :,'\"Ll to endure and be faithful.
t.r-Lbu.l.at.Lon

An:1 if you know me Ln fuller
are tc

be

f'a i.t.ht'u t.o tlll: vrays. For t.iinec of
L

se

i-v i

ce

Ih~cVe

given

to

you,

dJ2!1

.v

-u

nee

I

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Bnrb Shaul 3/27/75--My daught er , tile 1'01')(1 0 i' Lll:Ls wor Ld i s pan sing away--'tnepdttCl'nS o:C Ld'c:, , t he manner of thougllt--i:ll1 t.hat, L<~L,)rtp;;; to t.hi s I)}'c,sent wor-Ld sYDter,i :Ll to be -Iorie 131;-3..) wi t.h . If' st:i.:LI. }lOJJill!:!: t.he s e worLd Ly pillars foe supoo.rt at; -rh,,,; tiv..,,:: when I cause tll'-;!Yl to t:J'1.Lli,bL) you wi Ll. fall, and you vi.l1 be .ioundc.I. " vO'J.h1 :-1:,\.0: none of pe op L even t ou.hi ng the system of this worLd, se that \/he.'l I c.ru:». .it to pass aw'dY, not 011<: u.i' yuu \-i:i.llbe haJ'lw:d.
you a['~ onto my

Franne

Van i.ce Ll i I am leadiI1i.!

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Beyond t.Iri s , I i'e Lt th;: Lor-d want ed me to shar-e a few t.h.lr.g s : 1) what I Le arn- d about foLLowl:'i:.£ o rde in La't t Le (fronl Dad, who was :it; :,tL Al'll<~V 30 2) h.,. the .LCJ1'ct ono re heu.Jsh l.p (the he ad over our mar:dhU.j h :1.'.;f_:iIWL', yet ttJ,: L01';: uses n irn to :~ive us tile wisdom \fe need); and 3) that anyone x.no t:..cs Q d:i..;,·.t'i.culi..y he ati.ng and. ac cep t i ng this \·[0 HI should not seethe silently, but chou.l.d bll'. to t.her r he ad or cocr-d.i nat.or ,
r s my for ye ar-e };

NancywfLsou 7/1)-4/75 (during persona.I prayer)--,/\1;this point, IIm not sure of the wording but I have ten image anda sense about (Jre" wha t" s next. The image is a mount.a i.n being r a i sed up above the c Louds-c--down bcl.cw ~G:..~ clark and. sme Ll.y , Fr-om this moun cain other peaks vIill push up ""bo'10O r.he c ~IJ)Uds but t hey 'tlill not be separ at.e from each other. 'l'hey are joined from bor.h bottom and from 1') :·idges that are to be but.Lt bet •.,reen. . 'l'he sense t s t.hat; The Word oJ' God has been raised by God IS power' above the pOJ.1l1t10.n of Satarl~ ~·[e may dweLi, in Godf s Lt glrt and holiness--it Ls pos stb.l,e , Fr-om GC)(11 s power 1,lOrking t.hr ough and t.n The T,{Ol·d 01.' Gnd more gr-oups of people vIJ_ll be b rour:;ht into the Dame place. God f s power Ls doing this. \'[e BI'e not to Le separ-ate and ".l"rle from them; T,le are to wor-k to join each other. Tbey are not to be us and 'vie O.!·V not to be them, but vie are to have union with them. I must confess t.hi.s is not ve1'Y clear to me. I will just pass it OJ, to you to do with it as God leads you_ Higgins 5/16/75<--~ The se are some prophecies and tmpr es s Lonc j~rve recei.ved over the Last ccup.Le of n.ont.hs . Praise God I can shaie t.hem , I don't think t.hey r-evea.I u,nychhlg t err Ltly new but. they testify again of the Lord's eagerness to have a pe opLe comrm t.e d , be Li.ev i ng and I·filling to respond to him.
I",;/;l.

I want you to gr-ow 1;ril1 need to believe. gl.'eater ways. Iii these hJn r-a i.s Lng up a LIghty trll.sting me-"<beliellinJi
T~ u;::.'J.
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up, to be he a.l.t hy and ct.rong , I vlLi.nt m.il l)eupJ_c r-e ady , You YeS, tne time Ls COIJ\intS when you v)'il1 Y!",ed.to trusrt me in Hld.y· days> 1 pr-epai:e YULIfur the times ahr.ad , It hi t.r-ue t.hat I nati.on . Inst.l:ud of doubt , then, put your lfilole: h,-ocu·t into me.

fu.gg~n;o 6/')c:. /'7',,_..;/i ::;>--Ezcki.e L ?8-37, especially 33:L-10 (speaking the Lord ' s vioI'd): I the Lord; oS wrath was nC?t. dire cLcd at us ,bLd~ at thew'orld and the .... t1101.:C Christianity Lt.be i-a.l.Ly I f'e Lt the Lord's word to us was '" to speak this wor d and prOC.Lb. ill: tt.i s t.rut.Ir.
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~"hi1e I 1,JaS at wor k t11 j 'I'I'he lifestyle of my pe op.L, ar-ound t.hem , tl
Lea Higgins 6/29/7'.'5--·This day I kept Se.(I[3:L rw

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"y, the Lor-d began speaking to me s i.t {"Lng> I:J,1;: nge . 'I'he y can no longer be S\'~:Y'C:,l ty

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The Coordinators Meeting July 15, 1975 . Setting apart discussion preparat0ry to the coordinaotrs' evaluation session.)

I
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,

(Preliminary

Comments: We are entering (or are in) a new phase in the charismatic and in the community. We need a somewhat new approach. The summer general community gatherings The Lord wants, us to focus on mission now. The topicS of the coming general community gatherings 7/20 - the m ssion of the community 8/3 .'- the beginning of the community consultation other communities G/I0 - Charles Simpson will speak

renewal

will be revised to: on relationship with

The talk on the mission of the community should give a panorama of the things the corrununityis committed to outside Washtenaw County and locally, and should be given encouragement in how to take part in the mission. We will discuss when and how to speak about order at gatherings Fall. in early
.~.

Comments: The prophecy last week said that we are not like an ordinary Christian community, but we have been set apart fer a speCial mission. We have fewer rights and more power. Summary of the meeting: 1. setting apart 2. the general community

gatherings

coming up

HCi,-:

Agenda

7/16/75
/

.. mmediate ~ items I - coords Gval session (approach/preparation) - cmty consul t ati on / - the S ur: scE,./ / - the :.:) ;,:arysgrQ up t .: Items needinc work cfhh questions headship finances who take in extending cfinances - churches proposal to bp seminary etc. daily mass, etc. church rels group - people getting married our resp Cl;, discussion engafred couples In view of the abovel - CI\J schedule Other ~ "'../' -

=

heads traininf peoples training

nrJh

traininc / c,--S

J..J

items svts and hrns it e hse I V~ .l./~ evangelism (businessmens,

drop study, statistics)

Proposals I some of the above items should fO to a study group or be given to a nerson for develonmentl
-' _~l~:±''OUP (~.~th~

- cfhh budget and policies (AC-t-other~.:; j xy.JC.i~ ;)· 'i·r) .•. - training sessipns - engage d coupibes (H,JG) some of the above mainly discuss at tile .~j .. 1AfIt'i/22 - community consultatioll ~7/29 - cfhh disc (headship, who take in) 9/9 - pe opil g'ettitlft e married

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I,A,I The Coordinators Evaluation July 18-19, 1975 Session

Assignments for coordinators
Ralph Martin will be set free from all pastoral responsibilities within the community as soon as possible. He will stop ~eing head coordinator in September. He will continue to be responsible for youth a.ctivities for a while to come. He will be free to speak and work outside of the community. He will live in the community and be par t of the community. Bruce Yocum will continue as head coordinator, but he will take more time for prophecy. He will develop a group of prophets in the community. Jim Mc~adden will be a head coordinator beginning also take time for healing and deliverance. in September. He w:Ul

Steve Clark will stop being head coordinator in September but will remain as overall coordinator. He will work on our relations as a community with churches and secula.r structures in Washtenaw County for the next year or so, but gradually become freer for work outside Washtenaw County. He will be responsible for developing the federation of communities. He should have more time for teaching and writing in the future. Head coordinators will have responsibility within the community, will not take on major responsibility outside the corrununity. but

I

Doug Gavrilides will remain responsible for the dormitory district and for minorities. He will take more time for healing and deliverance. He will work towards having more opportunity for evangelistic and preaching work. Bert Ghezzi will become the coordinator of the Northwest district will be split, but not necessarily right away. We will have only three university districts. the university area, probably to the Northwest district. The

Gerry Rauch will move from district.

District

size should optimally be between
100 and 150 people.

Districts

Comments: When district heads function well, it is less crucial in the district to know the district coordinator. Districts seem "thin" when they are much under 100.

for everyone

Summary of the meeting 1) coordinators' assignments 2) church relations

I

HCIVj

Agenda - ?/23/75

Immediate items: the new order and how it will be imnlemented directions for younger coordinators· cfhh questions (see last weekfs agenda) churche-s questiops " people getting married " svts and hms Ltehse, YA evangelism Fe I teachers The various proposals and developments of the -individual items on last week's agenda will be useful for this weeks.

I ,A, 1 The Coordinators Meeting July 22, 1975 July 29, 1975

Decisions

on "federation"

of communities

We believe that the Lord has told us that he wants us to be joined with ]he People of Praise and with other communities that he will add to us. We should enter into a more clearly defined underway other communities and woz-k out what the relationship we gain experience in it. relationship with should be like as

I

Steve Clark and Ralph Martin will be responsible for developing the relationship and will take responsibility for determining which communities we will enter into a relati onship with. The Lord has given our community some role of headship as a community. We ought to seek the Lord about that as we enter into different relationships, so that we follow his directions.
<,

We will have a consultation on entering into a relationship with other communities as soon as we can in September. We will present the following pOints to the community: 1) the coordinators believe that we heard the Lord as a community about this, and want to move forward in relating to other communities 2) a relationship of genuine commitment will involve some kind of submission 3) we will begin by entering the relationship on on underway basis and not make a more binding commitment until we have understood the.relationship better 4) the coordinators will be responsible for determining the content of the relationship and for determining with whom we will relate. Note: this last decision was entrusted to the head coordinators and decided at their July 30 meeting.

c)
I ,A, 1 The Coordinators Meeting July 22, 1975 July 29, 1975

Decisions

on "federation"

of communitie~;

We believe that the Lord has told us that he wants us to be joined with ')he People of Praise and with other communities that he will add [ to us. We should cnter into a more clearly defined underway relationship with other communities and work out what the relationship should be like as e gain experience in it. Steve Clark and Ralph Martin v4!-ll be responsible for developing the relationship and will take responsibility for determining which communities we will enter into a relati onah rj. with. Tho Lord has given our community 50m3 role of hoadship as a <;:ommunity. We ought to seek the Lord about that as we enter into different relationships, 80 that we tollow his directions. We will have u co~sultat1on 011 entering into a relationship with other communities as soon as we can in September. We will present the following p o i nt s to the communf t y r 1) the coordinators believe that we heard the Lord as a conunun t y i about this, and want to Dlove forward in relating to other conununitios 2) a relationship of genuine commitment will involve Bomo kind of submission 3) wo will bog i n by entering the relationship on on underway basis and not make a more binding couum tuu.nt until we have undorstood the.relationship bettar 4) tho coordinators will be responsible for determining the content of the rolationshi~ and for determining with whom we will relate. Note: this last deciSion was entrustad to the head coordinators and decided at tho!r July 30 meeting.

-----

----------- .._._---_.-

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Dear Ralph,

I want to share with you SOme thoughts concerning the first prophecy given at the Saturday ~jght prayer meeting during the Conference.
t; .
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This prophecy seemed to go by unnoticed, and yet may be an important one. It.began something like, "this is the full covenant that I am making with you now •••" The message is a calling to be a people of intercession. The idea of our being a group of intercessors through prayer and fasting is not a new one, and yet, I wonder if the Lord is calling us in a more definite way to recognize ourselves as spiritual intercessors. I think that the Lord means for us to be able tointerceed for one another with real power, acting with the authority of sons of the King. But is there something more in what He is asking us to do? Does He mean to bring uS into a new position of authority in the spiritual realm, as a whole body of intercessors? I don't have a clear idea of what that might mean, but it does seem that as we grow in understanding of our authority as sons of God, and as we learn in our relationships " about the importance of authority and submission, possibly we need to keep in mind a vision of the Word of God as a body of intercessors in a much broader scope. This prophecy seemed to present itself as a revision or fulfillment of At least, I thought this was suggested by the wording. our community covenant. Do you see this prophecy as intended to add a new dimension to our relationship with the Lord 7 There is another area of concern that want to bring up just now. I know that a great many women (possibly more so than the men in the community) have been slightly alarmed by your presentation of a husband's authority over his wife. I understand the spiritual relationship you described, and I know the truth of it. I think that everyone would benefit from hearing a woman speak about that relationshipfvom the woman's perspective. For the past five years, I have made a point of associating with and questioning married women about their relationships with their husbands, because I sensed something about it that I knew my own upbringing had not taught me. I can tell you sincerely that I did not like what I discovered· about Christian marriage relationship~; I was frightened of the idea of submitting to a "mistake" when the wife clearly had more insight or wisdom on a particular subject. But I grew to understand how the Lord worked all things out for the good in those situations. I feel very strongly that our women need to hear a woman speak about this. We have all heard exhortations to support our .heads; but I think that the concrete ways of actively supporting a head through submission need to be' taught to the body as a whole. More especially, the women need to hear it.

-

'.

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'.

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Thanks for your attention Your sister in Christ,

to this letter.

~-

--

Meeting of the COllncil August 10-12, 1975 Minneapolis, Minn.

Present: Don Basham, Ern Baxter, Ralph Martin, Bob Mumford, Derek Bruce Yocum Minutes The minutes

Larry Christenson, Steve Clark, Prince, Kevin Ranaghan, Charles

Raul DeCelles, Simpson,

of the March

17-19 meeting

were

approved.

The COllncil John Poole will no longer be part of our meetings, more responsibility for his church and family. NMSC Larry Christenson will give "The Need for Shepherds" will give "That the World May Know".

so that he can take

and Charles

Simpson

Denominational meetings will be held on Thursday afternoon with a concluding session at which reports on the meetings will be given to the whole conference. We open the conference for displays supervise the displays. and free materials. Bob Mumford will

We will not hold regional conferences unless there is strong indication that it will do good rather than harm, and any participation by council members has to be c Le areu by the Council. The SE Regional Conference is approved. August 18 is tile dead line for getting the book and tape lists to Dick Key, who will send the compiled list to us for final approval. September 10 ~ill be a fast day for the conference.
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Three Streams Conference (1977) We wish to proe-eed with plans for the 3 Streams Conference. We authorize Kevin to invite representatives of all major national charismatic groups to meet with us on the day after the NMSC to discuss the plans for such a conference. W~ will have our evaluation as a Council after the 3 Streams meeting. Our comm i, ments t Our December 1G-19 meeting will Our March 28-31 meeting will be Our June 28-July 1 meeting will OUI" October 4-7 meeting will be We will meet on December 8-10,

be in be in

in San Pedro. Ann Arbor. in South Bend. Pascagoula.

1976 in Ft. Lauderdale.

Our commitment together We decided tha~ the meeting
f ur t.he r clari ty on our

is not the right time for us to come to

relati onship.

\

'

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of our Lord Jesus "love one another as I

We want to obey the commandment
have loved you."
mc ,

(In 15:12)

Hoping in His prayer that we "may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in and I in thee, that they also may be in us, so that the vror ld may believe that thou hast sent me," (In 17:21) we pledge our lives to one another as His friends should. We pledge to serve the Lord togethe~; support one another's service of the Lord, defend one another, and to honor and esteem one another for what God is accomplishing through us. We promise to be reliable and accountable among ourselves, and to respect the order the Lord is establishing among us through our relationships, one to another'. We agree to be present when the council meets, unless excused for a serious reason by at least one other member of the council. We agree to take concern for and care of the financial cil, and one another's personal lives.
A.s the vlord of Gncl

aspects of the coun-

'-:(1'/<;, "TrCII \'.'hoc;p rtl o r v .lh0"0 thp f'(',=>vens rr.2I"t.,rl hv is the mouth' of babes and i nr aru.s , trou 1Il!'..>l. 1',I"II,ku (1 t u r v.o rs. U2l.""':"L U; U:y foes, to still the enemy and the avenger." 'vie ql or i fy Goe and prou.i se to be a bulwark against His foes. Believing "If the world hates you, know tha tit has ha ted l1i(; bef ore it [,<. I ;_~' > " -- ,A: , ", .' ·:·uJ' ')21 VeS to God and,one another despite obstacles thJt will arise. Knowing it will not be an easy task, we promise to strive to become increasingly one.
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8/22/7£

_To: Paul, Kevin, Ralph, Bruce. From: Steve Re: the statement on community

Jim order

Enclosed is an outline of the statement on community order and three of nine section. As you can see, I have a long way to go. I think we are in for a long process of working on this statement. If we are going to live by it, we do not want to simply adopt a draft. As I see it, we have an immediate need and a long-range need. The inunediate need is to have something written up that we can send to some brethren closely related to us so that they can see if they want to enter into a relationship with us. We Ilave the working document on relationship be t woc n conununIties. Idee ided to cleve lop the sect ion on basic commitment and on elders, because those two will touch on most of the stickiest issues. The immediate question, then, is whether this document is OK to send out. We do not have to abide by all of it long-range--is it OK for the immediate purpose? If so, would either Paul or Kevin give me a callan Sept. 2, so that I know if it is OK with The People of Praise coordinators, and if it is, I will send it out to our people and send you copies for you to send out to your people. Our long-range need is for a statement of order to live by. I will keep on working on this until the basic first draft is completed. By the grace of God, it may be done before leaving for Rome . If not, it won't be done until December or so. Then we will have a prucess of discussing it, probably beginning with the head coordinators. Here are some questions we have to keep in mind: 1) is the style OK? I mean in its main outlines. The current style is exhortatory and instructional with only enough juridical elements to be clear. Is that righ t? 2) Is the de~rec of depth in coverage OK? Each area could be developed at much g-reater length. I was wo ik i ng f rom the old distinction between constitution and usages. This was the constitution. We cou Irt come lip w i t h many more usages (or legislation). 3) Is the content OK? This is the most substantive question. I alii bas i c a Lly elaborating the approach of o u r couununity . I know there are options. What makes this current statement unique is the way it deals with issues raised by the 20th century. The basic ideal of communi ty is, I think, traditional and scriptural. A further observation: I think ou r communities would need a further statement of order or some further declaration to clarify what kind of community they are. This statement would do for a parish and a small conunllnity. Defining an ecumenical Christian community based on a covenant and taking in a whole county would be a different job.

-.----------~----- -----------.---

--

-----Cl

x

August,

1975

Brothers, Enclosed is a working document to discuss uur ro La t Lons h i ps together as communities. 1'11'.; working document is twofold. Version I is. the basic d o cume nt . Ve r s i ou II is the basic d o c umcn t with decisions under each provisiul1. Those decisions are ways uf implementing the basic provisions.

In addition to the wurking doculllent, there are a number of sheets which discuss some issues that relate to the wo r ki ng documents. They are de s i.gned to help us focus (Ill the issues involv<::d in esLablishing a federation.
These documents are not a f Lrm proposal. I am not convinced that wu ought adopt something like this. But L t dues help to have a document like this to work Jr"IlI. And 1 am rno re LucLi ne d to this than to anything else I have been au Le to e n v i s ion. to

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Lord,

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A 1. We are COMMUNTTY OF COMMUNITU:S

Document

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t og e t he .r in a counuun i ty of COll1lT1Un i ties, a covenant of love and s e rv Lce r be c au s e we want to extend that same brotherly love that we have learned to h a ve for one ai.. ,! .~r in o ur local communi.L I,:S to other Christi an s throughout the world. A c:, :.,,,,iLtt:!<i i-e La t Ionc n t p will bind us more firmly together and help us to o ve r come the tendency to only be concerned wi th uur daLly environment. A comm I t t e d relationship will provide a protection fa"!' us. COililTluniti~s, like individuals, can go off the path, and a community of c o rnrnun i t i.es can provide a protection for each Lnd Lvi du a I c ommun ty. i A c onun t t e d relationship i will allow us to work together more effectively in mi s s i.on outside of o u r local a r e a and to cover a nd give stability to whatever service 'hJ establish. A conun i tt e d relationship will allow us in a more uniLL!d and theref"ie stronger way to deal with the secular world and the pressures it can exert upon individual c ommun t I e s to depart t from I ui t h f uLnes s to the t e ach i ng of Jesus Ch r i st , A cummitted relationship will p rov i.de us the kind of order we need to be ready to function as part of the a riny of tit t, Lord to wh a t o ve r Il,; SlllllJIIOI1S LIS,

Wha t We Pu t

:i n COlli on III

be one about the basic are moving in as bodies. Wu t nc re t'o re agree to be one abo u : r ho vi s i on a nd call the Lord is g i van g u s , the basic order of our lives il,.; bod i e s , and the major lines of our t e a c h i ng and of our approaches to bui Ld.ing up our c ommu i t Les in the Lord. n
we

2. In order to serve the Lord t og e t he r , we have s nap« of our life and t he Lunduuie n r.aI directions

to

order tt, effectively c a ie lor our mi s s i on outside the comuiun it Les t og e t hc r watch lIV<':1" all service areas of the individual couununi t i.e s or t.h a t e Lfe c t. the () n e couunun i ty .
a re a s ,

3.

In

of the local outside of the areas of more

t

han

1, In order to care 1'01' aile a no t he 1', the counuun i ties will be eage I" to help ..ne another in whatever ways they call, They are committed Lu meet L a s Lc needs that ano t he r c ommu i t y n as .i I they have t he resources. u 5. Each individual comlllunity will be freo to guvern its internal life, subject only to the s t-a t emen t of couuuun i ty order and the decisions of the a s s e mbLy of heads of the c onununi t i e s . The c ounnu i t y of c ornmun i t Les will n not have the au t.h ori t y to aS5ii:;1I members of a n y couunun t t y or t he r i nanc i . l .• and material resources of any (;0!1l1l1unity lor uny purpose without the approval of t he elders of t na t c onunun t y . i

6. The community of communit f e s is open to pa rLs he s and congregations affiliated to churches and de nomLna.t i on s in the mai nst r-e am of the Christian churches as well as to un a fLi Lia t.ed churches 01' couimun i t i e s . 7. Each community is free to relate its own area. All ie Lat Lng of L1JO church-bodies on regional, national
by the
c ouunun i. ty of c ouuuun i ties us
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tile

COJlIlIJUlll

and
a

churches and church-bodies in or c ouuuu i t Les as a body to n Lnt e rnat ionu I will be supervised
ty

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8. The individual communities are not free to enter other c ommun.i i e s or groups t hat are binding t except of the cOllllllunity of comllluuities.
f
f

into with

relationships the pel'wission

with

!

"

The'Order

of

the

Relationship

9. There will be a regular assembly of the heads of the bodies of elders of each communi ty. This assembly as a body will be the heads ove.r the community uf c ouunun Lt i e s , They will wat ch over everything that is put in common.
I

There will be a he ad for the community of communities. He will be t n e head of the community of communi ties and 110 t of the individual communities or ,,{ the head elders of the Lnd i vad ua I communities. He will wateh o vel' the life of the community of c ouunun i t Le s and have authority over all thing's put in common,
10.

Alterloate: one community will be the head community of the community of c ou.urun i t i.es . The head elder of that c onunun it y will preside over the h e a d elders of the other commun tt i e s . He will be the head of the c o nunun y of couuuun i t ie s and not of the it individual communities or of the head eLk.:rs of the individual communities. He will watch over the 1:ife of the c ouuuun t y of conuuun it i e s and have authority i over all things put in Common. 11. Insofar as possible, communities within the community of communities

will b0 grouped by regions for support and responsibility for one another's we Lf a io . Each community will have a no t he r c onnnun t y responsible i for it, a nu vt.ne head elder of that c onunun t y ,'1ll1 be r-e s pon s i b Le for visitations. i

Each r-eg Lon will have a head c ouunu i lies n ill that region.

wh .

.>

will

bu the

he ad elder

of

one of

the

Alternate: Insofar as possible, communi ties w i thin the community of COIJlJJ1Unitieswill be gro upe d by regions for support and responsibility fol' Olle another's welfare. Each community will have another community responsible for it, and the he ad elder of that communi t y will be responsible for visitations .. }here w i I.t bo a head community within each region, and its head elder will preside over the J·~~ion. 12. Once a year, there will bi~ a visi ta t ion of each community by the head lder of another c ouunun ty and an e Irle r he choose s to assist i him. The v as Lt i ng head elder sl'lall e-nc ou r-ag-e what is right and correct what j.s wrong. He shall give authoritative correction in llIatters which are subject to the CUlililitmi y of couunun i ties, t but h is encouragement and correction in all mutterS shall be received willingly. He shall not have the authority to give directions about the internal life of tile community, but his adv i ce shall be received se r-Lou s Ly by the elders of the community.
E:

13. The choic.:e of the head elder of eacll community must be confirmed by the c ouuuun t y 01' c ommun Lcs , a l t.ho ugh lie w:ill be chosen by the I i.t cummunity itself.

1

I !Ii

4 M"L

....
" -3-

n

14. The a s s e mbl y of the l.e ad elders w i 11 have the authori ty 1.0 exclude communities t.h a t do not r-e ce Lve co r re c.t.Lo n in serious matters and to suspend head eIdo r s who are j..\'uilty of s e r iou s wrong-doing or who are not able to fullil thelr respunsibilites adequately, 15. 8ach community may receive into the community of communities any c onuuuni t y that it is ra Ls i ng up, The he ad of the community of communities will be re s pon s i b Le for r-e cc i.vi ng any other communties thai; want to beCOIl10 pa r t of the community of c. .i.mun.i t Les . Coumlitted members of one cummunity can move to another community and received as full members right away. No one will be received by another communi t y without the permission of the elders of the previous C ouuuun i t.Y' 16,
be

'.

"".i·,.:"".l!

~."

Document

II

A

COlV1MUNITY COMMUNITIES OF

L We are together in a community of communt ties, a covenant of love and service, because we want to extend that sallie brotherly Love that we have Le a.r ncu to have t o r cue another in o ur local communi ties to other Christians t hro ug ho u t the world. A c omnut t e d re La t ionsh i.p will bind us more firmly t.og et.he r and help us to overcome the tendency to only be concerned with our d a i Ly e nv t r-onmen t . A c onun t t ed relationship i will provide a p r o t e c t i o n for us. Comu.un it Les , like individuals, can go off the path, and a c onuuuni t y of commun i t i c s can p ro v i de a protection for each individual c onununit y . A c onnu t t e d relationship i will allow us to work together more effectively in lJIission outside of our local area and to cover and give stability to wh a t e vu r service we establish. A c onuu t t.e d relationship i wi.ll a i Low v.. in a more united and therefore st ronge r way to deal with the secular world and the pressures it can exert upon individual communities to depart from faithfulness to the teaching of Jesus Christ .. A couunitted relationship will provid8 us the kind uf order we need to be ready to function as P'-11"C of the a r uty o f the Lo rd to wh at e ve r he SUJIIlJlonsus. What We Put in Commoll

2. In o u.ie r to s o rve the Lord t ogc t he r , we h a vo to be one about the basic shape '.''- our life and the fundamental directions we are moving in as bodies. \'-/8 t he re r o re agree t o be one au ou t the v i s i on and call the Lord is givingLIS, the basic order of our Li.ve s as bodies, and the major lines of Our teach 1 "g and of VL!i" approaches to bui Ld t ug up (JUl" c ouununi ties in the Lord. Tilt.: 1"e101"8: We will follow "Community Onte!''', anu we will only LyagreellleJ1t o f the a s s e urb I y of t ne head elders of or; by the agre emen t of t he couunuu It i c s .
'I'he

change it the commun i t t.e s.z

assembly of the head l; Lcte rs of the CUJlIIIllmi ties can decide what areas "f vision, teaching 01" app ro ach to buildi.ng up the communi t i e s should be a rnu t LeJ.' o f c ouuuon agTe::ul1l8n t:, and can reach decisions r o r all the c onununi ties.

3. In order' to e f I'c ct i ve Ly c a ie ro r- OU1' mission ou t si de of the local re a s , t he communities tog-ether" watch over all service outside of' the areas of the individual , communities In" t n a t e f Le c t L/".: areas of more than one comlJlunity"
.r

The overall supervision of SUCll service will be entrusted the head o f tile c ouununLt.y of c ouununi t Lcs , s ub j c c t t o the of tile assembly of head elul;1"s.

to
s upe r v i s i on

He will be free either to entrust re s pc.ns Lb i Lt t de s to illdividual c ouununi t i e s ')1' to e s t a bLi s h s e r v i cc s not c onuo c t e d with particular c ouununi ties. He wi 11 be o vc rz' re s pon s I h I c
t
JOI."

any

wo r k e rs r.c uc hc r

(including·

t hos c
0

who elL>

.~

he s e r v : "'.'
undc .
J.

'.Ji."

nul

l"C~11

all npo s t l c , !J1"opllt.!l, c ouuuun i t y.

or

c vanj;c lis l)

r

\YU1·"S

IT --2-

Each c ommuni r , will tiLll'': rt s revenue as a commun i t y to support outreach o u t s Lde the com.nuu Lt y . That 1l101it.:y will be given to the h e ad o I t 11<.: couauun i t y 01 c onunu i L.i<..::.:; to aum j, n i s te r . n

1. In oreler to care for one ano t he r , the c ommuni ties will be eager one an o t hc c in wt.ut.c ve r ways they can. They are c ounni, t tt~tI to meet needs that ano t he r conunun it y has if they have the re source s .

to help basic

The head of the c onrmun t y of conuuun I ties i will watch over their care f o r one another. III t.he ea,,<.:: of special need in one or more of the c onununi t i e s , be should call lIP'->!} the communities that he sees can help, but he will nut Iiuve l.h e authority to r-equt.s i t i on Jjcople or quantities OflJlOney wi thout the agreement of the elders
or
i

t ha t

c ouunun i t y •

5. Each il,JiVlrl,ml ; .suunun it y will be free to govern its internal life, subject only to tilL statellient of community order and the decisions of I lie u s s eurb Ly 01' lro :.•d s of the couunun i t Lc s . The c ounnu i t y of c ommunit i.e s n 1.11 not have the au t h or i ty to assign membe rs of any c ommu i t y or the financial n and u.at e r i a I resources of an , c onunu i t y Lot' any purpose n w i t h ou t the approval of the ~lders of that con~unity.
Commun i t r.e s can be s uuo rd Lna t e 't o other communities for a period of ti me for formation. During that t i ine tile head c onununi t y can

the

authority

to

govern

the

Lnt c r n a L Li Le of

the

have d t s c LpLe+couuuun t Ly.

6. Tile community of communities is O)JUll to parishes and c ong reg a t i on s affiliated to c h ur-c he s and uc norm n at, j" ',;-; in t hc uiai n s t r-e a.u of tile Christian <..: h ur ch e s as well as to un a f f i Li a t.cd c h urc he s l.ot· c ouununi ties.

The head o f the c ommu it y (if c onmun it ic s will n work out an agreen.e n t between the c onunu i t y of c ouuuu i r i.c s and tile Lnd i v t d ua I parish n n or congrt.:gation when tlluy ilCC .• me rc Lat c d to the c ormnunI t y 01' c onuuun I>ties. That ag r-ee men t s ho u ru l·,·,.::eiv(;;! t hc a p p r ov a L of whatever person or body is o'\,~er the p a rr s h ur con!_;j'(~f.!;atio!1. The head of the communi. t y 0:[ c ouu.runi ties can make exceptions to ag r. e... mcnt s made by the: c oru.u.mit i c s in order to make it possible for a particular parish 01.· ""II!:~r0gatioll to e n t e r into the c ormnun t y of i c ouununi ties, bu r'<a lt e x c c p t Lon s llIack w i 11 be subject to the decisions l~ollcer111111:except .i on s wade by tile a~;::;eIllI..Jly of head elders.

f

f

I

'I. Each

in to
by

c omuru i t y .is free n to re La t c to the c hur c lie s and church-bodies its own a re u . 1\11 re La t irn; of t.ho couuuun i t y of couunun i t i e s as a body c hu r c h+bo d i e s OIl regional, national and I nt c rnu t Lonu I will be supervised the COUUIILllli "f c ouunu i Li,,,::; ,\!:; a borty . ty n

H. The i nd Lvid u a I c ouununi t Les are

not

fn:.:1.:

to e n t e r into

relationships

- 3--

wi tn other
mi s s i on of

conunun i ties or gro1lps that are the c onununi ty of c ommuni Lies.

u.ind Lng

except with the per-

(

I1he Order

of

t he

Relationship'

9. There will be a regular assembly of the Jteads of the bodies of elders of each community. This assembly as a body will be the heads over the c ommunit y of co,,:llIuni_tlcs. They will watch over evorything that -is put in couuno n .

The assembly of the head elders will be made up only of head elders. Each head elder, however, can bring as many elders as he wishes, and they can be allowed to take whatever part in the proceedings that the assembly decides is appropriate at any given time. 'fllu head elders must attend the assembly of head elders unless they are seriously ill. When they are seriously ill, they must send as as a delegate the elder wh o l.S taking over' t h e i r- responsibilities.

10. The r e will be a !,,;:ld for the cornmu n i t y 01' communities. He will be the head of the c ommuur t y of comruuni t i o s and not of the individual communities or of the head elders of' the illdividual communities. He will watch over the life of the ,communi ty of COJJlIJJLmities and have authority over all t h i ng s put in COJJIIIlOl1.

Alternate: one comlllunity will be the head cOllllllunily of the community of co mruuui ties. The head elder of that c ouununi ty wLLl preside over the L, -l-d e Lde r s of t he other communities. He will be t n e head of the community 01 communi ties and not of the individual c onnnuni ties o i: of the head elders of the t nd i vf.dua I conununi ties. He wiJl watch over the _life of the communI t y of communi ties and have authority over all tll.ings put in c ommon. The head of the community of coml1lunities will preside over the ~sseJllbly of head elder::>. lie will supervise the mission of the communities together outside of tho Lo c a L areas of the individual communities, "t ne care at the ccmmun i t i e s for one another, and the r-eLa t I on s h i jJ of the communi Ly of c ommuni ties with any other bod i c s including church and g ove rnme n t at bodies on regional, national and internattonal levels. He wiJl udlllit new communities that have not been ra Ls ed lip by cOIJIJJjuni ties a Lro ad j a part of the couununi t y of c orumun t i e s . t He will wat c h over the g'oocl order 01' the v i s it a t i on., , an.I the elections o f head e Ltlers , and any .r i s c i p Lt.na r-y actions in regard to an Lnd i v id ua I c ouuuuni t y (11' a ill:aci elder. He will be r e s pou s i bLe Jar any e x co p t i on s made fr"J11 the ag r'e euren t s of the c ouuuu i t y o f c ommuni t i e s 01' t he s t a t cn.on t of c ounuun i t y order. n

11. Lns o f a r as po s s Lbl e , couuoun i ti c s w i t h i n tile: c onunun i t y of c ouununi t i e s will be g-roupecl by r e g i on s lUJ' support. alld rc s po nsi b i Li t y fur one ano t he r t s w e l fa re . Each c ouunu i t y will n have a no t ho r CIIllllJlLllliLy r'e s po ns LbLe for i i , and

the head elder of that community will Each r eg Lon will have a head who will communities in that region.

be responsible for visitations. IA! t u-, head c Idc r of one of the

The head c:f the region will preside over the othe I' head elders in the region. He will assign re s pons ro i l t t y for communities. He will receive all appeals f r om J.;,:lIilJers or elders of communi ties in his region and will t ake responsibility when commun t i e s do nct re ce i ve i the authoritative correction uf the visiting head elder 01' when it comes to his a t t o n t i on that something' is seriously wrong within a c ommun y , It In all disciplinary actions he will associate wi t h himself the head elder responsible for visiting the community with tho difJicu Lt i e s . He will no rrnaLl.y be responsible for co n f i ruu ng the choice of head e Lde rs of the c ouunun i ties in his region along wi t h the visiting head elder and a third head elder from the regiun. The head of each region will be chosen by the head elders of that region and confirmed by the head of the c ouunun y of communit i e s . it When a c onunun ty raises i. up an o t he r c onunun ty, it wi 11 be responsible i for that. «ouunun i. ty until that c onuuun ty raises i up neighburing couunun i ~ies to f orm a region. When a c ornmu n i ty raises up an o t he I' community in a r eg i ou that already c orrt a Lus o t he r communities, it will work under the head of the regiun and uvulllually will give over its responsibility for its disciple c ouunu i t y to the region n the disciple community is part of.

»

Alternate: Insofar as possible, c ounuu i t Les within n the community of communit Les will be grouped by regiuns .L>1· SUPPUl·t and responsibility for one anuther's welfare. Each c ouuuun t y will. ha vo another i community responsible for it, and the head e Lde r 01' t ha t .:<., .. u.uu it y w i.Ll, be responsible for visitations. There will be a Ileac! c ouuuu it y w i.t h i n 'each region, n and its head elder will preside over thu rcgioll. The head community 1'01' each re gi on will normally be the founding community of the r-e g i on . when Lh c re do no t exist such relationships among the ~onllllunitius 01 a re g Lun , it will be the couunun i t y with t he g r-e a t e s L W,-, J h'ht be c a us e o f s J ze , a ge and vi tali ty. When there is a que s t i on , the head c ouuuu i t y will n be chosen by the head of the community of. c ouunun t i e s and a pp ro vod by t hc a s s cuibLy of head elders. I

12. Once a year, there w iLl. be a visitation 01' each community by the head elder of another communi t y Utili an elder he chouses to assist h i m, The visiting head elder shall uncuurage what is right and correct what is wrong. He shall give authoritative correction in matters which are subject to the community of communities, but his encouragement and correction in all uia t t e r s shall be r-e c c i ve d willingly. Jk Shall not have the authority to give directions abc.u t tile Ln t e rnu I life oI tile c ommun y , but. h i s advice it shall be rece:ived seriously by the elders of the cOllllllunity.

-s-

The visiting head elder is help in the visitation. It one elder from a community the visitation should be a of the visiting he •.• elder u time of evaluation :for the

free tu bring more than one person to would be go c.d for him to be assisted by other than his own. When possible, time of sharing between the community and the cOllllllunity being visited and a community being visited.

The visiting head elder will normally address the whole community at t he end o f his visitation. lle should, however, share what he intends to say with the elders of the community being visited for t he i i- comments. His main concern, however, will be to speak w it h the head elder and the elders of the community being visited. The visiting elders should speak privately with many members of the community (it,ring their stay. They should be free to choose whom they will speak with. They should observe as much of the life of the c ouuau n i ty as they can.

13. The choice of the head elder by the cornmunity of communities, itself .•

of each although

community must be confirmed he will be chosen by the community

Ordinarily tile re s pons i to.Li t y for confiruling the cho ice of head elder of a COlfunUIH w i l.l be entrus ted to the head 01 t he region, ty the head elder of the community r'e s pons Lb Le for the community that is choc s i ng a new head elder, and another bead elder from the region. Those confi rmi ng the choice of a new head elder should ascertain that the person chosen 1.s qualified to be head elder. Normally will do this by presiding over the process of chOOSing the head elder.

they

14. The assenlbly of the head elders will have the authority to exclude c ommun ties i that do not r e ce i ve correct tun ifl s e r i «.us matters and to s uspend head elders who aue guilty of serious wrong do t ng or who are not able to fulfill their responsibilities adequately. Members oJ:' an individual cOllllIlunity can go to the head of the region about s e r i ou s difficulties they are having \.i th the headship of their c ouunun y , and he will'have it the authority to ascertain if something is wrong all" to correct the situation. The head elder of the c omruun i t y responsible for v i s it.a t i on can take; responsibility if the appeal is directed to him or it tile matter is u.ss Lp ne d to him by the head of the region. The elders of an incli vidual community can go to the head of the rerr i on with Serious difficulties t he y are having w i th the head elder of t lre i r' c o ..llIltnit y , and he will have the authority Lu ascertain if something it; \,.'.<lng and to correct tile situation. The head elder of t he c ouunun ty i

·---..-

..

_.

.
-6responsibi.lity assigned to if the appeal is d i r.i.u.ed to him by the head of the l'l':I,i OJl, him or
Ii i s c t p Li na r y actions

-

if

the

matter

is

concerning communities or head be hand i<;,; i,y those wi t h most immediate responsibility :i i tuation and only laid before the asselllbly of head nothing else seems possible.

elders for elders

should the when

15. Each community may receive into the community c ommuni t.y that it is i-a i s Lng up , The head of the be r es pon s LnLe for receiving: any other c onuuu i ties n of the community of comDlunities.
No, community s h o u Ld be received that order and vision of the c"llllllunities. has not

of communities any community of conunun i t I e s will that want to become part

been

formed

in

the

The head of the commnnity of communjties that w i s h to join to older COJllIIIUlll tics

can
J01'

assign

communities

f o rma t io n .

No group can be added unless it has e o ough elders to function adeq ua t e Ly as a community, Gr-o u p-s can l'<:llIllin attached to a community intlcfini.tely until they reach t he ilia t uri ty to be a full communi ty. ReKional heads should approve tile addition of all new cummunities,

16. Coun.ut t.eu members of one c onununi : :,' can uiove to another community and be received as full meJIIL)el'S r i uh t, away, No one will be received by an t ne r communi ty wt t Iiou t the pe L'1II1 s::; i(}]1 of t he e Ld e cS of the previous cOlllmunity .

•• ----,



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id!i41JDilfDita&£1&ki!mWJ~~~

I

Tile fullowing
u federation

is a s chumat i z at i on of or c ouuuu i t a e s . n It will

va ri o us approaches to be n e LpLu I fur seeing

organizing what our

opt ions A.

arc.

bodies (relating primarily Co the body o I commun a t i e s ) rr---;;:--rellow::;hip (x-e La t t on sh Lps Ln f o rma L, no d e c a s i on s binding) e g . tile way we are now, early manastic communities.
i

2)

l:t.

federat ion (re12.1.] o n.ch i.p s formalized, autonomoUS internally)

individual

communi ties in common

a)

a c onununit y+f ede ra t i on (a f'e de r a t i.c.n with some things --a;(i'-llence Some u'-.:cisions binding t h.. c ommunit i.e s ) e. g. early churches, C'is t e r c i an s , Re Lo i med churches

b)

an association (u .:deration that does some things together, bu i not h i.ng is IJlnd:ing on the Lnd i v t d ua I communities) e.g. Benedictines, Congregational churches

3)

a centralizeiL.org-a~li_za_~~~~!com~~!.!.r (a central headship that is o ve r the indivici '.. I c ouuuuni t i e s ami able to make decisions . bindinJ; on the individual communities and to direct them internally)
a)'

a' mobile centralized Ct.III1J1IUli i ty ( a centralized o r'g an i z a tt on structured for mobility and easy l'..::arrangement for foundatiunal reasons) . e.g. Methodists (early), JesuiLs, Dominicans
COlllIlIllni ty tile

b) a stabilized centralized that p ut s we i gh t un e.g. CLun i ac s , HUJJJan
B.

(

:J.

s La h iLi t y

uI

centralized o rg an f.z Lt i ori local groupings)

Ca t h o Lic

Chu rch

chains of relal."i onships (re La t i ons hj p s Lo rtua Li ze d bu t one-to-one in links, no necessary I. o rruaI 1'01 at iUJI::;l, I p as a bo dy , the bonus between communities vary Lroru i)(~jnl-'," s i mpLy assuciational to being obediential)
1) a filiation

c:hain (each c ouununi t y UVl.' r i 1 s foundations in turnlJ~illg over t he ir I ou nd a tio ns ) e.g. some Benedictine urcua st o rLe s

J

f ound a 1 i(d1s

2) a master-disciple chain (each ua st o r ove r a d i s c i p l.e and the communi ty tile d i s c i p Le Lo un de d , t h a t disciple over his disciples 'and their cOmmulliti~s) e.g. some early ntunastic c ommun t i o s Li ke Su ba s ' monasteries, t the feudal armies a::; dl!V81opjlll-'," tlte sy::;teut mure .fully

The wri.tten document develups a c onuuuni t.y-Tcrte i-a t.j on . We oug-ht 110t Lo take it for grantee! that t ha t, is t lie .l·igilt u p pro ac h , Arru i e s do not operate that wuy--\;j' not very wo Ll . Ye t 1J we are c ouuuuni t i e s , t he re is a problem wi t h an :J.l'Jlly"uq~alli.zalioll.

Two fllllJamental

issues

(that

might

lead

us to

t at. .• ~ a very

different

tack)

1. One issue we may wish to discuss is how defined our relationship should be. Were we to accept s oiae t h i njr Li ko the working document, it would be fa irLy well defined. T1H:.!reis a p ro b Lern wi th unclear conunitments. Yet there is also' a p r o l.Lem with udo p t Lng programs that do not have life in them. I am not as conv.i l •..e d that we need a worked out order for the· re Lat i ons h t p as I am convinced that we do need to [ace Some issues. What are we go i ng t a put in common (1. e. what am I bound by)? How are we go ing to make the relationship work? Who else call be part of the relationship? How much uu i f orm i ty do we want? 2. A second fundamental t s s ue is the church relations one. It goes l.,,,yond the seope of this document 1:0 develop it, yet we cannot move forward without undul'standing it. How can we establish a fe(]l:ratton in a way that would make church uod i e s find rt acceptable? Do we need an ecumenical agreement tc protect the members of the churches?

Do we need tu have more of a purpose ::;0 that they can relate a~ a body taking on a particular miSsion rather than Simply alternative system to the parishes? Do w~ ne ed to .h a ve less b i nd f.n g comm tment i to be acceptable?

to us as an

..

'

The fullowing a federation
( pt

is
uJ'

a s ch cruut i z a t Lo n of c onunn n.i Lu o s . It will

vu ri ou s approaches to organizing be ho Lp I'u I fur s e e i ng what our

ions

0.1'0.

A. bodies

(relating D'--;-:r011uw~;hip e.g. the
2)
li

primarily way we ar0

(r-e Lu ti on s h ips

to the body ur communitie::i) .i n Lo rma L, 110 d e c Ls i on s binding) now, early manastic communities. formalized, individual communities in common

federati.on (relat:lHI.,ilips autollOJJl us internally)

a)

a c ornmuui t y+f ed e ru t t o n (a f e de r a t i.r.n with some things --a;-J,-'hence Some d"cisions b i nd i ug t h.. c.urimunf t Le s ) e.g. early churches, Cf s t e rc t an s , Re Lo r u.ed churches

b)

an association (u deration that cloes some things together, bUL nothing' Ls [Jlnding on the rud t v Ld ua I communities) e.g. Be nc d r c t Lne s , Congregational churches

3)

a centralized orgalli":::..':.~2~:~/commllnHy (a central headship that is over the Lnd i vie! '.. I c onuuuni ties r a nd able to make decisions binding on the individual oormuun i t i e s and to direct them internally) a) ,. a mobile centralized CUI"1I1UI~_i ty ( a centralized o rgan i z a t t on structur~d for mobility and easy rearrangement for foundatiunal reasons) . e.g. Methodists (early), Jesuits, Dominicans b) a stabilized c e ntr a Liz e d c ouuuuni i v ( ~t ce n t ra l i z ed o rg am.z that puts weight un tile s t a o iLi t y o I' local groupings) e.g. CLun i ac s , 1{'-,lIlan Catholic Church
ut

t'

i on

13. chains

of rela1.lonships (relationsilj ps J' o rura Li z e.d liu t one-to-one in links, no necessary to rrua I re Lu t i o ns t. r p as a body , the bonu s between commun.it i e s v a ry f rom be i n~~ ::-;ru l y a s s oc i a t ton a I to being i p obediential)
f oundu
i

1) a filiation c ha i n (each c ounuuni t y OVL;I.· r r s foundations, in turn being o ve r their f ound a tio ns ) e. g. some~ Bene d i c tine monast e r i e s
2)

i c.n s

a master-disciple chJ.in (each lIlaster (lve!' a disciple and the community tho d i.s c i p Le ro unde d , t h at disciple over his disciples 'and their c ommun t i e s ) i e.g. some early mona s t i c c ommun r i e s like Su ba s ' monasteries, i the feudal a rrn s as dc ve p the system mor e y
Le Lo Lng I'u Ll

The written d oc umen t de ve l o ps a c ommuni Ly+fc dc ra t.Lon . We oug ht no t to take it for grunted that that is t he right up pro ac h , Arm i e s do no t operate t na t waY--'<.H' not very wol L. Yet if IV..: arc c ouununi t i e s , there is a pr ob Lem with an arllly-uq!;alllzatioll.

. ...•.

c.

Two key structural
1. The

issues

current working d o c urneu t centers structurally about the head elders of each community. Each c ommuni ty would have a ue ad elder (overall coordinator) who would be one of the body of elders in decision-making and ill their headship of the couunun i ty as a body, but he would be over the other el de r-s in t);eir service and lives (not necessarily immediately over all of t he m) and tl8 would be free to fulfill the functions outlined in the document. .>,tcIl a po s i tion would be a ch ange fo r us. The reason for doing- i t .i s to a) provide a group who could effectively func:t)on to form the commun I ty of conunun i ties b) without creating a group that is on its own outside the individual cOlllDlunities. There is an alternati.ve. Instead of wilding around the position of head elder, we could build a r ouud either thL! bodies of elders all t oge t he r- or representatives of the uudies of elders. Tile asselJlbly that is over the communi t y of communi ties. f or instance, c o u Ld be made up of all the elders who can come or of r-e p re se nt a t i ve s that they choose. We would then eliminate provision 13 and the. part oJ pruvision 14 about the suspension of a heal! elder. The e f f e ct cc f the alternative That iu i.gh t be what we want--a. would be to weaken the corrununity of communities. federation with a weaker governing body.

Note: the head elder in the approach of the working document would not be a i all independent of '-, c onuuuni t y . He would be an elder of a particular c ouununi t y , chosen by 'the community .i t s e Lf, part o f the body of e Lde rs in that communi ty without, Lno e pe nde n t de c i s i on+mnk i ng au t ho r i ty. He would, how~ver, have headship over the individual elders and their service and he would h u ve freedom to be part of a body of head elders, and that body would hay," SOllie power of tkcision-ulaking that would not be subject to the bodies of e Lde rs in the I nd Lv i du a I c ouununi t Les .

2. The current working docl!llIent also has a set of alternates for provisions 10 and 11. 'I'hes e a l tc i-n a t i vc s depend on lilt! issue ,d' whether the re La t i ons h i ps between the men t h ems e Lve s or relationships between the communities represented by those men. If p i-ov i s i o n s A are accepted, the various p os i t i.on s of head~~llip in the couuuun i ty uf c ouununi tics would move from I,<.;rson to person as they were elected. If p ro v i s Lon s 13 are accepted, t here would be head c ouununi ties o st ab t t shcu . Our immediate reaction is p ro bub I y to ac , , IJt p i-o v i s i on s A - because we are 20th Century Ameri c an s , I am convinced we ull~'ht to s e r Lous l v c ou s l dc r p rov i s i on s 13. I do believe t ha t tllL't··.· is sl>llIL!Lhillg-about tile relationships between communities that is illlpurtallL--a spiritual p r i nc i p Le . I think there is also s oine t h i nj; to be said fur ha v i u.. Lite s t ruct ur-c o f t hc c onunu i t y o f n c ouununi t i e s be based on I'elatiull;" betwc cn CUII111I1l1l.l and II<)L Lies hav e independent pusitions de ve Lop . Mor-eo vo r, as nearly a.s 1 call - c c , LIds was the app r ou c h of the early Ch ri s t Lan couununi t i e s .

;

-,.

D.

Head elders

and apostles

lle ad elders are stationary in thei r IIIU.iUj'responsibilities. Apostles move around so th a t they can form c ouuuu i ties n or preach the gospel over a wider region. Establishing a f raurowork of order for a federation 'of communities through till; heads of' tl\()se c ommunit ie s does not mean that t he r c is an ade q ua t.e fr au.ework for "apo s t.o Li c" nris s i o n . Is there a need for something further than what is outlined in_the working d oc ument (ti c ad s hlp over t h os e sent out by the head of the community of communities)? Should t.Iie re be a "colle~l:" of traveling apostles, prophets, ev u ug e Li s t s , teachers and pa s t or s as well? Sh o u Ld "apostles" be added to the as seurb Ly of head elders? Tile Jesuits, Do.u i n ic an s and early Methodist bishops were co Ll e ge s of a pos t Le s . The early Methodist b i s ho ps , as they founded successful churches, be can.e similar to o~her bishops, i.e. men WiLl. regional responsibility who were over e s t ab Li s he d bodies. The Jesuits and Dom n i c an s did not take settled i community re!>ponsibilities and hence were always bodies of mobile ~achcrs a n d mi s s i on a ri e s . JesHi t s early g-ot Lied (j",m to stable .i.nst i t u t i o na l, c()lIIlTIitments in many place:::;, but the Dominicans stayed mobile teachers throughout Dwch of their history. Moral #1: there are models for colleges 01 apos t Le s can easily be c orne ti cd c!O\VIl to a place because of their vc r y
s ucces S .

Wl,en things go in a region to authority when a Ite r there Ls

weIii.. mi s s Lona r i e s=uj«.s t Le s turn over the main auth.ori ty , t he heads of c onunun i t Lc s . 'I'r-aveLi ug elders hold the main s omet h ing is bel ng (:~·;tabli::,lled, Settled elders hold it a basic s t r uct u rc t ha t can bu i r ct up t I.o Christian people.

-'

I'

E.

The basic 1n this

unit

u ocumcnt , t he bas i c unit is "the Lnu iv Ldu a I community". What a couuuunit y is is not specified. Some examples of wha t they could be are: -.. a c onnnuni ty for a region (e. g. TIre Word of God in Washtenaw County) - a communi ty for a city (e.g. The Grand Haven Conunun i t y ) - a group of 300 people who are a couunun i t y and who plan to split into two communities when they get to 400 a specialized communi ty which is o rg an Lz ed for a special mi ss Lon (e.g. Bethany fellowship) a specialized commulllty which is organized for a special way of 11f<.: (e.g. a ulPllaslic c ommun i Ly) - a Catholic pario;!l becowe community - a Methodist church become communilY - 10 pe o p Le on a ia rm who are a c o nunu n L ty is SOIiIU need to come to grips were to t in all of M arcover, a head elder of a county dlJJerent position than head elder
"j I
we a k e those

'I'hc re

with what groups, \VU

basic unit" is. Obviously be variegated (motley?). f'JOuP uf 2000 people would be a ,very oJ a 10 person COInlllune on a farm.
wo u Ld

the

The question
('1'

of

the

d oc ument

the basic unit could on c ommun ty order. i

be taken

up in

terms

of

this

doculilent

'.

F.

Some other

issues

1. Is "community
create?

of communities"

a good term for what we are trying to

2. We will need to come to an ullderstandi.ng about vision and call and about ,how much an individual community lS free to have its own unique call. 7. Might we want to cons i dc r some kind of denominational headship as well wi t u i n the community of commun Ities? Could Catholics be under Catholi cs for some things? 11. An alternative to grouping thl:l,l fil:iation. by communities by region would be to group

,',



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J'nere hi nJor(~CVUr i:l sys t.em 01' cunon i ca.l vi.s~t,or.~_ 1,H11C. 1.3 em'loYE:: 1 by .'11 mcn as t.i.c cornnrun Lt.i os . (At~2 v(;ry thr<;to y ear s , tilO member-s of no trier ccm:il1.::i J} of ~,o/nf':',:',:.JtsLnriLar n e tur-e arc el cc t.c.d , f0r th(-3ir F(' ft of prl d enc j d' jell': men t, ilA •.1 u.i sdom , to vt s i l~ tiJ0 conunun ity . 'I'r.ey spe a k pri va tl;r "nth s ach 71h'11 er: to t.L.!OU,(:il' vLCJ:J ab ou t. t.l:c st.a t.o of t:·,o conmun i ty and aJ y p_rsor.al i.l 'i.::ul-· t.i es thi~Y fli i~bt be S1.!''li.:~).i.:'q: ir.~.UI. rho; visitors observe ;.1~::' t.hey ca.' . urillj!, t.he i r :'iLiJ. ~"Llal1,y t.hey ;:'chJ!'t3SS LLc a.3::;~:mbled comrrum ty , ol'f,!',:,! t; we ds c·~ c'IJcouY'd,~61,;ellt, gu'i.Jan l:, 01' c;v, n r-ebuke i1' nc ces sarv • I'he ":()Ll(\~_>31 of vis 1..o rs is o f t.en ~;oUlJ:t 'litrl r,'L,r'J to more c i iLi cu Lt practical ques tio..s ci' 1:.:1(.> rr:0h1e;', Lf , 1 Y' e~"':unt-'le} ;·.e:.ld.sllip/corru·iJlln~T,Y r,,:L,'LLO[l::> ar e s t.r a.i.ned , .:.h~W can qlt'~!' '101'0 Gi' counsel whi.ch SeGJlI_, sui.t.eu to ~li...;vGlve ' so Lut.Lon '~jj/'.l "lY\:,(jt
~,1

couu s el o f the vi s.itor-s is members o~· the communi ty .

to Lc

i

cce pt.eu oJ all -- Leader-s

-,.:3

u e i L a" &il

8,

'Then (;xtraordinary
vi s i t is

di.f f'Lcu Lt.i e s arrl se , as they so ,r;tj;Jl:~5 ~0, t: ;::")2ciJ.l. ,<;t)ll!cti.mes arrungcc to :'101'1-;: OUT. t.he mat.t er Hit..h th •. e;;;'J.l:.l",) (I::' we

'.
as

9,

!j'i~lal.::l, morias t i r: (, .. :::trlurl~ t i e 1",1:' to be v,ry COr sc i ou., c; I-I.i;; r :;tat'!5 as i ,tegral Loce.I C01f!~r':l.i.ti.e:). 3tl'icLly speaki.ng , t.r.er-c i:. :10 Y(1.;,.i'(;d .t , e c ur'Jel'J ',~uULl be: l.ogous t Or-der s , e t.c , 'There .i : LL't:;L~~,:LJ.y only rr.o i vi dua L mona s t i.c c rr:hdli1:J.'!s,; uor kin g or, tits CJ.3y to '.' -"./ 1; I' e o. i t:~ Oi'T!!. TLe: mon: s t LC '.:OJT'.r:I:J ,,] c, L c e iJTt: uound 30r:lohat locoly iit\".: J :;:),li',.l<::Y'dt'Lon, cut! UH~ .en cr l.. [()\i,-,";'".;~L t, 'f,e conI'eder at.i.on cr;ns.i.<k~·:j .i. \:.0' cr.. d' .i'<c!spvLsiLil.i. ty 0 ;".; to ro.rtrrr t.r._ ~·,;11-.), L~ t.. vi' t.he local commun i t.i es p-n-:ci:.;(;l} i.:lt!-,ei. it .i v i.d.i a L cnu. )'~ '.;r upon them from ~,]lt.hcu t.. 1:1:: L Ll,t::: 'It'c! no t ready er!.i~} I ;l.1y r CHn life. The ccntY':'- ~ ,)Vd',J:7J mt o rd i nar i Iy Se:'V~S the l.~'i.;:,l r err-ai na.Tr-om btIA;I!.p.i.I,' f."..! ~;,'!ltT'LJl it,
Cr-der , no mon td cli;,t an a

i

I

..

.;.

.•.
'

Glad Tidings
A
vo.i. 2 Nu.
THE

Publication of The F-ishermen. Inc.
September 1975 of their music. The Fishermen, Inc. successfully administrated the details of scheduling the trav~lling mjnistry and producing the records at the request of the Church of the
Red e erne r .

6

FISHERMEN,

INCORPORATED AND THE LIP: GROWS ON

There are distinct transitional times in the growth of all living things which are th~ hallmarks of maturation. WIlen a child begins to approach adulthood, he examines the p e r s o n he is: his beliefs, the beliefs of his parents, where he has come from, where he is going, who he thinks he is; and ultimately, he decides who he is -- his own identity -and who he intends to be. Then he sets his course in that direction. When a person reaches this point in his development and has examined these things, he may find his beginnings were good and sound. He may discover thac he has been nurtured in responsible ways by his parents. He makes his decision to build on the foundations created since the beginning. People at Fishermen have been examining the organization: where it came from and where it is gOing, its own identity and what it intends to be. Fishermen has c ome to some' conclusions and has set its course in that· direction. It found that its beginnings were good and sound and that it was guided in responsible ways. Fishermen has decided to con~inue to build on those solid foundations created since ·the beginning. Like all growth, Fishermen's present growth is exciting to behold. It is interesting to look back and see Fishermen's beginnings, it is stimulating to see the ste~s of its growth, but most of all, it is an adventure to walk into the future with Fishermen. It is like riding on the crest of the wave that is the forerunner of the new things the Lord continues to speak to His people. Originally, The Fishermen, Inc. was organized to administrate, support, and develop various outreach ministries from the community to other p lac as in the world. Fishermen began when a coffee house, The Way In of the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in Houston, Texas, was formed. 'The Keyhole began singing and sharing at The Way In, and the gifts exer~ised there created a demand for a travelling ministri arid for recordings

During the past two years, The Fishermen, has been helping to establish the Community of Celebration in England. In addition, d business corporation, Net Productions, was created for marketing items which are products of renewal. These projects have consumed a major portion of Fishermen's energies and time. At the present time the Community of Celebration in England is a well established pastoral community and already has its own message of renewal. The Fishermen, Inc. is committed to establish' a Community of Celebration in the United States and also to support the recently established Community of Celebration in Scotland. The Fishermen, Inc. is asking for contjnual support both in prayers and in contributions. Fishermen invites the prayers of individuals and groups that the Lord is speaking to about the renewal of His church. Because Fishermen is not a profit making corporation, most of the income will continue to be contributions from those who wish to support its work. Fishermen needs support to s end out the Fisher folk travelling teams, the United States team which will begin to travel in Oc t ob e r, and the two teams currently based in England and Scotland. Fishermen is committed to continue i.ts support of the Communities of Celebration in the United States, Scotland, arid England. At the Fishermen Board meeting held on August 21, 1975, the members of the board committed themselves to a direction for The Fishermen, Inc. as stated in the following r e s o.l t Lon : u
Inc.

RESOLUTION

CONCERNING THE FUTURE DIRECTION THE FlSHERHEN, INC.

OF

We believe the action of the Holy Spirit in our day, while including individual conversion and personal renewal, is largely intended to bring about renewal of the' church

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itself as an alien and charismatic society oE God's people fully involved in the secular world, and testJ.fying to certain neglected Biblical principles as foundational to its renewed corporate life. This testimony proclaims the gospel to necessarily include 3 vision of the church, the Body of Christ, as an alternate society to the secular order in which it operates with prophetic force. Resulting from a cormnitment to this vi-· sion, several local congregations (from a variety of theological and social origins) are discovering for themselves radically new life styles, new structures of corporate life and leadership, and new types of ministry that stabilize and strengthen the internal church community while enabling it to serve the needs of its surrounding neighborhood. With these new discoveries proving themselves to be viable expressions of local church life and ministry, there is now emerging a pressing concern for the renewal of the church in its larger dimensions both denominational and ecumenical. The Fishermen, Inc. shares this vision of church renewal today, and in order to implement our concern for it we resolve: i) to invite leaders of existing local communi~ies who share this vis.1.onwith us to become members of the board of The Fishermen, Inc.; provided the communities represented by these leaders are assured that their matur-

ity and experience are sufficient for them to share resources without impairing theil individual communities and ministries; ii) to commit the resulting board of The Fishermen, Inc. to achieve a goal of creating a wider community made up of these local communities which, as peers , will be equally committed to sharing their time, gifts, and money toward implementing the commo n vision of renewal; and Jii) to ensure that this wider ecumenical communLly will in no way usurp the integrity and responsibilities of member local communities but instead (Jill provide means of encouragement, inter-communication, and consolidation of energies and resources. To this end The Fishermen, Inc. at this time commits all of its resources and assets. Now, as The Fishermen, Inc. continues to mature and as it moves towards the future on the crest of that wave, it has committed itself to be a community of communities. This larger community will consist of people who are representatives of various kinds of communities and of people who hold a common vision and intent for renew Lng the Chu r'c h . They will come together to form a structure which will enable them to search for ways to share their lives organically so that the fruits of their ministries will be available in common towards realizing their common vision of the renewal of the Church.

NON-l'f{()FIT

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POSTA(; L PAID

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ARBOR,

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RESOLUTION CONCERNINGTHE fUTURE DIRECTIUN OF THE F1SHERH~N, INC.

We be l Ieve the action of the Holy Spirit in our day, while including individual conversion and personal renewa l , is l arpe l y "intended to bdn~ about renewal of the church itself as an alien and charismatic society of God:~ people fu l l y [ nvo l ved in the secul ar world and tes t i fy i nq to certain neglected Biblical principles as the foundation its renewed cor pcr a te life. T!!'ls testimony necessarily proclaims the ~0spel to include a visian of the church.' the Br.dy of Christ, as an alternate s oc ie ty to the secular er der in which it operates'with prophetic forca.

or

Res'ulting from a commitment to this vr s i on, several local congregations (from a var ie ty of theo l cq ice l and social or~gins) ewe di scover t nq for themselves radically new life styles9 new structur?s of corporate life and leaci-arship, and new types of mi n+s tr y that s t eb i I ize and strengthen their i nt erna I church conmurri ty whi 1 e nab Ii r.g it to serve e the needs of its surrounding neighborhood"

Wfth these new discoveries proving themselves to be viable expressions of local church life and ministry, there is now emerging a pressing concern for the renewal of the church in its larger dimensions both dancminationai and ecum~i1ical.
order The Fi~hermen, to implement Inc. shares this V1S10n of church our concer n for it, we resc lve s renewal today and, in

o

. to invite leaders of existing local communities who share this vision witb us te become member 5 of the board 0 f The F1 shermen , I nc.. provided the communities represented by these leaders are assured of sufficient maturity and experience within themselves so that they may share resources without impairing their individual comrnurri t i es or mi ni s tr i es r to commit the r·~slJlting board of The Fishermen, of creating a wider community made up of these as peers, wilt be equally committed to sharin~ money toward implementing the common vision of Inc. to achieve local cemmunities their time, gifts, renew~IJ and
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goal which, and

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to insure that this wider ecumenical community will in no way usurp the i ntegri ty and re spons i b i l i ties of member 1oca 1 comnuni ties but instead will provide means ,of encouragement, inter-communication, and consolidation of energies and reS0urceSG
roe .• a t this time (':oflilufts,all of it3 n~sourr.es

To th is end llie Fis.hermen" and as!Oets.

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To: the coordinators From: Steve
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9/8/75

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J believe that we are g.eLtinl!,' to a point where we need to understand rno r e clearly what the Lord is c a Ll i ng us to as a community. T'he re are a number of things whjch are moving me to ask the question again: 1) OUI' r-e l.a t i ons hLp w i t h the churches in t own • What are we and what can the chu rche s e xpe c t 11'0111 u s ? Should they be able to call upon us t a variety of needs do we simply provide a type of Christian s up po r t 101' whoever wants it '? Are we d o i ng something they S:101l1d be expected to do if they develop t he capability or a re we specialized in serviee? 2) Various se rv i cc requests like the La g h t hou se , etc. which seem to be asking; lor lIlany hOLirs of people's tillie. 3) Questiuns about settillg' pe-op Ie apart" Wllat mi g n t we set people apart f01"? Where are the p it i ? For" helping people id the CO!HIlIUni ty? For e v ange Li sm in the county'? For being able to work w i lh people w i t h s e r i ou s needs in the c ouuuu n i t y ? For basic pastoral care and teachiug-?
ri o r e s ou t.s e

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is c h a r Lsrnu t i c COIIIIllllJ1ity" The Lord is the powe r a III wo rk i ng of the HoLy Spirit I (a renewal in faith) and a re newa I in the a h i Li t y of Ch r i s t f ans to live ll>~ether in a dill Ly e n ou gh way t o build one auo t.he r up as Christians (a renewal of love). Closely connected with that are the work of e vang e Li sm that we h a vu td one 10cu11y and the t.e ach i ng and preaching (and, closely related, the i t t we have able to do outside the community.
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the Lord told us t.o look at what. he wu s d o i ru; among us and follow t ha t . I t would be g o od t o h avu U tl is cus s i on about what: it is, but for now I would s tate it as ch a rt sma t ic communi ty arid related e v ang e Lt sm and speaking of t he word .
once ./ As I think about the c hur-crie s in town, is Lhis no t what we are able to ( o r t e r that is d i tLc re n t from what they can 'offel'--charismatic community \, , for t who want it. And i Ly , are we 1101 able to do evangelism j . I 111 way t 1 t 1II0s(; '1 t , ' Moreover, do not the church universal ( , n e o d what we a r e doillg--eolllud t t e d Christians who can do "front line" work. 'lOnce, in the Catholic Ch u rc h and to sonlt:: e x t e n t in Lutheran-type churches, religious orders and other "p i e t t s t " (in the br-oad sense) of associations we re able tu du t.h i s , Now t.Iie y are s u I'Le ri ng as much as the rest of t he c hu rc h fr om o u r c u r re n t s I t uu t f on ,
ho se c o ri-e s pond ug u ua CIUrC1eS c auno o s

13. Beyoud our c Le a r call, to he the c ha ri smat i c c ommun t y that we are i and to p re a c h t ne word, wna t else is the Lord c a Ll i ng us t n do? Our ro s o u r c e s aloe limited. The Lo rd can rnu Lt i p Iy them if he wants us to t ake on mo re , bu t i r we ..ILI:-;L d e c i de un 0111' own Lo d o something because it i •• lhere, we cannot re l y on his undc rwr i t i ng everything. We therefore should

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::;,;,:1, carefully wh at he wants us to do. LeL me make some observations about the drain on our resources that silJ)ply comes from being a charismatic c ommuni t y (that is famous and ecumenical). 1) It takes a great deal just to have a body of Christians who love one another. We are doillg well in the basic outlines of ollr life together, but it takes a very big effort to care for all these people. The mobility of the modern world puts t great demand on any community that is not in a p/otected e n viz-onme n t+ -a demand to put a huge amoun t of e£fo!.'1 into simply maintaining a stable s)cial prder. In addition, we have many people with many needs, and W0 an: not meeting them all. ~) We are only Ileginning .to discover what it Lakes to raise children Christian these cluys. The environment is so strong against it, that the i r ve s t mcn t has t o ue pretty heavy. We do not know what it . ac t uaI Ly t •.ke s , because we do not have a stable, successful appraoch, but wu can confidently say that it will take a g rc a t deal. 3) Evange Li sui has to be a regular e ff or t . The places where we are able to reach people is normally the places where community members are able to t nve s t Lillie ill outreach. Where we do not reach out, the people we get are most of Len "the needy", not tile s t rong e r people who are the o ne s wuo affect society and who have the pe r s on a I resources t o care fur others once they c omm it t hcuis eI ves to the Lord. 11 Re.l.a t i ng Lo churches the way we clo invol ve s a gTeat deal. The L01'd does seem to want LIS to be u comlllllJ.ity that uniLes many Christians. And yet, to sc:e that OU1' presence in l.h e churches is basically peaceful and s t re ng Lhe n i ng to the c h u rc lios a nd not: disruptive Lakes e ne rg y , Wu have hue n bc n i nd OJ1 .i n vos t i iu; t ha t e nc rgy i n the pa s t year, and we can see s omo bad effc,'Ls Lrom it already. 5) We face SOUlestiff demands in otite ways, because of service that we are called upon to do, Our g'ues L-ilospi t a Li t y=Lmnu g ran t wo.rk is heavy and it takes a great deal Irom u;:;. CI{S and r-e La t ed work for the renewal takes a g re a t d e a 1 f rom \IS. And it takes it right at the point that is .c o s t Li.os t e=ou r mun ag e r i a I ar d p as t o r'a I ability.
v

C.

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folJ owing:

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up the basic life o I t he c onu m i t y by s e t t z ng people apart for 1II0re pastoral work 2. shore up the basic o vunu JliSIll of U, U c ouununi t y b .' set ting people apart for mo re e va ng c Li s t Lc ou t re ach 3. respond to the 'heavy de man d f o r 1101.p for c ommun v.y building i f r orn people Ollt of town by s~ndjng people out 4. be w l Ll r ng to take on SUl'VleCS t ha t local p a r i s l.o s and congregat.ions ask of us 5. setting people aparL for JIIor-e merc\, and SOCial aetion work, particularly lit: lp i 1:L0f ~.eJ.j;L..wj I il >'0) ~4HH&--J.».'~~!,; .. ~,LE1'0 bl.!;.~~_~_<:.9~..!..<2us 6, seeing if it 'would be po s s i b Le t o .re t community mellllJe.r5. ordain;Jf~ . re 1 c:.t_~!~ ~L§ J~.!2.U_!:!J,J..5J-....!JL~.l~GI-te-S~~ • ~.. .• . .~_.. • __ -,/ *'''r~-startiJlg' a school ' is nut clear t na t we wou l u want to d, all these things. We could do 1'e than aile of them. Bu t II o rd e r: Lo ,10 u nv of them, we would have to find t mie f rom those who have t he u b i Lf t y a nd Lli'~ ruu t u r Lt.y to provide tho Lea de rs h ap for it, In other word s , we v unno t do ull of the above, Doing some precludes
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-3doing others. My sense right now is that we are overextended. Our recent discussion indieates to we that we still need to invest more in the basic things we are trying to do (section B above) . Either we should a) cut down our activities b) free more time f01' people to invest in some uf the things we want to do c) muddle throug}} on our cur ren t approach Perhaps we might want to recunsider some of the things we are already into. Some options I can see: 1) The Lighthouse, eSpucially the great number of support personnel 2) CRS: do we actually want to do all these things; if not, which ones might go? 3) the youth activities program (whicll, to a casual observer seems to take a great deal of manpowe r j -o-no t that I am suggesting that we can do without some k i nd of work wi th t he young people; more a reevaluation of the ty~e

",

D.

Further

thoughts

on the church

situation:

We are'still planning on a big discussion on how we want to relate to churches. I am working on the area and will have some thoughts for us to consider in 2 or 3 months. In the me an t i n.c , whi Le we are discussing our outreach and the limited resources we have, we have to, keep in mind tht: church situation in LWo ways.
1) If we are going to have church relations work right, we will almost certainly have to invest mo re in it (see A4 auove ) .

2) As we think of what services to do, we have three uptiuns that I can see in regard to the churches: a) go into tne same sort of services the churches do and duplicate their outreach (i.e. commullity school, cOlIIlJlunity program for the elderly, community clothing salvage operations, like Red Shield, etc.) b) do the things t he church do but do it for them (i.e. volunteer to run the St. ThoJllashigh school prog'l'amfor them, volunteer to take care of the Lord of Light music for them, etc.) c) find area~ for special outreach that they do not have or that they might turn ov~~ to us (e.g. evangelism in neighborhoods, action to change the school s y s t eiu , e t c ,) , Can we define what action projects we will take on or not., Or is it just a matter of do Lng what seems good at the moment?

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~rdinators

..•·F rOIilF1iii3;! Ide:
Date: 9/12/75

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Dear

brothers:

I want to call your attention to something new that's happening wi th in the commun i ty and ,ask for your comments and approval. This concerns baptism for Jewish believers. Mark Kinzer and three or four other Jewish believers within the community are seriously tiking steps to be baptized. This .w.vu Ld happen most likely on the first Saturday in October, at a lake somewhere.

What is unique about this is they are not approaching it in the normal standard way. They are not thinking of being baptized into traditional churches. They would most probably be baptized by Mark Kinzer and Prentice Tipton, who come out of a non-church tradition. They have no present conviction to join a traditional Christian Church, although that could be,a po~~ibility in the future. They would like it to be a community celebration, with their close friends and other members of the communi ty there. Steve C. will be asked to give a talk about baptism and its relationship to the community: how it can be a valid thing. The Jewish brothers and sisters want the support of the cOUllllunity and the approval of the coordinators before moving along with this. As the coordinator responsible for minorities, I am seeking your approval, comments, sugge s t i ons , e t c . Pe rhaps we could have a brief discussion about it at the next coordinators meeting. In:Christ, Doug

Doug, It seems to me that baptism makes sense only in relationship to the church. I think it is a mistake to regard it only as a provision which is a step in thflsG:dc process .-.£ getting into Christian life. If members of the community are unchurched Zlud want to »Xl!.:: baptize each other, I think that is ok. But I have reservations about the K&~x community coordinators approving it and about SBC I s gj virrgxst a talk abou t baptism at it. I think it should happen informally. I d ou "t think you should ask the coordinator s to approve it officially. I would be willing to explainmy reservations more if asked. (Tile church is a visible llaadJt~ reality; baptism is a part of the process of .i:odx initiation into a visible r e a.Lit vrnriot into some invisible spiritual christianity that has no body. The Word of God is not the church or a church. Baptism should be an initiation into a body. 1£ we are to uphold the t nut h in our lives as well as our words we should not -engaKe in ~ctivities which appear to stand against it. )

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Meeti.n~ of the SepLember 27, Kansas City, Present: Halph I3rllce

Council
1975

Mo. Steve Clark, Paul DeCelles, Ranaghan, Charles Simpson,

Don Basham, Ern Baxter, Larry Christenson, Martin, Bob Mumford, Derek P1"l11Ce, Kevin Yocum.

Discussion We w iLl,

on tilL' current controversy support the meeting. It will be held in Ann Arbor, Decembe r 15-16, 197:'1. Those who are invi t e d by the COIIIIII)tee are: t Briel< Bradford, Jamie Duckingham, 1.ILrry Christenson, Stcv0 Clark, Howard El ine, Charles Farah, Everett Pu Ll.am , Jack Hayford, Dan Ma La chuk , Bob Mumford, Derek Prince, Kevin Scanlan, rl Simpson, Bob Whi taker, and Rod WillialJls. We request that Ern Baxter be added to tllat list.
Ra nag h an , Mike Ch a e s

Our proposed schedule: Three St Conference t Lng : all day December 15 (starting 10:00 a.m.) D'i i on the t controversy: December 16 & 17 (starting 1.0:00 a.Ill.) Tile Council mee t Lntr : JJL'cember 17 (G:OO p.m.) to December 19 (evening).
r-e ans me e s cu s s on c u rre n

The March Council Future directions We will plan
We are o pe n St

meeting

will

revert

to

San Pedro.

Three
me nt

to

further natiol1ul shepherds conferences at the moment. kind of Le a d e rs c on lc re u c c in connection with the r e ams Co n lo rc n c c . We request Ko v i n to withdraw Ii om our c onum the Un ivc r c r t y of No t rc !Jame ne x t s uuune r . no
to s ome

t>-

\Ve will direction

s pe

nd a day of on Thursday,

prayer'

a nd

Deceiliber

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fusl.inl~ durillg

I' o r

our

guidance for next Council

future meeting:.

National Men's Shepherds Conference ------The Nlv\SC c onnn t t e e a u t h o ri ze s Dick Key Lo leave r the conference bank accuunt in Kansas Ci t y , and we will c on s i cle r the disposal of any f u t ur e Lunas at our December mcc t i ng.
Katl1ryn Ku Ll.ma n n

Bob Mumfo rd wi 11 approach Kathryn Kullmann abou t the report of her speaking against him on t e Lev i s i on . Larry Ch r Ls t e n s on will approach Dan Ma Lachuk asking for his support in s pe ak i n.r to Kathryn Kullman. Ralph Martin will also approach Kathryn Ku-llmalln expl'essinr; his concern. All will urge t h a i. Ma t t he w 18 be followed.

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The Coordinators Meeting October 8, 1975
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Decision' on headship
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Tbere should t~ e relatlnnsh1p' between the community and some of the members of tilt» commuuty where the heads of the community have a cOIlUllitme'nt to exertise a rAore acttve headship for the personal lives of -those people and ~h~Y in turn have a comm~tment to receive that headship in everything, ~he commitment of the people in this relatio~ship is not to a particular bead but to the cosmnunity, although the relati onshf p will be expressed in a relati~nship of submission to a particular head. Thl. relat10nlllblp should be entered at first on a tempol'ary basis, so that tho coord1natorz can see if the community 1s able to responsibly be in such a relationsh1ps with the person and also can see if the person 1s Jo1ng to follow out the rela~ion5hip willingly and Lu good spir:l.t. The coordinatmrs will begin giving headship to a wider group than will probably end up 1n the re lationship in a long-·term way. Th~y will gradua~ly ext~nd a mOfe definite invitation to a long-term relationship to those for wqom the f81a t Lonsh tp seemed right.



The community wi!'l normally have this relationship, either temporarily or in a long-term way, with everyone in common-finances households and with all district heads. There will be some in common-ef Lnance s households and SOIDe d~8tr1ct head~ who will be exceptions, however. Comments: The above decisions are a reaffirmation of the V~3/14 decision, not a change ~n them. The head can be more or less active in gLvf.ngheadship to a particuls.r person. While the subordinate can request more or less, the head has the final responsibility to determine how much headship will be given and the 8ubord1natil 10 committed to receiving what the head decides
OD.

The temporary relationship is a relationship for a definite period of time (e.g. for tii,Oears, for as long as they stay in the household). y A person can en ter Into the relationship with tbe mutual intenUon that it be long term but not pecessarily life-long. Such a relationship woul(i no~ be termed "temporary". The long-term or permament re lationship can be changed. It is, however, a covenantal relationship, and it cannot be changed without a mutual agreement between the person and the community (except in the case of the kind of wrongdo:i.ngthat is already a breaking of the agreement). Procedural decisions: 1) Those who a~e in special headship relationships should be given a elear ~xl)lanati()no.t 'What the l'elationship U\&,ans and 'What is expected of th~.
"" OVEH-·,

CM:lO/B/75,

cont.

page 2

2) The coordinators

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Notes from October 23rd meetinc Prophecy: Important for us to meet, God is do i.n someth i.nghere. g Passage: Hebrews 12: "Lift yo~r droop iru.hands •••II.


Gur,gestion to read rrancis Martin's .article on.charismatics within the Roman Catholic Church in Hew Covenant. Question: How can Protestants in The Word of God relate to local churches?

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-Leaven approach? -Renewed ~arish as goal? -What if church is just too messed up? -How evangelistic should we he? +Df.s cIpLesh Lp problem (sheep stealing) is DIG problem within many Protestant churches. The quest ion was asked: "for what purpose should we come together?". Some suggestions were: For support as Protestants within The Word of God To learn how to relate to local churches more effectivelY How to approach or·tie into the broader charismatic renewal within our denomination, or in other denominations. It was also sugp;ested and agreed that Ted would talk to Steve Clark about our meeting as soon as possible and get his feed back and direction. It was agreed that we would pray about what sort of thing the Lord would want to do wi t h this Group. (1.e. Develop into a large group? Stay the same , size? !lave meetings of a larger group occasionally? ••• ) It was decided that we would tentativelY,do the foLl.ow . Irig Meet every other Thursday for lunch. fast on the Wednesday preceeding that Thursday and pray for God's direction and for His work in our churches (we would only fast from lunch).

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At our next meetinr; we decided to have some brief description from each persoil of how they got to where they are with regards to denomination, and of anythinr; else they feel God has done to give them a concern for their church in this way. If we have time we will discuss how we can support each other as Protestants within The Hord of God.

Ted

Present at the meetinp,: Ted Kennedy 111 Steve Peterson Dave Brownson Dim Kennedy Andy Hilliamson Mark Cowen

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Background A. Suenens and staff: Margie, Veronica, Wilfred, Yvette. B. Previou.,; situation: exchange of letters, smnmer '75 First events A. Council of the Laity--World Consultation - Marxism, bankruptcy, the role of women, possible good contacts - bankruptcy - role of women - possibl.e good contacts B. Meeting with the American Curia officials c. Meeting with Juan Matos and Fr. Alonso D. Meeting with Deiz - Halph and Poland - Vatican speech wr i t ers - pressure on Deiz E. R. Malone - internal structures - recommendations regarding Pentecost t75 F. Suenens attitude - hoping to be able to rely on ad hoc committee and discontinue
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Our initia.lreaction - tending to prefer also to end relationship Revelation - covenant .-confidential - personal. relationship - firm commitment to reucwa L Spiritual clouds Meeting wHh Ellio Meeting with Willebrands Meeting wi:th Laity Counc Ll, Address to European Bishops - good response - some good contacts My conversation ,<lith Veronica - conver-gence of vision in main outlines - seen through very ecclesial eyes - learned about their initiatives in the past year - knowledge of Mr. White - accepteJ and agreed with every word Revelatio.n for Ralph and steve Significance at proposal - thorough acceptance - widesprea.d promotion - access to authorities Discussions begin - misunderstandings - tensions - they apologized - their concern Change occurs when Ralph takes hea.dship Reve Lu t '~, and tying.. hands Final StLl.ti en and agreement We VI'ill uraw c," ·:",1 j 1i ne of covenant
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Preliminary ~ I. Goals A. Reasons for going to Malines 1) "communion" with the Cardinal, developing a common vision for the church (need: time to spund with Cardinal and Veronica) f!i: - working on the IVjalinesdocuments (needs time) 2) study for theological degree? (need to be free from other things) J) help get 'community started in Brussels (SC and RM would only have time for some advice; someone needed for ongoing contact) B. Other things to be accomplished next year 1) learn French· 2) SBCI develop federation of' communities (including European) J) RCMI travel and speak V{!G - IC~ work with some communities Malines ProDosal

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Steve could ~ork on a J months in ~alines, 2 months in the USA rhythm. In M~lines he would primarily work with the Cardinal and study. He would do some visiting of European communities. In the USA he would livi in Ann Arbor, but spend time with American communities. Much of his time would be out of town. tended to work with the "apostolic visit" model of how to develop the communi ty of communi t.i . \'Ie would spend a week wi th ac a community three times a year, and durine that time would give directions and teacfuing. Eventually there would be training sessions and meetings for all the community elders together. We wanted to ·set up a Word of Cod - International Communications Office. The CCR-ICO would only be one function of this office. It wo uld be a ~XaN~NXlafxtN func "\:4 on of a branch of the 'viG abroad. The biggest question is the c~!@unity in ~~hl~~l~. RCM and SBe If are going to be abie to fulfil the above goals, they will have little time for such a cOinmunity. SOilleoneneeds to be sent along who can provide some re~l ongoing help for it, or we can't do much more t.han radv i se . III. People needed 1) an all-purpose assistant for HClv!! B9b Be~!? . 2) an all-purpose assis~ant fo,I' S~3CI. ~n"1(ea ti~1g? _~ (would also study wh1le at ~al1nes) . J) s orne orie to be head wh i I.c Ralph is traveling away f'r-om La.l Lne s (capable of being head of WG-ICO and of Refil's ,house); if that person were capable ofhelpin~ a new community, that would . ..-) he Lp a great deal __ ~c../ 4) ~ryl~ser~-k)f,.9~'yjG-ICO 5) a --~.re-cr-etary -~,'" .,; "'--6) women ~o help r.n RCil!' house(r ~// s 7) people for SBC's house (depentttng on below) Commerrt i we seem to be Lo ok i ng for a married couple who could live with Ralph ~nd the man could be pastoral head wh~le Ralph was travel1ng.It would be good traln1ng for h1m.

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The following are options for how we could help the Brussels communitYI 1) we could have someone capable of helping them grow into ~ommunity who could work with them in an ongoing way 2) Bob and John could help them when they were in twwn and be helped by man J above, if he were not capaoble of helpirtg a new community himself; that has the disadvantage of their being only irregularly on the scene J) someone c out'd help who not really all that capable of helping a community grow, and Ralph or Steve could advise from time to time

V. Steve's house
The follo~ing are optionsfor Steve's housel 1) he just live with Ralph when in Malinesi that would mean only John was needed; disadvantage I no brotherhood house life 2) a house be set up for Steve too - would need two more brotherhood brothers (they would have to support one another while Steve and John were in USA) - could add some other community brothers (e.g. Mark Foster, Ken Cooper who might study th~~ ..• . .. - could have only one other C%:=tiI1~ brother and br1ng h1m ·home with us and trade him for a different one i such a brother would get some European experience (candidatesl Ed 1, Gary S, Terry C., John D., even Ted, Don, Pete, Doug, Bruce -i.e. for the latter part of the list we are clearly envisioning a kind of sabbatica~ for a term)

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We thought the following people might be considered the on-the-scenes head (and community helper) I RJC PSW
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l I provide the following observations in the drop of the sign-up rate for LSSand the matter of evangelistic direction in general: a) We should explore the relationship of the phenomenon to the general ~~.~ ~ ~ community time problem, both in terms of available time for evangelism~ ~ ~ and in terms of the kind of witness which our present busy lifestyle • ~ ~ pre:sentsto outsiders.

b)Does life in our community look too formidable to many people who might otherwise want to become members; has community life in some sense actually become too formidable; this is the question of the width of the "gap" which a person must cross when moving into the life of the community.I have heard suggested that the actuality or the image of the exercise of authority and headship and our teaching on roles of men and women may be significant elements in the way in which this "gap" is perceived. . , c)

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We mq,y want to look at the decisions we have made, explicitly or implicitly, in the past about allocating our time and energies between the internal () Ie life of the community and external contacts of an evangelistic nature. ' I believe the time may be at hand to develop an approach for eVangeliZing) within the local churches., It might be useful to develop a proposal and estimates of manpower for accomplishing this. I think it timely to take a new look at eff~ctiveevangelizing of ,the local churches.' ';. outside

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I,A,l The Coordinvtors Meeting November 5, 1975

No decisions m8de. Sununery of the meeting Discussion of CRS, requests for help from out of town, ~nd other services investments for the conununity.

The Coordinators Meeting November 12, 1975 No decisions m~de. Sununcry of the meeting Discussion of how to help people moving towards marriage.

The Coordinators Meeting November 19, 1975 No decisions m~de. Sununary of the meeting, Discussion of how to help people moving towa.rds mar rdage •

THE WORD OF GOD
P.o. Box 87

Ann Arbor, Michigan 48107

November 6, 1975

Brothers and sisters: We believe that we have reached a consensus in the consultation concerning our relationships with other communities. The responses of all of the household heads and non-residential household heads indicate that on the whole we are in agreement with the four points listed in the consultation document. A few people disagree "Tith some of the statements in that document, but only a very few. A number of people had reservations or questions about some of the areas of the consultation, but felt on the whole that it was the right direction to go and that they could agree with the statements listed in the consultation document. The overwhelming majority of people in the community f·elt favorable with little or no reservation. The purpose of this letter is to d~~ermine in a more thorough way the consensus of those people in the community who have made a public commitment. We would like you to indicate for us on the form attached your decision about the topic of the consultation. Please"'complete the attached form prom,ptly and return it to us no later than Wednesday, November l2. The form can be mailed to The Word of God, P.O. Box 87, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48l07, or it can be turned in either to the Community Off~ce in the League or to the receptionist at Harris Hall. We believe that the Lord will work through this consultation to guide and to lead us. May God bless us as we seek to know his will and do it together. In the Lord Jesus, Bruce Yocum and Jim McFadden, Head Coordinators

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PrOtestant Brothers Meeting

11/06/75

Sharing: • Local situation should be a model of what God \-lants do in Protestant to churches. The "mantle of leadership" which many people have acknow ledg ed to be rest ing on the WIG includes the renewal of Protestants, at least to some extent. We each gave a short testimony of how we ended up in the churches we are in, and of anything we felt that God had dOlle to give a Sense of concern for this phase of his work.

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We encour-aged each other to get more invol verl in the things that are happening.' on a national level within our respective denominations. (Lutheran Charismatic R~newal Services) (Presbyterian Charismatic Communion) (r.:piscopal Charismatic fellowship) (and others ••• )

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11/20/75

Sharing alonE the lines of: He should approach t h Ings sp.i r-i t ualIy- re Ly i ug on God to act serio\lsJy wi th much faith in God expectine lIim to act - depending on !lim to do so. - be open to a new working of God There are major obstalles confronting Christians, even those who are very dedicated. - A cloud need to be lifted. Interceeding is important - we need to learn about this.
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Supportinp, protestants in the WIG: - We need to be more aggressive in encouraging people to identify with their church, and to be committed, active members. - We (and the whole WIG) need to s·ee the H/G as a place where all Christians are being renewed, not primarily Catholics. - We should be alert for the possibility of having conferences here of people from other denominations.



- We should make more of an effort to meet the Protestant leaders who visit the WIG, and should try to keep more in touch with members of our denominations around the country.

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The Coordinators Meeting - 11/25/75 The church relations discussion

Recommendation on Evangel Temple. We should not try to keep community members in small evangelical churches that demand ~igh participation. When there is a conflict, we will allow them to make a choice without pressure from us to stay in the community. Comments. There is a need for some kind of "church life" for the evangelicals in the community where some functions the community does not perform can be handled for them. We might want to begin a low~profile evangelical 'ellowship connected to the community. We are not ready to move on this until we consider the wider \,!uestionva where we are ( going with all the churches. There is a feeling of dissatisfaction with our church relations. Are we having a good effect on the churches~ Should We cons i.der- more seriously community-related churches, e~g. charismatic Catholic churchKK, Lutheran church, etc. related to the community~ W,e seem to be trying to relate to too many churches. Perhaps if we could find a good way to concentrate more community members in fewer churches and put more into it pastorally, we come up with a better situation. Dual headship questions. 1) It should be clearer to community members that they should not be telling community problems outside the community, even to a priest or minister. They should go to another community head. 2) For members in XX«i~K an active headship relationship with us. a) the community heads should be conscious of whom thei:x people they are responsible for are talking to. They should make an active effort to be in touch with it. b) It is OK for community members to go to a priest or minister for one-time or short-term help for particular matters. questions connected with ther church membership, sacramental confession, the need for special help with the~r rell;itionspipto the community, advice on personal problems Or life directions. (Notel I wonder if this list ought not go under number 1 above - for the ordinary community member not for the ones we are taking active responsipility for). c) they should never be in an ongoing relationship with a pries~ or minister where they are getting direction two SQUrOeS of direction is not productive.
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Comments. ~his area ought to be cleared up in the special meetings:wi:\;hthe com munity and with members of cfhh.
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A Report on The Word of God
De cenibe r 1975 Supplement This report covers the time peri0d of October 1973 through December 1975. In that time period a great deal has happened within The Word of SodJ and lore have expe r i.enced a lot of growth and change. He present a summary below' under the headings of "Growth Statistics', I Developments itJithin Community', 'Develor~ents in our Outreach', 'Developments in Our'Relafionships with Other Groups', and 'Questions'. We hope to give here sOffiT ind:"cation of how we have experienced our life together in the last tvlO and a quarter years. ,

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Growth Statistics Each year a siBnificant number of new people have come into The Word of God. This zas been a major factor that has called for a lot of o~ resources to go into bringing those new people into the community and giving them the teaching and care they need. It has also brought us in~o relationships vlith more of the churches and parishes in Washtenaw ' Co~ty over the years. Members of the community nm! attend 69 area chUrches • .:":.::6. it has called on us to invest a great deal of effort in forming small g:C-G'J.p situations 'tvithinthe community, especially living situations, that can 'ce a regular source of life and growth for the member-a, Here are some of the statistics: .i::1embership: Public Commitment
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up to: 1/73 5/73 ~ 1/74 5/74 9/74 1/45 5/75 ~ ~ 2 5 251 279 272 3 7 390 341 80 387 96 446 100 439 l24 523 150 595 196 595 215
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Underway Children of those who have made the P.C. or U.W. commitment Alumni Dropouts

225

19 32

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25 33

27 35

30 39

38 41

40 42

40 45

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(D=opouts are those who decided for various reasons not to continue :~n:V'olvement,..- The vlord of God though able to cont Lnue. 1f':.;th~y~;wanted, 1-lith a~1dAlumni' are those whose involvement ended because they had to move ?~:..se\"here, eg., to take a particular job.) 9/71 -' 8/72 9/72 - 8/73 1,009 1,l26 1,497 1,262 (38 (27 (28 (57 stayed and became part of the stcyed) community) stayed) stayed)

9/73 - 8/74
9/74 - 8/75 Small Gronp Situations: Residential Non-residential Dormitory groups

(As of December

1975)

66 (i'Ii 404 members th
and 144 non-residential 47 (with 409 members) 14 (with 150 members) members)

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(Residential refers to basic STOUpS in which the members share the apartment or home and non-residential refers to living situations in wh~ch the members do not live physically in the same building but meet once pe r week or more for meals, sharing and prayers.) Developments Within our Communitx

,1. The District System ", , In early 1975 we changed from 'subcommunity' groupings to 'district' groupings in the community. The subcommunities were large groupings (a.bout 200 or more) that had either no geographical base or in some cases a very wide geographical base. The experience of this large group 'vas not ,all th~ different from the experience of the community as a whole, eg., in how well one was able to get to know everyone else and how frequently one could actively participate. As a result we organized the community into smaller, geographically based districts. We have been 't'Torldng with eleven districts but plan ' to reorgainze into ten in early 1976. The district system has made a difference in our experience of community life. Each member is able to relate to a household grouping of about 10 people, the district grouping of about 100 people, and the whole community of about l200 people. Also, clusters of basic groups are now more effectively connected in many neighborhood areas. This system has also allowed a greater involvement of the members in services within the community and to those around us. In the neighborhoods we are more able to serve those with physical needs or with needs to hear the gospel. Within the community, services that previously were centrally organized now can be organized in the districts 'and involve more people. For example, to take care of children during our community gatherings we previo.usly had a centrally organized chilacare service. Now that service takes place ,,!ithinthe districts and frequently within a neighborhood area "There there is a cluster of community homes. This means that a lot more people can be involved in the service and additionally that we can meet more needs in a better way. We" are continuing to implement the district system. Several areas of service still need to be changed over from the more centrally organized system, but so far the districts have proven to be more effective in caring for the needs within and around the community. 2. Thursday Night Commund'ty Gatherings Because of the grmvth in numbers within the community we have expanded from one Thursday night gathedng to three. Each-of the gatherings is attended:Pya number of the districts and'by the new people who come. On~ is on the west sideofAnnArbor at Forsythe Junior High, one centrally located in Ann Arbor at St. Thomas High School and the other in Ypsilanti at St. John's Church.

3. ypsilanti The 'long-range' vision suggested for Ypsilanti in our last community report has now been achieved. At that time we had moved several people and a household there to be a base for further growth and hoped to aohieve

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a district for service to the studentn at Eastern Michigan one for families and others not related to the university. districts now exist.

University and These two

4. Youth Activities Since October of 1973 there haa been a significant increase in the number of children whose parents are involved in The Word of God. More established families from WashtenavT County and from other parts of the country (who have moved here) have entered the commtmity. Also the marriages which have taken place ,-rithinthe community have begun to add children to our numbers. Two years ago the children that were here were minimally connected to the community. - Care for them was a lot like babysitting that simply freed thei~ parents to be involved in the activities 6f the community. By early 1975 that had changed. The activities provided for the yOuth came to be seen as a place where there could be a strong Christian peer group. 't-Te began to integrate the age groups of the children with each other, to establish relationships among the chiidren and families on more of a geographical basis within the districts, to center more activities for children around their families and to train parents in raising their children. To this'last end a parents' forum was established on a monthly basis. One notable aspect of the activities ,for youth has been weekday , childcare which is offered to the children from the ages of two to five. 90 children come for one or two mornings a week to participate in a well organized program. There is also an active summer program including a half acre garden and a summer camp (for a week in August) among other activities that have transformed the summer from anything resembling a time to loaf around to a time of active involvement in the life of a Christian community.
5. Nevr Courses Two new courses are now presented \<Tithinthe community, and another has been significantly changed. The two new courses are "The Fruit of the Holy Spirit" and "Living in Christian Community". Foundations Course II has been significantly changed •. Below is a list of the talks in these courses to give some idea of their content. It is worthwhile noting that we have grown a great deal in understanding the scriptural view of the roles of men and women. Headship and subordination, mutual serVice, definite roles within the family, masculine and feminine identity have all come into greater order for us.
Fru~t 01 the Spirit 1. The Im~ge of God 2. Love and r.iercy 3. Meekness and Agressiveness 4. Joy and Sorrow 5. Peace and Fight 6. Patience and Perseverance 7. Faithfulness and Self-Control Living in Christian Community 1. Our basic commitment as a Community 2. Order in Christian Community 3. Personal Headship 4. Peace and Discipline 5. Unity and Disagreement 6. Individual Responsibility for Community Life '

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Fou~~ations II for Single People Rouncations 7::I Married 1. State of Life 1. Communication in Marriage 2. Hen and Women in Christian Community 2. God's Order for Family Life: 3. Marriage: Husbands and Hives Headship and Submission 4. Marriage: Raising Children 3. Sex in l',Iarriage 5. Homen: Homanhood 4. Sex in Mal~riage: Testimony Men: Sexual Control 5. Homen: Being a Christian Woman 6. Women: Female Sexuality Men: Being a Christian Man Men: Sexual Problems 6. Homen: Being a Wife 7. Women: Handling Sexual Desires Men: Being a Husband Men: Attraction and Love 7. Women: Female Sexuality 8. Homen: Handling Sexual Problems Men: Male Sexuality Men: Christian Manhood 8. Parents and Children: Teaching 9. Parents and Children: Discipline 9. Approaching Marriage 10. Approaching Living Single for the Lord 10. Parents and Children: Testimony 11. Homen: Be Lng Single 11. Relating to Single People 12. Family life in Community M Men: A Single Man's Relationships 12. Women: Being a Christian lrloman Men: Being a Christian Man

6. Servants of the Word
In February Qf 1974, The v-Tordof God had its first group of men who made a permanent commitment to celibacy. They have been named The Servants of the v.Iord,and are committed to a li:fe of' simplicity, celibacy, and brotherhood. As of the end of 1975, five men have made a permanent commitment to this brotherhood and ten more have made a temporary commitment. There is also a group of five women who have made a temporary commitment to celibacy with four more associated who are considering thecommit~ent.

7. Common Finance Households
In the fall of 1974, 1'1e began to have a significant number of households who shared their finances together. At the end of 1975, 116 members lived in 15 such households. Extra money that these households do not need is put into a common fund that is available for supporting various needs of the Lord r S wor-k, Since sharing of finances brought all the ar-easr-of the members' lives into common, a greater commitment to headship for personal life was needed in these households. Those who live in common agree to a relationship of obedience for their who.Ie lives excepting the most fundamental life direction choices such as vrhe bher- to marry and who to marry and occupation. The primary motivation for the choice to live this way is to express the love that •. have for one another and to be more te available for the Lord's service.

8. Charismatic Gro •. rth
In the past b"o and a quarter year-s a major development within The Word of God has taken place in the area of charismatic gifts. As a community we have experienced a greater faith in these gifts and have seen their effects more frequently and more powe rf'u'lIy, Guidance (gifts of wisdom and know'ledge }, prophecy and healing have become more frequent and more effective. While there is more to receive in this area the past couple. of years has marked a significant maturing in these gifts. ..'

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Developments In Our Outreach 1. Charismatic Ren8wal Services Originally conceived of as an outreach of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal Service Committee, Charismatic Renewal Services (CRS) ,is now understood and or~nized as an outreach of that committee plus the two communities, The People of Praise in South Bend, Indiana and The Word' of God in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with branches in both Ann Arbor and South Bend. The key word for what has happened over the last couple of years in CRS i~ growth. The number of employees in the Ann Arbor branch has. tripled since 1973 and the p~yro11 has also tripled going from $15,000 to $45,000 per month. CRS has moved from offices in.the basement of a home and rented s pace over a restaurant to. a large building in downtown Ann Arbo'r called Harris Hall. The cd rcu La t Lon of New Covenant has climbed from 25; 000 to 65,000. The number of books CRS has published has grown from two to twenty. In 1973 two records had been produced and now six have been produced. Many more tapes are available including several tape albums and conference talks (complete with on-site duplicating capability). Fina1iy the Ann Arbor branch has moved out of organizing conferences (which are now planned from the South Bend branch) and into operating a program for visiting ieaders who come to The Word of God trying to learn what they can about the charismatic renewal. In addition to these things CRS has grown orgfinizationally and professionally. Through, all of this growth CRS is now providing a. lot more services than it did in 1973 and has become a full-scale publishing house and corporation. 2. Conferences Hosted Since bctohf:;r1973, The Word of God has hosted the following conferences: National Service Conference for the Catholic Charismatic Renewal (Dec. 30, 1973 - Jan. 1, 1974) Lutheran Charismatic Renewal National Leaders Conference (Feb. 11-14, .1974) United Methodist Conference on the Holy Spirit (Sept. 20-21, 1974) , Catholic·Cluiriamatlc ;Ren~wd"Se:r:tr:lc~ •.. "C~mm~t.t~e and Advisory Committee Re t r, (Jan. 2-5, 1~75) Lutheran Charismatic Renewal National Leaders Conference (Feb. 3-6, 1975) Pneuma '75, Society for Pentecostal Studies Fifth Annual Meeting (Dec. 4-6, 1975) 3. Music The music group within our community has always been a strong force in our life. Now it has also come to have a greater effect elsewhere. Six records have been produced (through CRS) and a' songbook that is. a bestseller. The music group is also in great demand to provide leadership at conferences which it has done at the international conferences 'in South Bend and in Rome and at an interdenominational coriference in Kansas City in 1·975. 4. The Lighthouse A performing group of music, drama, and dance called the LighthQuse has continued in existence over the last two years. In the last couple of

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years it has grown in skill and reputation, traveling w~dely and appearing on television. It has recorded one record and has another slated for early 1976. Two years ago it performed in the summers only, but now performs all year round on almost a weekly basis with two performances most weeks. It has become a semi-professional operation that is able to give a Christian witness in its performances. Another performing group called New Canticle made up of five singers eXisted for a year and performed in the Washtenaw County area primarily for evangelism purposes. New Canticle also produced a record. 5. Works of Mercy The district system mentioned above has allowed us to begin tqIDove towards doing more in our neighborhoods to meet the needs of those 'around us. This is now our main thrust'iin this area. In addition, over the past two years we have undertaken a few small pilot projects with visiting the hospitals, the jails, and the elderly in their home. We have also been able to ~ake some monetary gifts to groups around the world, both for physical needs and missionary needs. 6. Relationships With Other Communities Over the past few years we have begun to be able to give help to several other communities arcund the country and elsewhere in the world. From the experience that we have gained we have been able to give them help with forming cqmmunity, with teaching, and with personal direction. We are now in a direct helping relationship with about ten other communities. One notable occurance has been the extended stay here of 17 people from Lebanon who had lived as a Christian community in Beirut and fled that city because of the war going on there. We welcomed them into our life this past fall. They now live in our households with us and participate in our community life while they await developments in their own country hoping to eventually return there.

Developments

in Our Relationship

with Other

Groups just above we have entered

into

In addition to the developments mentioned other new relationships with some groups.

1. Christian Growth Ministries We invited Bob Mumford and De re k Prince from Christian Growth Ministries to speak at our 1974 community conference. This reflected a relationship of friendship and sharing that already existed at that time and that has grown since then. 2. The People' of Praise In addition to working with meffi~ersof The people of Praise through CPoS, we also shared our 1975 community conference with them. Leaders from the two communities have had a longstanding relationship and now -the two communities have grown closer through the personal sharing at the conference.

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3. Cardinal Suenens In the past two years leaders from our community have also developed a relationship with Cardinal Suenens. At his invitation we are planning to send a team of some 20 people to Belgium in the fall of 1976 to work with him in establishing Christian community there and in establishing a center for the international charismatic renewal. 4. Puerto Rico The charismatic community in Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico has been in contac~ us for several years and we plan to send a team of about 10 people to there with them for the summer of 1976 •

with work

. Questions 1. Relationships with other communities So far our relationships with other communities have been either informal relationships or relationships of helping them to get established as communities. We also feel that it would be right to establish committed relationships with a variety·of communities as sister communities for ongoing growth and sharing. We are beginning to investigate how the charisIi1,,-'tic cO~ffiunities that exist might be able to relate to ~ach other in this way. 2. A Community School We hage begun to think about the feasibility and desirability of establishing a community school within The Word of God. We are not very near to having an answer to the question. The technical and legal questions are great, and in addition there is not yet a consensus wi thin the. community tha-:= this would be the ~est way to care for our children. 3. Relationships with local parishes and churches We have a relationship through our members to 69 area churches and parishes. In attempting to understand the direction that the Lord wants us to go in serving him we need to understand our relationship to those churche. and to the work of those churches. To what degree should we work within those churches and to what degree do we have a special area of service that does not overlap with them?

Protestant Brothers Meeting,

12/4/75

"Reports" from various brothers: Ted K. got reply from Oral Robe r-tn , Said he couldn't come here because of lack of time. Probably didn't. quite under-s and letter - tuough t t it was speaking request. Ted K. is going to speak with Andrew roster at Canterbury House tomorrow. =pr-obab will speak about homosexuality Ly -suggestion was made that he listen to Steve Clark's tape on this.

!
Andy W. reported on meetine with Russell 1!itt -He is writing an article for Eternity m<1gazine on the CharismaticR.enewal. -Wrote previolls article that, was "down" on CR. -Wants to write new one that is more favorable. -Andy, Pete, and Russell talked about 3 main problems that evangelicals face in CR. -theologically hard to accept or describe biblically thp. BIIS. -what is the difference hetween Christian maturity and t.heBHS. -must people speak in tongues? (Pete said: don't have to, but all can and most do)

It was agreed that Ted should write a note to Tony Redente and Dan Jones about informing us when Protestant leaders visit WiG.

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TOI Bruce Yocum Froml Steve

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12/6/15
I see some areas where we need to work out some kind of procedures or ways of dealing with problems areas as we are thinking about the head~hip matters in the communi~y. In regard to the special heads~ip relationship I 1) there should be a clearer approach to taking new people in: in particular~ I think we ought to have people in a special relationship on a temporary basis (living in a household or in a special discipleship group) so that we can get to know them before we offer them a special submission relationship 2) we should have some kind of bead on the future,so that we can make decisions analogous to the one we ma~e with Herb and the brotherhood (i,e. it might work out, but we are not sure we will have the resources in ~he, future to give him adequate headship) J) how are we going to give current cfhh members and future ones adequate instruction on submission? Will one meeting do for current ones? How about future ones? l.j.) I think we should keep the m/w ratios in the group with the special commitment even, at least among the singles. 5) We want more ~people in this relationship betause they are able to make financial contributions than we currently have.
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In regard to exercising headship, the following are areas that I think the coordinators need to discuss I 1) confidentiality . 2) how heads make decisions for people's lives (when, how, the role of dialogue with the person, when the person makes their J) ~ d~.~i}~J.~D ~ J..,.<.4."-'f. (L('C""\l/ dh./ h"h~) k... . . ~~ wlsdom bn how to Wln confldence from the subordlnate S1 wisdom on how to discipline them The latter two might be the subject of teaching, not of discussion. But I do feel these areas need dicussion before thecfhh thing is going to wor~ right.
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To:

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From:

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12/9/75\: ...
Reflections on pe~p1e to fin
,s,

positions in Malines

.,

Steve and I talked about possible people to fill the different po.sitions in Malines and. Steve suggested that I share with you my r ecommenda t ions. ~) .," ~ \'fYi' ~',. ';:/; " ',:: ..~ " ";' ~
~ ,i, ';';~ ~ t ~ •. ':

1: would like to reconnnend that Gary Seromik and Nancy Pflug staff the rCO/Word of God offices at Malines. They are clearly the most qualified at th~ p reaent time and are doing well pastorally. .
" '..'

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,.

"r would like to suggest that Charlie Christmas be the person who would be pastorally head of my house in my absense, over there. If he is married to Patti Marks at the end of the sunnner, then she .would be a good person to help Anne in the house and with the children. An additional reason for Charlie going is that Steve and I felt we needed some fairly accomplished music people, that it would be terrible to be exiled to Babalyon and not be able to sing the songs of Zion. Besides being a support musically, he could take some role, along with Bob Bell and John Keating, a~ a resourse perso~ for the local situation.
If Patti Marks doesn't end up marrying Charlie, some one like Monica Ratta would be a good .suppo r t for the home and t o work with the children. ,~"..- . '. ' I feel open to the possibility of Randy and his family going over. I tend to feel they would be more valuable here and I have a slight reluctance 1:0 that large a family sttuatior as we begin. Bruce, it would be nice if some determination could be made soon, at least by January, so we can begin training, language study, .p Lann Lng , arranging visas, and also so the peo~l~ in Belgium can make ad equa tapreparation. ,;~. ./: .1" ' I'll be in an ICO meeting all this afternoon, but I'd be more ~ than wi1~ing to talk about it if you and Ji~ are. >Just come get me.
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I,A,l The 'Coordinators Meeting December 10, 1975

Commitment

in the community

Comment: Difficulties people have with things in the community can be a source of improvement in their reletionship to the community or en opportunity to resolve Long-cs t.and Ing difficulties. l-Ie want people to be committed to the community in e good spirit. fu!!:nmC1ry the meeting: of on the upcoming general community gathering and on preperetion for the recommitment 2) Subcommittee meetings: 8) he8dship in the community b) moving tow~rds m~rriDge in the community
1) Discussion

..---L---I·.-· He : ship' and- Subordina t.ion . ---

--." _ - .. . -- -.-_ .. '-,

-.. -

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-.-....... . ..----.- '. ._...,.---, ..,
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_

.._"=~~~'~'.~~~ .. ...
II .. .--

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A. Headship··providea"· ...

.- •••

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----,
~. __ ~ .•• _._._ •.

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·'..i··-·
- '

.. -. ~_~or gr-oups] ·.·
,· ···_- ,--·for ..
_ ..,-, ..,.,..,.

.o~der~ unity" .d!r~~~~.C?n/p:u!pose,I. ..~.~.~~di~~~!~ll guidance,correotlon,.. help .. w/p:N)blems·~~· ..

.,

'

individuals,
~.- .. -.--.- ..-

... -----. --.. , . ,-,,.._ _ 1

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- ---"'''-' ('B()naventUrey·----·.. , .- -.--..-- - ---.-.._._--.,-'

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........... _., i

B.:Subo~t~=:~=~· :lIl~~~~~=--=-~~:~=:::--=-~-==:=-=---~-~...,....
'~'_" _ .... .. . . •'i..' .u " ",:: I

.
._ •••.. ,

- <l:>ediencemeansdodng what' you"are·t.old
_-....._._ •.•.•. _ •••••••.••••.. __ • __ •• '.8· •.•.• _.• • •• • .• __ • __ •.. _._ ••. _._ •• _ •._. _ .•• __

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_ ..' . ,:"youcan discuss it (most times) but you are committed .to 'do it _.- .., _--:-.
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,··· ..···· ... ·Subordination does not always involve obedien·~~"--·--·"--·
,"-'"'' .. ---"",..-.--

'-'-'-'-"-"

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,'receive

- ..- - .._ .._--, ----~

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you-shoul.d present- things direction '

be -raady:..,..to..----

--- '- - ..---

~.-.

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---.--.--

.. .. -' -···-· hguld· take direction ..or ..ccunsef.. ser-ioualy.-' -~. ~ .. s .
---

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,

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y~U -shouldusrialli-

doi t--( but-- don 'n';i'.e-;--.

--~~::'!~;·hk dri~~b~~, ~~~t at whet er ~r not' you' have "to"obey-

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:.--.-_.. -.-: ..-- ._
of, headship -

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-..;..~.""""-.~ f··-·-·~- ..,-..-..C.-Variety· ..n·exercise· ~ .. , i ,,,"

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In' addi tion .. o the . difference· between ..subordina tion-----':"t where· obedience is necessary, and subordina tion.---,----..

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-- a1~e~: ~~~s~~i~~~ .. ~~~e(~~e~~:n~: ~ -:~:~~)
as k"obedience
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";heads ,will handle~different

people'dUferently-

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in the Communi ty-·_··--...--- ..-..._-. -----.~-.-.----.-- .. .-.--. -----.--.--~ ---_._--.------._#--- - '.. ~
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-There-

are ..two main ·levels

or-·headship-'in-the-eommuni

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A. Basic commitment ..(rc) .. ..- ---.-----. -.".--" _.---- -- ._._ .. _._ -_ __ --_ . --"--'

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..- Subordination·in our whole lives

everything .(becauae ..we·have-commit-ted- .. -'.. to one another). , . -.... ... •. :'

----- ..,.. ---- ..---- ..- ----. Obedience in··the . things we· do together· (communitY--4rder-,-. -.. . ..__ _._. ._ ~~~ices~ .. ~:!!E-~~i~ua~i0l!s~ __ __ .. .~~~~~:v...~~.~.h~~~~~~L~~c.1~._ ......-.- - Norms Lly you should be eager to hear what your head--has-::- . to say, and willing to do it, even for things you i ·----don 'thave to""obey' in - -.... . '''- -- -----.- ..- .
.

- -~.•..- ..... --- .~~-- ...•.•.. .-" ...

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- Headship will _. work differently-.. , ' __ ". _._.. ,.-_:.. _ -_. in HHaand CLSs~~~~_. _-,--_ _ -__ ._,.,.-.: __ ~..
_~_.

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----- .. .. .. - ---++----- .. - -.~ H+-.--.--

-_ -.---~--._. __

-.--.---- -

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-. because we.do ·more ·together-r theI'&-·are more areas where we have to obey ~~~::~-us-·~ -.;~~ -·~~~·~·~·~~h.-:~eone .--~-"h-~-·

_-~-~-.~y:~ ..~.

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_ _hea~,_ ~.~~!r._l?:e~<is.~p. ..~!!!_E.roEab~..E~_ m~~~_~ active t' .; . '.:.~~. -:.:'.', ~·:-L~~ii,~ln
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"-;-r--'"

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- there will be variety in the way heads exercise . -'-"-...,-~'".-- .... -..-..--.--._.---- .._.'--headship- in-the 'cOlTllllUIiitj--in'''general;'-frCin-----. -_ ---.-.---.. .." _- .--- -- .. :... -.household -to househofdj=and -even·~\iithillr'-.th8-:'--":""'" ~. ..'.~ Bame house';' ---~- ----- :_.: -.- -.:. . v~n£;'::{ ,';1; -. ·-·,----·--·.. -I-ri----- .. --·-· -----.------ .._ --- -.-.. ---- .. ..; : ..,.---'-,,::,~, .,.:,."".:', t ;

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- For those underway, the ~ommitment is the same (obedience) ................for 'What we do" together·-·-- .. ..····-. -- ..-·---·..···-·:-;.. · ....-.-----... --.1++ ..-._1 · .. ·

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. - we have taken them into our life, 'committment is part "of- that'
- .. -- .-._,"- ._-- _- -_.. _.

and the . ',,'" -- ..=r=>:': .

- .. " .-

. ._-- - ---r- ...------ .•'-.-- ..---- •.•.. _----

- There will be a difference in the amount of subordination .............. required byheada of those UW,depending on how"'they""are-~ ... . . "'-' -..- ..growing in tocornmi tment to ..the ..communi y:· .... ;,J,;....-..-.-.-.,;-:L.. t ~
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B. - Commitment to full-. personal -.... .• -- -- .. .•• ;l" •

- ..-

submission --_..--

--

---.-.-._.

--

..--.--.-

..----.--.

~-.....,.-

. ..... ----.-. some people in the community have enetered intoa--·---·: ..·-· ..-relationship - .. -of full person/ill submiseionto , --. -_.'their;heada . --'. ----- . -1·..· ..--M . . - ..-_. ...------'--"7'---;-:--' -,.; 1 •

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h .

-., -.. - .

. -.-

---._--.---.

- they have done this because they want to be--:...--..... as fulzy available to the. mission of."the '<>i'ii;"-\"" commurd, as possible -.-.--_ ty --- --,.\~:--:-::::-.: .. ::-.-

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- a commitment like this involves obedience in everything except the most basic life-shaping areas (marriage, -; . church membership, . etc. ) . and avery active submis 6ion·-- .;---

.j~~.~~~--.--:

.:.. --·· - ..·--··... . --·----:;;People who live -irl-CFHH, 'and"the-6ciordinators,"and -_.--_ . --:--.-:-_. '-'--'some others,- have "entered into thisrela td onehtp --"-'----:-.-:-" ,
.

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_"';';;'+':-~""""'-iH----"----"'-"--"'-""-'-" .. -

.-----.-.- -.- -.------.. --

- it will be possible for others to enter 1.,;,., " as· they express desire for it, and as·-our--""",-· .. -~ ability --to provide headship allows- ~-.-. ----. -. .. -:.-.. :--- ......•.... ... · ..
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this commitment is not necessary-for all PC,probably---not the right thing for some PC - but we should . • support those who make it" --.,.~-.------- ..-.-::-:- ---.. -..... . - . --.-. --.

. .....

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.. - - III.· - ...

tAttitudes
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..__ .... _.-._-

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.. A. We should value and desire .. eadship .. _-. h ...I ••••. ._.

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---.----·--.;.·Itis a gift from God whichmakes-'our-'life -together-'7--.-:-" and. our··mission-possible --- --.---.--------~_,__•• •

....... .. --. "'-- _ _ ..-.--.- - ......------11+.-----. _ ..

·.. ---.;:There · is .something wrorig' if "we'- find --ourselve's--resia-t'iil-g-' -.- ----. or not wanting -it --. - --...........--.-------;----. .. -----...:...,-' there' is a natural resiatance"lri"aJitiost·"-aii-;:-·-'-..··

-.. - .. --- --_.__

__._ ..__ .. _ .._.__.

'" -· ... ·-of us·- but we·ahould·work-··that .. hrough· and---, t .~ :_j~e_~_ _r~.~ i:~ .. o~ved._ ._ ~__ .__ ._. ._. :.. .__ .
. •..-. eubordtnatd.on

to headship is an integral-----· -.. element of our commoncommitment - we can't' .. be- committed to community and 'ye-tnot-'want--: "" ' . headship---· ,.,.. ~..:. -;----~'-.-.- ---.-~--.~---~~.--. --.-~~ -----

-" ·-··,--·----'-- ..·-·"1 r--· .- .----.-.-.--.
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B. We should learn how to act~v~lysupport

o~ heads makes :t:t

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headship Lsnot, easy,; our-attitude difference

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we should be open with heads -. espeCially difficulties and df.sagreement.s _ we should strive

about····:...:._·:::·...:...L··c .__...;.._...:...._._
; .

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a big --.:~.:'.::'" ,

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&~-:--:~--ll--.:---~~--~-:I

:ea~s~~~~;r::: ~::.~-~=~~P-.:~:~d~:;-~-~;::S~:.lrespect and trus t
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...•..... - ....-..•... .•. ...
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to have a· positive·-and-·unfearf'ul----·----.:.·

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of Our .~~.~ is. :tr~t

in (}od; he will wa~<?A_pv.~z:_ _ .. _. ~ _ ..•••work at trust with:'them .~. · - ~e can often decide ~~~trUB

.........-_-..-... ... -... . ..-.: - we need to trust our heads

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LI
Meeting of tlte Council December 17-19, 1975 Ann Arbor, Nich.

--

IT

Present:

Don Basham, ~rry Christenson, Steve Clark, Paul DeCelles, Ralph Nartin, Bob Numford, Derek Prince, Kevin Ranaghan, Charles Simpson

The Council itself TI1e Lord is giving us a work that many in the church do not understand: bringing believers together in a committed disciplined submitted relationship to be a network of bodies that can be a servant to God in the world. That is our primary call. Out of that work, we will be able to speak to the charismatic renewal, to the church and to the world, but our primary concern is with the bodies. There are two qualifications for entering into the Council: either being a head elder of a community or having an "apostolic ministry" (in the broad sense of "apostolic"). We will meet together as one body with the view that at some time in the future we would develop into a differentiation of roles with the head elders taking responsibility for the relations between communities and those with an apostolic ministry taking a responsibility for the outreach and with both together making the major directional decisions. We will set aside the day we arrive at meetings as a day of fasting, use the first evening to seek the Lord together, and conclude with a covenant renewal meal to break the fast. Relations between commun Lt Le s We will move away from the parallel development towards one n erwo rk of commun Lties. We will begin to have closer We encourage vi.sits between ment of community OLder. fellowship

of two networks

of communities

among our communities. We will all study the state-

our communities.

Ft. Lauderdale and Pascagoula will be represented to discuss the statement of community order. We will try to have all our communities of the communities at Notre Dame. participate

at the May 15-16 meeting

in the August

conference

The Council delegates Derek and Steve to work in East Lansing with the two communities to bring about some kind of organic unity (one body with one government). Prayer for the nations TI1e Council supports Derek's emphasis during the Bicentennial with the advice that he take concern to avoid alienating many Christians who hold liberal, left-wing views by sounding like he is coming from a conservative, right-wing position •

...

''.'ouncil minutes, C

12/17-19/75,

pClgc

2.

National.Menls Shepherds Conference followup We will give each speaker at the conference $500 to cover pre-conference planning meeting expenses (with an additional $250 to go to Larry Christenson to cover his costs'in view of the travel distance involved). The leftover money will be put in a fund which will SE Shepherds Conference and the General Ecumenical (if needed). We will consider further uses for it meeting. In the meantime we will put the money in account. be used to Charismatic at the next an interest help the Conference Council producing

Dates of future Council meetin~ January 3-5) 197, (leave on 1/7) at Ft. Lauderdale. December 8-10) 1976 meeting will be canceled. March 14-16) 1977 (leave on 3/17) at Pascagoula. Latter half of May, 1977 kept open for an ecumenical seminar. August 8-10, 1977 (leave 8/11) at Ann Arbor. Note: we will attend the General Ecumenical Conference on July 20-24, 1977. Pastoral. Renewal The Council approves The Word of God putting out Pastoral support it to the limit of their ability.

Renewal and will

cl
The Inter-Community !lead Coordinators December 20, 1975 Ann Arbor, Mich. Meeting

I

Presunt:
Cornmun

Steve Clark, Paul DeCelles,

Ralph Martin,

Kevin Ranaghan

ity of c ommun i t~~: We will not at tbe moment

reconnnend anyone else to belong to the Counci.l.

,I

Steve will head the process of new co~nunities relating to our two connnunities. We will discuss at the Connnunity Outreach Meeting how we are proceeding and make policy decisions together. The community coordinators will set some of us free to work in the outreach, but will not direct it. TIle person working ,oIiththe d Lsc Lp Le+c ommun i.t y will make the decision under Steve's supervision, when to begin the underway relationship. The Community Outreach Meeting will decide when to accept a connnunity as an equal.

~5-16

meeting We will invite Jack Brombach,

Bill Beatty,

Bruce Yocum or Jim McFadden.

Future

IHCM Paul will schedule with Bruce an IHCM. March

Next ConnnullityOutreach Meetings: 1976; January 6, 1977.
Mill in e s e tc • Ra lph and Steve will go to Malines be ordained.
1

31, 1976; July 1, 1976; October 7,

next year.

It is reconunended tha t Steve

Kevin will not be a de facto member of the team during the time the other team members are resident in Belgium, but could be involved in special projects as a participating member. Ways should be found of keeping Kevin informed as a way of preserving the bond with the United States.
CRS

We reconnnend that the coordinator:s of The Word of God inform Kevin of meetings at which they make serious decisions about CRS-AA, and they invite him to attend.

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