As I mention in the previous post, “Circle of Trust,” I wrote about my latest read, “A Hidden Wholeness” by Parker Palmer. Out of that post came conversations concerning commitment, especially when it comes to a faith community. Let me quote again from the same chapter. Parker writes,
“Our commitment to each other should have an end point, agreed on in advance — say, twelve months from the first gathering. With this proviso, people can depart gracefully if the experience is not supportive or renew their participation if it is.”
What if we allowed people to experiment when it came to joining our faith communities? What if we allowed, as Parker suggests, those individuals to have a year (or whatever time you agreed upon) to come and “taste and see.” However, from a community stance, what if our approach was that of, “we have one year to influence, challenge and share what we have learned we it comes to living in community. Our approach would be as if someone was doing a internship with the possibilities of becoming part of the community after the internship has ended.
This would be a agreeable time frame that when those that felt that “this wasn’t for them” they could easily walk away without any hard feelings, but extremely enriched from this experience. To those that chose to become a part of the community they then agree to rule and order of the community, get the tattoo, drink from the cup etc. etc. etc.
I’m sure there’s more to add to this thought and conversation and I would love to hear your thoughts and feedback.
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