a simple rule of life

 

A SIMPLE RULE OF LIFE 

As part of the discipleship emphasis for GRACEworks  which I reported on in a previous blog on  liminality and 3rd places they have been thinking about discipleship as a lifestyle. Graceworks are already living under the banner headline 

 ^{‘People who are works of grace who work to bring grace’}

Inspired by Mike Frost's  Exiles: living missionally in a post-Christian culture  

there is an interview with Mike about the book on the Blog and podcast ‘small boats big sea’   SBBS 

Mike Frost uses the word BELLS to create a rule of life  

'Bless - Eat - Listen - Learn - Send'

For Graceworks  Ali has been tentatively exploring the word G R A C E 

Give and forgive

Receive

Act justly

Christcentred

Encourage

That got me thinking about CMS and its rule of life as a Mission Order. Tim Dakin the CMS Gen Sec explains it in an article on the CMS website  on the Go!  (you might also be interested in an article called and CMS Covenant for a Community in Mission on the Anglican Communion Institute, Inc website)

But in terms of  a rule of life for Mission (based on the CMS 'pathways to participation') how about something like......

M   Missio Dei - engage in God's transformative mission

I     Incarnational witness  

S    Service as a vocation to others  

S     spirituality shape by prayer bible reflection 

I    Individual discipleship following Jesus daily 

O  Opennes to work Overall the wOrld  - glObal and lOcal 

N  new  - keep commitment vital and 'new' - renewed and reviewed 

I'm sure you have ideas to improve in this one. Ideas and suggestions appreciated............ 

You can read more about small misisonal communities  with more stuff on Missional communities by Ian Adams 

I'd also recommend the 10 marks of mission sprirituality  by Sue Hope.  

All on the CMS website