03.10.08
MORPPH
Yeah, I know it is supposed to be spelled with a single P but.. here is the statement we are working with as we look at initiating a missional order. (The statement .. except the “poetic” line and the sabbath reference.. comes from Dan Steigerwald and the Imago Dei folks).
MORPH means on a weekly basis we covenant to be:
Missional – I will engage in some noteworthy activity that engages and/or enriches my neighborhood or community or city (or world if traveling).
Other-centered – I choose to bless two people in some conscious act of goodness or generosity; at least one person outside my own church community.
Replenishing – I will join with my triad or quad in reading at least five chapters of a NT book, two chapters of an OT book, and at least one chapter of a spiritually-edifying book or article. I will learn to rest as an expression of God’s gift of Sabbath.
Prayerful – I will quiet my soul and spend one uninterrupted hour with God in prayer. I will also pray the Office at least one time per day and if possible meet to pray with someone or pray over the phone or Internet. I will seek to live prayerfully that I might partner with God in His work in and around me.
Poetic – I will seek simplicity and beauty in all that I do, understanding that God seeks to create in me the image of His son as a unique expression of His fathering. I will seek to love and rejoice in God’s world as He loves and joys in it.
Hospitable – I will extend or receive hospitality on two occasions (at least once with my church, and once with non-believing friends or with an individual in my home or neighborhood or in a Third Place).
We also agree to participate twice a month in our triad, holding one another accountable to this rule.
brad said,
March 10, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Wow! This looks very balanced overall, and I like how it captures the essence of numerous spiritual disciplines.
A couple of observations/questions:
* I like the acronym, and find it adds a smile to the solemnity of the commitment.
* I especially appreciate that rest is included. Although what people find restful differs, if we don’t take a sabbath rest, a sabbath will arrest us …
* Other than the very last statement about the triad meetings, everything is an “I” statement. Are all of these intended to be individual activities, or are there any that would/could/should be done intentionally as “WE” (either church, triad, family unit, etc.)?
* I realize that a missional order is more a lifestyle one lives than a church one participates in, but would you alter anything on this list if it were going to be used as a primary peer discipleship infrastructure in a church? (I’m thinking it could have lots of possibilities in organic-type church plants and otherwise!)
* I noticed there was nothing explicit about ecological stewardship. Although reducing, reusing, recycling as even entry-level actions could fall under numerous categories (for instance, picking up litter as a missional activity in our neighborhoods), I wonder about including it as its own item. It’d mess up the MORPPH, but there surely are ways around that … And if it is NOT included, well, greenology is a significant value in emerging paradigms/cultures, that if we don’t emphasize it, would we lose a crucial opportunity to ensure it is in our missional/incarnational DNA for next generations?
* As someone with health conditions that severely restrict my stamina, and thus the availability of time/energy to connect with people, this list feels overwhelming, at least on initial reading. I suppose I might possibly be able to do that level of the missional and hospitable parts in a month, but not likely in a week. Is this list really do-able every week for those with “normal” health and energy? (I wish I knew, but I haven’t had “normal†health since before “2nd Chapter of Acts†disbanded!)
Thanks to whomever put in the work needed to come up with such a well-crafted statement. Will look forward to see how this emerges …
len said,
March 10, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Brad, “I” statement is a good catch, I think we might change that. And I too was thinking about including something that relates rest for us and rest for the earth.. hmm…
len said,
March 10, 2008 at 1:42 pm
Brad, perhaps the best place to articulate that concern and practice might be under poetic.. So… “I will seek to care for and rejoice in God’s world as He loves and cares for it in the knowledge that stewardship is both an ecological and a justice issue.” or something like that.. I like the old idea of “husbanding” but it might feel too gendered..
brad said,
March 10, 2008 at 3:24 pm
On the I/We words, it is quite interesting to see how much weight pronouns carry these days as intentional expressions of dynamic tension between individual and communal. As a writer and editor, I’ve become especially aware of that the past 15 years or so. I use “we†whenever it seems appropriate to emphasize community, especially when editing documents or project managing books for leaders from older generations. For many, it becomes an “ah-ha moment†as they see how intergenerational relationships can be enhanced (or not!) by the smallest of words.
brad said,
March 10, 2008 at 3:28 pm
On the earth stewardship, I can see the case for having it under Poetic. There is a symmetry and beauty to caring for the earth.
However, if ecology is to be clustered elsewhere instead of on its own, I’d almost be more inclined to organize it with the Missional statement. How about …
Missional – I will engage in some noteworthy activity that increases my personal presence and/or reduces my “ecological footprint” in my neighborhood or community or city (or world if traveling).
That may seem unwarranted and an overemphasis in many people’s *current* context, but I’d suggest that ecological responsibility is the way the world is moving. However, I happen to live in a place that arguably has the best overall environmental record of any county in the U.S., including such “firsts” as first countywide curbside pick-up of recyclables of any county in the US (1980) and first municipal water district in the state of California (in about 1918). It’s also home of The Whole Earth Catalogue and the first non-governmental internet in the U.S. And the local university just started advertising their “Green MBA†degree (that’s the actual title) and launched a “Sustainable Enterprise Certificate†for business managers. Check out the transformation/social justice language at http://www.greenmba.com/.
Anyway, if this paradigm shifting/pioneering place is any indicator, then I’d suggest Christian ambivalence or passivity about the environment should be considered anti-missional.
Sidenote: I was interested to see on Andrew Jones’ tallskinnykiwi blog post for March 10, that he mentions planting trees to counteract the negative footprint effects on the environment of his forthcoming travel from the UK to the US.
Rob robinson said,
March 10, 2008 at 7:58 pm
Len,
Wonderfully inviting, encouraging and inspiring.
NextReformation » missional orders, triads, formation said,
April 9, 2008 at 10:14 am
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The Missional Journey said,
April 9, 2008 at 10:16 am
[...] A month ago it looked like we would adopt the MORPPH statement, now it looks like we will share vows, but adopt statements that make sense to us as triads. Four of us prefer the more general Northumbria rule, and one will use MORPPH as a starting point. [...]
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April 15, 2008 at 7:30 am
[...] A Missional Order? April 15, 2008 — brianmcl Those of us who have an interest in the missional church will be interested in this “missional order.” Those who accept this order “on a weekly basis covenant to be…” [...]