In the company of others
Join me in participating in the Habitus Community this coming year.
Here at Why not be a saint? I’ve written a number of pieces on a rule of life (you can begin reading them here). I believe that the architecture of a rule of life is fairly fundamental in the Spirit’s gracious work of Christian formation. But this architecture is useful and properly Christian only set in the conditions of community.
There was a recent article in Christianity Today with the provocative title: “You don’t need a rule of life.” I encourage you to read it, an excellent piece that critiques the individualism of recent literature on Christian formation and a rule of life, lamenting that we no longer count on the church to provide this help for our lives. I say a loud amen to 96.3% of what author Myles Werntz writes - this is a needed corrective. But I don’t believe his critique excludes the need of a structure to order our life with Jesus.
In fact, I think he assumes the need of it. Werntz writes “Whatever rule we adopt, whatever order we seek, we must not do it alone … we must begin by unlearning deep habits of solo reading, praying, and planning for isolation.” Too much of Christian formation adopts a solo orientation and so ignores key parts of our created life.
The blessing of God in creation is on a structured and ordered world in which human life flourishes within limits. In Genesis 1 we find God creating through a highly patterned process of six creating days, providing a structure and rhythm for a habitable life of blessing and fruitfulness. The basic given of human existence is one of structure, pattern and order. To be without a pattern is to live in a negative state of chaos, unfruitful and empty; to exist without form and framework is simply inconceivable for humans situated in the embodied and created realities of this world.
But Werntz is highlighting another part of our created nature — creation’s relational existence. The entire cosmos, along with embodied human life, is for communion with God. As Julie Canlis notes, communion “is the groundwork of creation, the purpose of anthropology and the telos toward which all creation strains.”
I’ve been leading a rule of life community called the Habitus Community where we are attempting to keep these two created realities together - structure and community; pattern and relationship.
In Habitus we are trying to do what Werntz argues for - unlearning solo spiritual habits, seeking an ordered way of life together, living communion with God in the company of others. A central part of the Habitus Community is that we do not do this alone. We are a dispersed community, made up of participants from different places across Canada and the US. But the core structure of Habitus is a trio — you can’t participate without having two other friends with you. And you are part of a larger community that gathers together monthly.
These communal structures and relationships are by design. It’s rooted in the understanding that following Jesus alone is a biblical impossibility. It is also a response to our current moment, where so many are weary of the individualism and isolation of our world and know our deep need to be webbed together, to belong to others.
I do wish this would happen more often in the church — ultimately that is my hope and dream, for this ordered communion to take root in the life of local congregations. It’s a stretch for many right now, but I think we might find our way there by first giving people a taste of it in something like Habitus.
Do you think you might be interested in this? Every year I invite people to participate in the Habitus Community. People are invited to make a one year commitment, first starting out with a summer long period of discernment.
Might there be something of God’s invitation in this for you?
If so, join me on Tuesday June 10, at 8:00 p.m. I’m holding an Introductory Gathering to the Habitus Community over Zoom. If you’re curious and would like to explore what this is about, I’d be honoured to have you join. Send me a message at phil@habituscommunity.org and I’ll send you the zoom link.