Coastal Community Covenant
:: Via Christi ::
2014-2015
Our
Purpose (Why?): Jesus is calling together a displaced and disoriented
group of Portland, Mainers to, “Come and
follow me” as the guide on a common mission to love God, love each other,
and love the world. Our collective response is…Coastal. So, Coastal exists to see displaced and
disoriented pilgrims become…
A new kind of family formed by
following
Jesus together on everyday pilgrimage
to join with God in the restoration of
Greater Portland and all of creation through sacrificial love.
Our
Values (How?): How do we go
about following Jesus as our guide? We align, center, and purpose our lives around Jesus, the Resurrection,
and Kingdom values as demonstrated in the New Testament. By building our church upon the sustainable values of
our Founder and Carpenter, we are establishing a sturdy Kingdom Outpost for pilgrims to find refuge and then be further
launched into God’s loving mission. Our Coastal
Core Values are illustrated by the barstool/bench below – each leg in dynamic
tension with the other:
+ WORD = Jesus guides us through the Story of God & God's redeemed people in
the 66 books of Holy Scripture…We become stable people by submitting to this
Logos or Reason of God…We are abiding in the vine and ingesting the nutrients
from the living Word which is Jesus…We are submitting to the breathing, active
Story of God being written on the tablet of our hearts and then that Word
becoming flesh through the hands and feet which is the Body of Christ.
+ COMMUNITY = We follow Jesus together. We are submitting to the Christian community both now and
throughout the ages…Engaging with sojourners in the name of Jesus…inviting
others into the brokenness and beauty of our lives in order that we may share
in the story of God's redemptive love together as Romans 12:15 says, “weeping
with those who weep and rejoicing with those who rejoice”…Rather than being
shaped by the pattern of American individualism, we are practicing in the
spirit of the African phrase: Unbuntu
"I am because we are" = sharing stories, lawnmowers, sacramental meals
and beverages, money, and our very lives…becoming a new kind of family formed
by journeying together.
+ SPIRIT = Jesus sent the Pneuma (breath/Spirit) to
help reorient our steps in the rhythms and beats of God’s heart. Jesus sent the
Counselor to inform our attitudes and behaviors. Jesus modeled contemplation so
we too are cultivating a contemplative lifestyle by paying attention to the still
voice of God…we are like kids unwrapping the gifts of the Spirit outlined in
Ephesians 4 & 1 Corinthians…praying all kinds of prayers…and responding
with the POWER of Jesus in us.
+ JUSTICE = Jesus bled for justice which was the
restoration of peace through sacrificial love.
So we too are taking up our crosses by demonstrating the sacrificial
love of Jesus to real people in real time in real contexts….We are embodying the
Way of Jesus depicted by Isaiah 61 & Luke 4 in tangible and experimental
expressions that bring freedom for the poor, oppressed, and marginalized…We are
joining with God in the restoration of Greater Portland and all of creation.
Our
Vocation (What?): What is our ongoing mission? In Coastal we are following Jesus everyday by...
v Cultivating PRACTICES -- Responses that are missional + tangible + experimental + contemplative =
thereby forming us into Jesus pilgrims who sacrificially love God, each other, and
the world…
v Creating POCKETS -- Space for groups of pilgrims to dwell in the love of God and
one other while practicing the teachings of Jesus together...
v Commissioning PILGRIMAGES – Launching pilgrims on sacred journey to
reclaim their own hearts unto God, to seek reconciliation with one other, and for
restoring justice in Greater Portland & in all creation.
Our Common
Practices: Practices are pilgrimative responses of a Jesus
follower. This year (May
2014-April 2015), we are following Jesus together by experimenting with these 7
Common Coastal Practices:
Ø Chewing 4x7: We vow to prayerfully
meditate (to chew or “hagah”) on the Word we shared together in our previous
Gathering - at least 4 days x 7 minutes per day. In this way, we are practicing communion.
Ø Gathering: We will prioritize our lives around the purposes of
Jesus including participation in worship gatherings. We will make every effort to be consistent in our participation. We will view ourselves as a holy priesthood,
a valuable part of the Body of Christ and that we come to a church gathering
not only to “be fed” but to share our gifts with the community. This pocket of
space is for celebrating God’s love, participating in family rhythms based on
the church calendar, and remembering our common mission.
Ø Redistributing: We will redistribute a portion of our
individual/family income to support our new kind of Family formed in
Christ. While a tithe (10%) is a common
guidepost, we will prayerfully consider a financial % and then, faithfully/consistently
contribute to our collective Coastal mission.
As the Spirit of Jesus guides us, we will redistribute other finances
for God’s redemptive purposes.
Ø Pocketing: We will intentionally meet weekly/bi-weekly in a smaller
group (2-12ish) of Jesus followers to become rooted and established in God’s
love and practice fleshing out the teachings of Jesus together.
Ø Fasting: On the 1st Wednesday of every month, we
will join with our Coastal family in giving up material goods, meals, or media in
order to pray on behalf of each other, Greater Portland, & our global
neighbors.
Ø Benevolent
Partnering: At least once per
quarter, we will join with Coastal pilgrims in rearranging our schedules and
offering our gifts/resources to partner in benevolent action with the Root
Cellar, Florence House, Impacto Ministries, Invisible Girl Project (IGP), or
other tangible-Kingdom-justice endeavors.
Ø 24/6-ing – We will set aside a pocket of time & space each
week for REST. During this timeframe we
vow not to work. As an individual,
family, or smaller group, we will determine what constitutes “work” and then we
will make every effort to cease doing those activities in order to enjoy the
wonder of our Creator, God’s redemptive work in our own hearts, and the
creation itself.
Our Covenant:
Our “on-boarding” process is more of a family
covenant or an incarnational pact rather than a
checklist of do-s and do-not-s. The
baseline commitment for covenanting in Coastal is a desire to follow Jesus as the Guide to love God, neighbor, self,
and creation. Jesus is primal. Jesus is hinging. Jesus is central. Love is central. After all, as the great theologian Augustine
said, “For when there is a question as to
whether a man is good, one does not ask what he believes…but what he loves.” We in Coastal Community love Jesus because
God first loved us. In keeping with this
Jesus-centered theology, we have chosen to ground our vision, values and practices
in the Kingdom of God demonstrated through Christ’s sacrificial love.
(Y)Our Participation: We invite you to join with us in the Coastal caravan
of faith by following Jesus as our Guide to life. By signing below, I am
covenanting to practice en-fleshing the above written words to the best of my
ability. I am covenanting to follow in
the Way of Jesus as a new kind of family in Coastal.
X
_____________________________________________________________________
Date: ____/_____/________
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