Gentry Underwood has created a website for comments from those for whom the Bruderhof Communty website played an important role in our crazy lives.
Here is his comment:

I’ve just created a site — http://www.bringbackbruderhof.com —
where folks who want to express thanks or regret about bruderhof.com
going offline can do so. i’m going to compile it all together and
send it to them…
please pass the word around….
Indeed – pass the word!

Here is the latest, and last, Daily Dig from the Bruderhof Communities:

Your Last Dig
“The work is more important than the talking and the writing about the work.” – Dorothy Day
“There have been enough words, enough sermons and books. What matters now is deeds.” – Emmy Arnold
Dear Reader:
We will no longer be publishing online, so this will be your last Daily Dig. This is only the beginning, not the end. We want to thank you for your friendship over the years, and look forward to meeting you face to face. Now the real contact can begin. We welcome you to drop by any of our communities any time to join us in our daily life and work.

I checked their website – a wonderful and full collection of “Anabaptist” and intentional community information. A rich and deep web-presence. They even took down their website! I am so bummed.
What causes me concern is that this web-presence offered such an incredible alternative to the Religious Right and Fundamentalist stuff out there. Now, for a society that is becoming a majority unchurched, the only face of Christianity they increasingly see is the mean-spirited, egotistical, and rigid fundamentalism. This has nothing to do with “liberal” vs. “conservative.” It has everything to do with an image of the Christian community and life that upholds the essence of the Way of Christ – Love God with everything and love you neighbor as yourself. People being intentional to live at peace with all men, as much as it is possible for you. It is such a far cry from the “Americanized”-Religious Right members who are bent on imposing their theocratic view of everything upon the rest of society – for society’s own good, of course.
If we are not careful, and I mean we are at the tipping point, the only image of Christianity the public will see is rigid fundamentalism. Sojourners is a strong force, but just a drop in the bucket of other Christian websites that present such a culturally-compromised message. The Religious Right may claim Mainline Protestant and Anglican denominations have “compromised with the culture,” but they are blind to the fact that they have compromised at perhaps an even more profound level – the materialism of the “Prosperity” message, the equating of American nationalism with the faith, militarism, support of public policies and laws that enrichment the wealthy at the expense of the poor (and I am no socialist!), the support for theocracy over democracy through ideas such as Dominion Theology, etc. What are we going to do? What must be done?

I grew up in the Foursquare Gospel Church for most of my developmental years, after a short and irregular stint in the United Methodist Church. I am glad I grew up in this tradition, although there were the same problems inherent in all organizations.
One of the tenets of the Foursquare Church is “Moderation in all things.” I never really thought much about this growing up – frankly, I never even knew there was such a thing as a list of tenets for the church. In my adult years, however, thinking about this very simply statement of intent and believe causes me to pause as I look at what our country and government have become.
None of the vises and proclivities we recognize and find ourselves in this country is new. They are the same things humans have fought and wrestled with from the beginning, yet some of these things without question work counter to good societies, good environments for children, and for peaceable and fruitful living as individuals, families, and communities.
I was thinking this week about greed. We know that our economic system, Capitalism, is based on a form of greed. Greed run amok is counter, however, to a civil and altruistic society. We can see that even in this country the line between barbarism and civil society is thin and becoming thinner. Greed – for money, for fame, for advancement, for attention, for love, for sex, for altered states/drugs, for crass selfishness – greed is destroying society, culture, and communities, aside from the most profound destruction that takes place in the human spirit.
I do not see anything inherently wrong in the above, except perhaps for self-centered selfishness, but when we become greedy for any of them we stray into excess even to the point were we destroy ourselves, our families, and our communities to fulfill our greedy desire and want.
By practicing the disciple of “Moderation in all things,” we can avoid the illicit and alluring call of greed.

A quote from the Bruderhof Community in today’s e-mail. This is what I need to hear, because this is where I am!

Plunge In
Martin Luther
“Discipleship is not limited to what you can understand – it must transcend all comprehension. Plunge into the deep waters beyond your own understanding, and I will help you to comprehend.
Bewilderment is the true comprehension. Not to know where you are going is the true knowledge. In this way Abraham went forth from his father, not knowing where he was going. That is the way of the cross. You cannot find it in yourself, so you must let me lead you as though you were a blind man.
Not the work which you choose, not the suffering you devise, but the road which is contrary to all that you choose or contrive or desire – that is the road you must take. It is to this path that I call you, and in this sense that you must be my disciple.
Source: Martin Luther (1483-1546), quoted in Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “The Cost of Discipleship.”

The more things change, the more they remain the same.
There is a group of us, former students at General Theological Seminary (GTS) that are in discussion about a new form of Christian community that allows us to work together for an authentic Christian life. Interestingly, Christian Century magazine recently published an article on “The New Monastics: Alternative Christian Communities” being expressed by many young people in the U.S. Taize may be another example of this, although the Taize Community has been around for some time, relatively speaking. We can also see similar examples in intentional Christian communities like Jesus People USA near Chicago, or the Sojourners Community near Washington D.C. Likewise, we see similar desires expressed in the Bruderhof Communities. This desire within us for intentional Christian community is nothing new, today or in centuries past.
Yet, here we are with our desire to experience more than what we have thus far. What do we do with this desire? My living situation at GTS expressed some form of this desire and its possible reality. I lived with two to three other guys in an experimental “co-op” living arrangement in a very large apartment at GTS. Basically, the administration put people together who did not know each other beforehand and who wanted to be in such a living arrangement. So, different groups of us – four at most – lived intentionally in community for three years. Three of us stayed together for two years. Two of us, Nick and I, remained in the apartment for all three years, with two new guys our last year. Honestly, we were basically roommates, but all of us were at GTS for the same purpose of being formed for the priesthood, so we shared unique things that normal roommates may not. It was good. I miss it, even though what those of us in this conversation are thinking suggests a much higher level of commitment and community.
So much of our culture is so antithetical to what I sense, as do others, to be a more highly authentic Christian life which incorporates simple living, prayer & worship, fellowship, accountability, challenge & support, ministry and service. I suspect this might at one time have been rightfully called “community.” All around us, our culture encourages crass materialism as a standard form for life, hyper-activity, hyper-individualism, gratuitous violence, inconsequential sex, uncritical trendiness & superficiality, irresponsibility, and the culture does not encourage deep and critical thinking. I’m not fearful of any of these things – there are positive aspects held within each, but our culture is taking them all to the extreme. They get in the way of a peaceable life, a life centered on the Christian disciplines surrounding the being and doing of “loving mercy, doing justly, and walking humbly with God.”
The local church, the parish, might seem to be the place where this desire can be worked out. Perhaps. Yet, as my friend John states in his rendition of these thoughts, the local parish church is where the world meets the Gospel. As such, the parish church is generally very broad as it tries to accommodate such a wide spectrum of belief, desire, and spiritual maturity. The parish church introduces people to the Gospel and starts them down the path of Christian formation. What is the next step for those wanting more – a deeper sense of community, a deeper devotion to God, and more intense and intentional experience of the authentic Christian life? Generally, this next step is very difficult to accomplish and experience in a local parish church.
Monastic communities have traditionally been where those wishing for such an intense experience have gone. What if some are not given the gift of celibacy or feel called to a solitary life? I envision a very similar kind of experience, but where there may be single people, families, men and women, young and old, people who work full-time, people with vocations of prayer like a traditional monastic, and people who may just be passing through for a time.
There are examples of such living out there, I know. I am curious what those of us in this conversation will come up with.
I have said to a few that since this particular Church does not put its money where its mouth is concerning campus ministry, that we begin a society or monastic-like community that dedicates itself to ministry to college students and the secular university. We pool our resources, we raise funds, we pioneer new works, and provide for those called to such a ministry – we live intentionally in community for the furtherance of the ministry, and to provide a place for training and discernment for those considering campus ministry as their vocation. We provide a place where those in direct ministry and those in supportive roles can be together.
I don’t know how this might work.
What I do know is that I want to live in community. I need the support, encouragement, wisdom, and challenge of other like-minded fellow sojourners as we strive to be conformed to the image of Christ and be with Him in all things.

This is nothing new, but the reality of what I do not know is astounding.

Throughout my life, I have been accused of being woefully misguided as a so-called Christian at best or a heretic and not even a Christian at worst. I have learned to not have my faith and relationship with God determined by what others may think of me or my beliefs as a believer in Jesus Christ. I’ve developed a tough skin, which is a bit remarkable for someone who for many years experienced a whole lot of personal insecurity.
Why, a heretic?
As a youngster growing up in the Foursquare Church, and then during my campus ministry days in the Assemblies of God, I was accused of not being a Christian or a heretic because I was a Pentecostal and believed in the continuing work of the Holy Spirit through the supernatural Gifts in our day. Scripture is absolutely clear, they claimed, that the supernatural Gifts of the Holy Spirit ended with the establishment of the Canon of Scripture, or with the death of the Apostles, or sometime during the first century (whichever version the person claimed to believe). I still don’t believe that. So, perhaps I am a heretic or not even a Christian because I believe in the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. I will to let God be the judge.
Generally, if one grows up within Pentecostalism, one’s heritage comprises Fr. John Wesley’s Evangelical-Arminianism, which was passed through the Holiness Movement. So, because I am an Arminian rather than a good Calvinist, that is another proof positive that I am horribly misguided at best or a heretic and not even a Christian at worst. After all, we all know that only through Calvin and Reformation Theology do we find the fullness and truth of God’s will expressed. To believe otherwise is to deny the authority of Scripture.
So now, today, because I do not believe that the traditional interpretations of Scripture applied to the homosexual condition to be correct, I am horribly misguided at best and a reprobate heretic at worst.
For me, it is not about Scriptural authority. Of course Scripture is my authority. I just think the theological, exegetical, and hermeneutical arguments against the traditional anti-homosexual interpretations are better, more thorough, and more accurate than the Prohibitionists’ views. Prohibitionists want to force the belief that if anyone disagrees with their particular interpretation of Scripture, then those people deny the authority of Scripture. This is a false premise, but if a lie is repeated often enough…
I’ve been called a heretic because I was a Pentecostal (and still am in many ways). I did not let their accusations dissuade me from my relationship with God. I’ve been called a heretic because I am an Arminian. I have not let those accusations hinder my relationship with God. I am now referred to as a heretic because I do not completely support the inappropriateness of any form of same-gender relationships.
I am not going to let this latest accusation interfere with my relationship with God, my desire for God’s will to be done in my life, and my honest desire that all people be reconciled to God.

Watch the video from Sigur Ros, an Icelandic group.

The Great Society program may have begun with a sincere desire to help, but… One the problems resulting from the governmental programs, putting aside the debate centered on ideological differences between conservatives and liberals, is that the loci of help shifted from individuals, private organizations, and religious institutions to the government. The perception in the American mind is that we turn to the government first for any help we need, and the expectation is increasing that the government is to meet our every need.
My belief is that the Church for Christians is the locus of help not only for our own, but for the greater need in our nation and the world. With the taking on of responsibility for the needy (in what ever form) by the government, Christians and churches in many cases have relinquished this God given responsibility, and I think it is to our own detriment. We become self-centered, stingy, and greedy. Love of neighbor, love of enemy, and an altruism that goes beyond the expectation of personal gain or return has been waning for decades.
Americans are very generous people, yet we turn to government in most instances of need – even slight individual need. There are times when the scale of a tragedy demands a governmental response – like Katrina. Yet, we also see the failing of government in such times and we need to be willing and capable of striving to meet our own needs and to help others with like needs without government. The government will never be able to be meet our expectations.
I think it is a mistake to place our hope in government. For Christians, helping the needy IS our responsibility.

I was listening to NPR’s Morning Addition on my way to St. Paul’s this past Sunday. They featured an interesting band, Halloween Alaska. I think I really like them, as least what I have heard thus far. I will certainly buy their new CD.
Kate Bush is finally coming out with a new CD, too. It is supposed to be released on November 8th in the U.S.