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Dear Friends,
As
we step into the new century/millennium, and as
we are looking toward a significant expansion
of RENOVARÉ beyond
the borders of the United States, it is good for
us to reaffirm our call and sharpen our vision.
THE
QERA
YAHWEH
RENOVARÉ came into
being in response to what we understood to be
the qera Yahweh, the call of God, growing out
of the crying need to discover new ways to do
and to be church. We needed fresh paradigms for
singing the Lord's song in a strange land. We
needed new ways to be church-without-walls, kingdom-life-in-the-streets,
salt-and-light-at-home-and-work. Above all, we
needed to cast a clear vision of life in the kingdom
of God that ordinary people could grasp and translate
into everyday living. And so RENOVARÉ
was born.
We
joke that RENOVARÉ
was started "with God and a laser printer!" Our
organizational chart is, like Sampson, to light
the tails of the foxes and let them go! (Judges
15:4-5). An early prophetic image given us was
of a seed being placed into the ground in such
a way that the plant which comes from it:
•
is beyond our control,
•
will look very different from the seed that was
first put into the ground, and,
•
will transcend all our present conceptions of
what we think RENOVARÉ
might become.
Another
prophetic vision that guided us in those early
days was of many streams flowing out from under
the Throne of God, then merging and becoming a
great river of life and light. And many similar
early experiences, discussions, and prayers.
This
ethos has guided our thinking and our living.
The six great Traditions (or streams or dimensions
of life) delineate a balanced vision for our life
together; the RENOVARÉ
Covenant frames our unifying commitment; the Common
Disciplines comprise our minimal means for living
out the life of the Covenant; and the Questions
of Examen set forth our strategy for evaluating
our spiritual growth week-to-week. Let me articulate
for you three of the more crucial implications
growing out of this ethos.
NO
ABIDING CITY
First, we are people always on pilgrimage. In
this world we have "no abiding city" for we seek
the city which is to come, the city of God (Rev.
21). We have, in a sense, a passionate devotion
to impermanence. Nothing about RENOVARÉ
gives you a sense of permanence: we own no buildings,
our staff is as simple and lean as possible, our
whole structure (to the extent we even have a
structure) is entirely relational rather than
hierarchical.
Not
that we despise permanence and structure. Many
institutions with vast holdings and substantial
"empires" have made (and do make) enormous contributions.
Think of the immense monastery of Cluny (France)
over which the great St. Odo presided in the tenth
century. For generations it was a powerful center
of renewal and spiritual revival. In the thirteenth
century it was the largest church in Europe. And
modern parallels exist, I am sure, though we will
need to wait a century or two to be sure of who
and where they are.
But
as wonderful and helpful as those institutional
models are, RENOVARÉ
is not called to be one of them. That is not our
vocation. We do not want people to come to us
but to go out into the world. RENOVARÉ
is like a finger pointing away from itself. Our
task is to give glory to God by saying as simply
and as profoundly as possible, "He is not here,
he is risen. Seek him above. Seek him in his people.
Seek him in the poor and the dispossessed. Go
from us and you will still find Jesus with you.
He is your ever-living Savior, Teacher, Lord,
and Friend. Follow him."
THE
CENTRALITY OF THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT
Second, the Sermon on the Mount must ever stand
at the center of our understanding of how we live
out our discipleship to Jesus. In one of the more
important books of the twentieth-century, The
Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer
writes, "The renewal of the Church will come from
a new type of monasticism which only has in common
with the old an uncompromising allegiance to the
Sermon on the Mount." RENOVARÉ
is a bold attempt at just such "a new type of
monasticism" which is firmly committed to living
on the basis of Jesus' revolutionary teaching
in the Sermon on the Mount.
This
is why Dallas Willard's The Divine Conspiracy
is so central to what we are attempting, and why
we so urgently want you to soak in the message
of this book. It does some of the finest exegetical
work on the Sermon on the Mount you will find
anywhere. And it makes this famous teaching of
Jesus so practical, so clear, so . . . not "easy"
exactly . . . but so clearly doable–howbeit only
through the conquering of the many self-sins that
plague us all: self-sufficiency, self-importance,
self-pity, self-obsession, self-righteousness,
self-seeking, self-willing, and a host of other
hyphenated sins of the human spirit.
So
we keep the great "Sermon" always before us; helping
one another to learn in daily life how to "seek
first the kingdom of God", how to "judge not",
how to "love our enemies", how to give and pray
and fast "in secret", how to "love perfectly,
even as our heavenly Father loves perfectly."
PROFOUNDLY
RELATIONAL
Third, all kingdom life and all kingdom work must
be profoundly relational. This reflects who God
is in his Trinitarian nature–deeply, utterly,
eternally, relational as Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit. And anytime God decides to do something,
he always works relationally. So must we.
RENOVARÉ
is a community of God's people, howbeit a geographically
dispersed community. We gather whenever and wherever
we can in little clusters of twos and threes (maybe
even in fours or fives) to provide a loving, nurturing,
accountability for one another. We care for one
another across great distances, both geographical
and cultural. We are from every conceivable denomination
and church, even no denomination and church. But
still we come together to follow Jesus Christ
and him alone, seeking continual renewal through
spiritual exercises, spiritual gifts, and acts
of service. We are with each other and for each
other in all our pain and all our hope. We weep
with those who weep and rejoice with those who
rejoice (Rom 12:15).
We value relationships above efficiency, family
above work, children above all. In the economy
of God a high premium must be put on all human
relationships. Our RENOVARÉ
team gives substantial amounts of time to developing
our varied relationships with each other. Soon
after writing this letter to you I will be gathering
with the ministry team for our annual retreat.
It is always the highlight of the year for me.
Most of our time will be devoted to laughing with
one another, praying for one another, learning
from one another, listening to one another, sitting
quietly with one another. You see, among us our
first priority together is relational. This reality
must precede any ministry or work we might do.
And, in fact, it is the living, vital relationships
we have built that helps to define and clarify
the ministry or work we are led into.
Well,
these three implications of the RENOVARÉ
ethos. We all need to be reminded often of their
importance.
RENOVARÉ
UNITED KINGDOM
We have been engaged in a year-long discernment
process over whether there needs to be some form
of a British expression of RENOVARÉ.
Four key British leaders have been with me in
this process:
•
James Catford - (Anglican). James has
worked for many years in British publishing and
has broad contacts.
•
Joyce Huggett - (Anglican). Joyce is
a well-known author of many books who also has
missionary contacts and experience throughout
the world.
•
Roy Searle - (The Northumbria Community).
Roy is a key leader in the Northumbria Community,
a creative, contemporary expression of a "new
monasticism" drawing from the Celtic Christian
conviction.
•
Rob Warner - (Baptist). Rob has written
several books and is right now in the midst of
a creative church plant in the Wimbledon area
of London called "Kairos, Church from scratch".
In April I went across "the pond" to spend several
days with each one of these dear servants of Christ.
They kindly welcomed me into their homes, introduced
me to family members, and let me be alongside
them through their daily activities. After my
being with each one individually, we all gathered
together in the English midlands for two days
of prayer and retreat. An almost breathless anticipation
pervaded our discussing and dreaming. We knew
we were onto something of genuine significance.
Emerging out of our time together was the firm
conviction that the time is right for us to link
arms in ministry, stepping out and watching for
what God will do through our combined efforts.
The image given to us was of a butterfly chrysalis,
for we too are in a formative and preparatory
stage. And so we wait and prepare, looking for
the metamorphosis which will come in God's good
time.
Pray
for us during this transitional stage. We begin
with nothing . . . not even a laser printer! If
you want to help turn this exciting venture into
a reality, send gifts to this address for now
and designate them for "RENOVARÉ
United Kingdom."
AND
THE FINANCIALS . . .
And since I am on the topic of giving, permit
me to ask boldly for your financial help. We need
monies for day-to-day expenses, especially as
we enter the financially slow summer months. Beyond
this, the opportunities for future development
loom large. We believe God has given us a mandate
to move forward boldly. At the very same time
we work hard to remain a lean operation, carefully
monitoring every dollar spent. Your gifts are
sacrificial monies and we want to be the very
best stewards possible.
The
loyalty of RENOVARÉ's
covenant members and friends is truly extraordinary.
We could not continue without your loving and
generous support. We are grateful for all you
have done in the past. Will you help us again
now? Thank you.
Peace and joy,
Richard J. Foster
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