{"id":38387,"date":"2024-09-12T17:56:05","date_gmt":"2024-09-13T00:56:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=38387"},"modified":"2024-09-12T18:30:53","modified_gmt":"2024-09-13T01:30:53","slug":"create-the-monastery-where-you-would-live","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/create-the-monastery-where-you-would-live\/","title":{"rendered":"Create the Monastery Where You Would Live"},"content":{"rendered":"

When I saw that Jason was requiring us to read a book over 300 years old, I was automatically taken back to Oxford when Dr. Martyn Percy asked our DLGP cohorts to name a significant work over 300 years old that is still in print. Several works were named by us before he revealed one of the books he had in mind, The Rule of St. Benedict.<\/em> He claimed that this work by a monk in the 6th<\/sup> century was crucial for the Western world when Rome was no longer what it had been and shaped Western civilization more than we might realize. At that moment, I wanted to find a copy of it, especially in Europe, as a meaningful souvenir.<\/p>\n

While several of us \"\"<\/a>were at Blackwell\u2019s bookstore in Oxford, I was on a mission to find that book, and I eventually did! The book was much shorter than I assumed, and I wasn\u2019t mad about it. I started reading it while there and was quickly hit with just how foreign some of the thinking and behaviors were (more on that later). Although short, I didn’t finish it and got caught up in other books…<\/p>\n

Fast-forward to this week\u2019s assignment. I first looked through several books and collections that I had on my shelves at home and then in my office. \u00a0There it sat on my bottom office shelf\u2026The Rule of St. Benedict\u2026<\/em>and I thought, it\u2019s time. It\u2019s short, and Dr. Percy gave it high reviews, so this is my opportunity to see what old St. Benedict has to say. Before reading it, I watched a couple of educational videos to get some context and background about its influence on Monasticism and Western culture. Researchers and historians echoed what Dr. Percy said and claimed this book had a major impact on Western society, but it was also intended to bring a better balance to monasticism in St. Benedict\u2019s day and age. The monks and monasteries available did not fit his needs. They either had too much of this or too little of that, so he created his own way of doing things, producing…. The Rule of St. Benedict<\/em>. \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

One of the things I appreciate about St. Benedict, even though I would not like to live in one of his monasteries, was his resolve and ability to create something when the current 6th<\/sup>-century options were not working for him. He founded a system of living that balanced work and prayer for monks in his day, which caught major traction and even influenced how other \u201csecular\u201d systems were run in the West. (It also created push-back to the extent that some other monks attempted to poison him one night). This takes Edwin Friedman\u2019s ideas around sabotaging a differentiated leader to another level. [i]<\/a><\/p>\n

Benedict took influences from other leaders and monasteries and created something that worked for him.<\/em> As Austin Kleon says, St. Benedict \u201cstole like an artist,\u201d and it worked. It also reminded me of one of Kim Sanford\u2019s favorite quotes from Kleon\u2019s book, \u201cThe manifesto is this: Draw the art you want to see, start the business you want to run, play the music you want to hear, write the books you want to read, build the products you want to use-do the work you want to see done.\u201d[ii]<\/a> Austin could have also said, “create the monastery where you want to live.” This is empowering and reinforces the need for each generation to create something that strikes a balance between the available extremes of that time, denomination, or area.<\/p>\n

\u00a0I say \u201ceach generation\u201d because St. Benedict\u2019s idea of moderation in a 6th<\/sup>-century monastery might be considered extreme for many in the 21st<\/sup> century. Let\u2019s look at some of his rules:<\/p>\n

\u201cDo not say foolish things or things that are intended to cause laughter. Do not take pleasure in excessive or unrestrained laughter<\/strong>.\u201d [iii]<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cMonks should be silent at all times<\/strong> but especially at night.\u201d[iv]<\/a><\/p>\n

The seventh step towards humility is for him not only to claim that he is beneath everyone else and worse than them, but also to be convinced of this deep in his heart, humbling himself and saying<\/strong> with the prophet, \u201cI am a worm and not a man<\/strong>, hated by others and a laughing-stock to the people\u201d.[v]<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2026in the oratory, in the monastery, in the garden, on the road, in the fields, or anywhere else, whether sitting, walking or standing, he should always have his head bent, his eyes fixed on the ground,<\/strong> regarding himself at all times as guilty of his sins and imagining that he is already appearing before the dread judgment.[vi]<\/a> (26)<\/p>\n

\u201cIf a brother has been frequently reprimanded for some fault but has not amended his ways even after being excommunicated, then he should undergo more severe punishments, in other words, he should be punished with beatings<\/strong>.\u201d[vii]<\/a><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve stayed at a Benedictine monastery. The Abby of Gethsemane (Thomas Merton\u2019s home) is a little over an hour away from my house. Granted, they still have a lot of rules, like silence and not eating meat, and take vows of poverty and chastity. However, I usually see monks laughing; they even tell jokes in places where conversation is permitted and are not permanently staring at the ground. I also have not seen or heard monks getting beaten for misconduct.<\/p>\n

I say all that to acknowledge and appreciate that ancient books, laws, and rules serve roles in their generation and context. However, it\u2019s unwise to fully tie ourselves to their thinking, approach, and behavior, just as it is equally foolish to dismiss or disregard what past traditions and ideas might offer us because some of them are extreme or even foreign to us today.<\/p>\n

Things that challenge and speak to me from The Rule of St. Benedict<\/em>: (paraphrased)<\/p>\n

-Let your actions line up with your words. (13)<\/p>\n

-Different people need different management styles and approaches. Learn how they work and adapt to them. (14-15)<\/p>\n

-Put as much weight on prayer as you do work and manual labor. (36)<\/p>\n

-Live knowing that you will give God an account of your life one day. (23)<\/p>\n

-Bring everyone <\/em>in when decisions are to be made, \u201c\u2026the Lord often reveals the better course to a younger person.\u201d [viii]<\/a> (Keep listening to those Gen Z\u2019s Tim!)<\/p>\n

-Follow the values of Christ over the world.<\/p>\n

-Half a bottle of wine a day is enough for each person. (63)<\/p>\n

-Stay humble (22)<\/p>\n

-Don\u2019t talk so much, listen (21)<\/p>\n

-Regularly read Sacred texts, but handle them with care. Certain ages and development stages are not ready for certain Scriptures (65)<\/p>\n

-Communities need systems, structures, and discipline.<\/p>\n

-Discipline is hard at first, but it gets easier.<\/p>\n

-Balance your life with spirituality and administration. Both are essential.<\/p>\n

Create the monastery where you would live and create the ______ that you would _______.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[i]<\/a> Friedman, Edwin H., Margaret M. Treadwell, and Edward W. Beal. A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix<\/em>. 10th anniversary revised edition. New York: Church Publishing, 2017.<\/p>\n

[ii]<\/a> Kleon, Austin. Steal like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You about Being Creative<\/em>. New York: Workman Pub. Co, 2012.<\/p>\n

[iii]<\/a> Benedict, and Carolinne White. The Rule of Benedict<\/em>. London: Penguin, 2008, 18.<\/p>\n

[iv]<\/a> Ibid., 65.<\/p>\n

[v]<\/a> Ibid., 25.<\/p>\n

[vi]<\/a> Ibid., 26.<\/p>\n

[vii]<\/a> Ibid.,49.<\/p>\n

[viii]<\/a> Ibid.,16.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When I saw that Jason was requiring us to read a book over 300 years old, I was automatically taken back to Oxford when Dr. Martyn Percy asked our DLGP cohorts to name a significant work over 300 years old that is still in print. Several works were named by us before he revealed one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":171,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2310],"tags":[2489,3272,582],"class_list":["post-38387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-doctor-of-leadership-3","tag-dlgp02","tag-ruleofstbenedict","tag-benedict","cohort-dlgp02"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38387","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/171"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38387"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38387\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38401,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38387\/revisions\/38401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}