The Pikes Peak Chapter in Colorado has begun a discussion about what the “ideal” church would look like. It was unanimously felt that we have done, over these many years, the foundational reading and know why we are egalitarians. Perhaps we are a bit tired of reading solely on the egalitarian/feminist theme, and perhaps we are ready to branch out a bit in other directions.
So…if we could create the exact church/church experience we want as egalitarian Christian women, what would that look like? Our suggested reading list includes Pagan Christianity, by Frank Viola and Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Faith in Community by Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
We asked ourselves the following questions.
1. What should this church look like?
2. How would we deal with the problems engendered in trying to live in Christian community
with one another?
3. What did Christ mean when He spoke of “unity?”
4. What things are good about the patriarchal church, and could be kept?
5. What should be tossed?
6. Does a church have to mirror the secular culture in order to survive?
7. Where do politics fit into the egalitarian church?
8. Do we have a leader/pastor, or are we totally non-hierarchical?
9. What sort of “service” would you envision? How would it be run?
10. And, the biggest question of all, I think, is: are we looking to invent a “church” or a
community ? How would we put our ideals into concrete?
Here is our list so far. As each item was added to the list, we were challenged to accurately define it. The challenge quickly became huge in scope, and clearly would take much more time than we had, so we are just making a list for now. The fight about precise definitions is for another time, and will resume with referees and reference books.
1. Golden Rule
2. Widows & Orphans
3. Community
a. Support, helping
b. Children need to be important
4. Egalitarian
5. Quaker model: silent meditation
6. Accountability
7. Trinitarian
8. Non-subordination
9. Communion
10. Opportunity for confession to one or two other persons
11. Spiritual direction/support
We would value everyone’s comments and suggestions for this amazing church.
