The following, from a post by Deborah Campbell , describes beautifully the importance and neccessity of the prescence of a people who are about the work of reconciliation; knowing that we are “recovering cultural addicts”, and that new structures are needed to replace the ones that foster anonymity, isolation, and those that aim to keep us “dependent” on the “answers” that capitalism says is the best.

The Chemotherapy of Love at inward/outward
CREATING HEALTHY SYSTEMS

Often it is not that you are wrong or that I am wrong, but that the system we have created does not work. How can we work together to create healthy systems of relationships and communication? How do we organize our life together in our famlies, workplace, local church and communities that allows for the healthy flow of God’s love among us? It is too much to think about and comprehend. Can’t we go back to me-and-Jesus? But that is exactly what just relationships are all about, Jesus teaching us about justice and the belovedness of all creation and creatures. We are still in adolescence in our ability to incarnate Jesus’ love in our structures and systems. We seldom understand systemic evil and how we all participate in the destruction of life because we refuse to think systemically about our life together. We refuse to think critically and reflectively about how my action in this situation influences all creation.

Christian community is not only to sustain us in hard times but challenge us to think and act responsibly. We have much room to grow in this area. As the church, we are often caught in the addicitons of the culture to comfort, money, numbers, consumerism and buildings. We can easily ignore or give only crumbs to those who are economically poor and not look at the system that keeps people poor and our part in perpetuating such an unhealthy system.

It really is a terribly unhealthy system. And dangerous becuase it is so pervasive and seems to dominate everything (and sadly, even the majority of our churches). We sorely need……I sorely need, a place where a new kind of community is being sought.

I was fortunate to have been a part of a group that used a “Servant Leadership School” structure and group process that Debbie brought to Cincinnati, Ohio in 1995 and 96. This was at ime of renewal for me, especially in being with a group of people who were jounreying together on “how to do church”, or to be agents /missionaries to other parts of Christendom that are in need of the fresh wind of the Holy Spirit. Finding our way to structures that enable this kind of belonging together in journey is what my journey is about now.