Ancient Examples 3: Monks of War

Mention the Knights Templar to most people these days and the chances are, if they knew what you were talking about at all, they would assume you were referring to a new book by Dan Brown. If they were a bit better read, they might engage you in a conversation about the crusades and the immorality of invading a foreign country in the name of God (this may lead to a follow up conversation about a certain American president's attitude towards Middle Eastern, 'dangerous', oil-producing countries). However, I've read stuff recently (Desmond Seward's Monks of War) that has got me thinking the Knights Templar, Knights of St. John, Knights Who Say Ni and other European military orders of the Middle Ages have got something to say for a 21st century faith community.

Now before anyone accuses me of being a closet supporter of Nick Griffin, let me explain. The Knightly Orders were first and foremost monks, following all the ascetic rigours of their non-military brethren. The first order, the Order of the Temple, was founded by a chap named Hugues de Payens and grew from a group of ragged knights that Hugues had put together in 1118 to guard the monastic hospitals in and around Jerusalem. The 'Poor Knights' became a monastic order when St Bernard of Clairvaux composed a rule for them in 1123. Thus they had two vocations - to pray and to fight.

What the Templars did - killing in the name of God, is reprehensible to anyone with any understanding of the Bible, God and common goodness. This was even recognised by some at the time, for instance the Cistercian abbot Isaac of Etoile who wrote "Its (The Templar's) members consider that they have every right to attack anyone not confessing Christ's name...whereas if they themselves are killed while thus unjustly attacking the pagans, they are called martyrs." It is the principle that interests me, however, the principle of action.

Monastic orders in general are known for contemplation, prayer and spiritual insight, but not so much for action. In a world wracked by so much injustice, churches need some of the spirit of passionate, zealous action. There are plenty of evils surrounding us that need to and CAN be combated by those with a mind - women trafficked into sex slavery, children forced to produce our clothes, atrocities committed against innocent people so we can use mobile phones.

St Bernard wrote of the Templars, "They can fight the battle of the Lord and indeed be soldiers of Christ." Perhaps churches need to learn something about this. There are evils and injustices that need to be fought against with passion and zeal. Perhaps there are things we can learn from the Monks of War.

Beerton Abbey

Sorry for the lame title to this post but thought I'd try to slip in a cheeky pop-culture reference. Fail. Be that as it may, I want to say a bit more about how the whole bar/abbey/monastery/community thing might work...as usual, I'm very open to comments and suggestions.

First, a history lesson (naturally).

In the summer of 395, St Columba and a band of twelve monks landed on Iona and began building their abbey. There is evidence to suggest that Columba had connections with local rulers and, for the first season at least, received resources from elsewhere to help establish the monastery, but soon it was self-sufficient and quickly gaining reputation.  This became a missionary base that for some centuries was the hub of Christianity in Britain.

The abbey was a place of worship, a home, a base for local ministry and the 'mother house' that other communities were planted from and affiliated to. It was from Iona that Aidan went to establish the famous abbey on Lindisfarne (Holy Island).

Ray and I see the potential for a modern day version of this model. Currently he lives in Watford but is often on the road, networking pubchurch groups and trying to set up new ones. I on the other hand am much more of a 'stationary' kind of guy, feeling drawn to one place and looking after the community there. When translated into our vision, Ray naturally wants to set up/network the small dispersed communities, where as I naturally want to look after the central bar church itself. It was pointed out to us recently that this is a classic Celtic bishop/abbot role allocation - the bishop overseas all the churches in one area where as the abbot is specifically looking after the abbey.

Hmm...not sure my Baptist sensibilities really appreciate the idea of being an abbot! Plus abbots are supposed to be holy types...not sure I really fit the bill (but that's another story!). Well Ray and I are trying to meet up sometime before Christmas to chat further, so hopefully more stuff will be revealed then.

And of course we still have our main problem: no people!

Still excited though!! :)

Wanted - visionary pub landlords. Apply within.

Can't remember if I mentioned but in July I'm moving on from my current church job. Now, this turn of events leaves me in a very interesting situation. On one hand it's pretty terrifying, as for the first time in my life the future is uncertain and suddenly I'm experiencing a disconcerting vulnerability. On the other hand it's amazingly exciting as it means the bar church vision is a real possibility!

It also means that some time soon I have to make some decisions. In an ideal world, I would be pursuing the vision in partnership with someone who has both experience and qualification in licensed retail management (the jargon just drips from my tongue now!), but as we all know this world is seldom ideal and I'm not. Therefore, for the time being at least i have to assume I'll be both running the business AND shepherding the flock (jargon works both ways). Problem: theological training I have, bar management training I have not. The obvious solution? Get some training.

I've done a lot of research into how to do this and there is one organisation, the BII (British Institute of Inkeepers), which runs 'industry standard' courses for experience and qualifications. There are dozens of these courses covering everything from stock control to cooking theory to door supervision, but at the very least there are two courses that seem vital, the licensing qualification itself and 'introduction to licensed retail operations'. In total these two alone cost almost 600 squid (which is not an insignificant amount of money), but they're necessary.

With everything changing in July I have a chance to go all out for this, to do the courses and try get some experience in a bar/pub somewhere. The step is obviosuly a huge one, meaning a complete career change (while I get some experience at least) and a sizable financial investment (the training). Things are starting to get serious.

Any visionaries out there fancy being a bar manager? Any takers?

Anyone?

Ancient Examples 2: The Celtic Penitentials

In my quest for ancient examples of forgotten church practice, I have recently come across a collection of writings called 'penitentials', specifically a bunch of them that were written in Ireland and Wales roughly 1300 years ago. For those of you not really interested in 8th century texts written by monks living in Co. Meath (are there any??), a penitential is simply a list of instructions of how to get 'back on track' with God after a person has done something wrong. The formula runs thus: mess up, go to priest, priest looks up corresponding penitential, priest tells you what to do, do it, things all good again.

If there are any Roman Catholic of Eastern Orthodox folk reading, you will be much more familiar with this sort of thing than I am, being a rather blinkered Baptist. But before everyone gets up in arms about this sort of legalistic formula being what's wrong with Christianity in general, let me say why I found the principles behind the Celtic penitentials both enlightening and also potentially important for a 21st century Christian church.

Tom O'Loughlin writes that the penitentials' understanding of 'repentance' (because that is ultimately what we're talking about here) comes from ancient Celtic culture. The Welsh and Irish legal systems were based on what is called 'honour price'. The idea was that if you committed a crime against another person, you would have to pay that person's family an honour price (depending on severity of the crime, family's status etc), and once the was done, the matter was settled. Behind this practice is the idea that ALL crimes are redeemable. Now put God in the equation. So you've done something to break one of God's laws (i.e. committed a crime against him), and there is an honour price you have to pay (as recorded in the penitential). Depending on what you have done this price might be more of less, but ultimately there IS a way back onto the right path. There always is, without exception.

If there's one thing I excel at as a Christian, it's messing up. Sometimes I've messed up so badly that I feel God is on the other side of the galaxy and that there's no way back to him, I could never get myself out of the hole I've gotten myself into. For people like me (and I think there might be a few), the penitentials bring a message of hope. There IS a way back. It might not be an easy road and may involve me paying a high price in terms of forgiving, seeking forgiveness, reforming habits etc, but there is always a way.

There is always a way.

 Everything is redeemable.

Surely this is a message that people in our country need to hear.

Location, Location, Location!

As I think about and research this whole bar-owning business (literally!), it seems that one of the most important factors is that of location. In this economic climate where folk have very little money to spend on stuff, the place where a pub/bar/restaurant is situated becomes paramount. Do the residents in the vicinity want random, fairly-traded ales, or are would they be much more happy with a pint of Stella? This is where the whole 'market research' thing comes in (see, I know all the lingo!) and I'm pretty sure this should be a high priority on my to do list.

I'll be honest, I'm a city boy. I love everything about the city, the busy-ness, the excitement, the people, the energy. For me, the nearer I can be to where all the action is happening the better. With this in mind, it probably comes as no surprise that my first thoughts are to look at a city centre location, or at least a relatively central suburb. I think my grand plans plans for something a bit alternative would work best here.

So here's the dilemma. I recently met up with a friend who is a very successful businessman and is very interested in my idea. He immediately caught the vision for a pub that was run along ethical lines and aimed at doing good in the community, even to the extent of hinting at financial investment!!! Money! Awesome!!! However, as the conversation progressed it became apparent that our visions differed in one small but crucial way - he envisaged a traditional country pub, not a contemporary, city-centre bar.

This leaves me with a big question - if pushed, do I abandon the original vision in order to get the money, or do I turn down my first sniff at serious financial backing in order to retain the integrity of the concept? This is not an easy one, as I don't want to be so arrogant as to refuse to listen to the ideas and thoughts of those who are successful in business, plus I can see that his ideas could have a lot of potential. I've been thinking about this a lot, but in the end there is one consideration that I think tips the balance:

Hot Fuzz. I don't want to be stabbed by a psychotic, knife wielding octogenarian.

City centre it is then.

I'll outline to him in more detail exactly what I plan and hope he will still be interested in supporting me, but we'll have to wait and see.

Ancient Examples 1: The Didache

So...how does one model a monastic community that is based in a commercial bar? To get some ideas I'm turning (as I often do) to the past and trying (as I often don't) to learn some lessons from it. As time progresses I'll record my musings as they unfurl, but here's where I am at the moment.

I've been pouring over a number of books in search of inspiration, but the two that have taken hold of my imagination most so far are Celtic Theology (London 2000) and The Didache (London 2010), both by church historian Tom O'Loughlin. I'll start with the latter as it knocked me for six.

The Didache is an ancient Christian text that was only discovered in the 19th century by chance. This is fascinating in itself considering that it was such an important text to the early church! The word 'didache' literally means 'teaching' in ancient Greek and it was used by the first Christians (literally within a generation of Jesus' death!) to organise their church groups. It gives the context to the letters that Paul and other apostles wrote in the New Testament. Amazing!!!! But it's so much more than that. You see, in the earliest days of Christianity, one could not simply walk into a church, hear a sermon, profess faith and be baptised. Nope nope nope. The process of becoming a Christian that Paul, James, Peter and the others understood was a rigorous process of testing and learning that could last months. ONLY when a candidate (yes, candidate!) had proved (yes, proved!) her commitment could she be baptised and call herself a Christian! The Didache was a text book of 'how to be a Christian' that had to be memorised!!!

The reason for this was simple: Christianity was a brand new movement and required a brand new way of life. It was only right that before a person committed to Christianity he understood completely what was involved, hence the entrance requirements. Also, it's true that during times of persecution the authorities would try and infiltrate Christian communities. If strict controls were placed on church membership, infiltration became much harder to do.

So here's my musing. In a country that no longer professes to be Christian and in which most people don't know the basic tenets of Christianity (even, dare I say, in many churches!), should a 21st century Christian community in Britain be looking once again at the ancient practice of The Didache? Having some form of course or learning period before one can truly claim to be Christian? It's an intriguing thought.

Incidentally, it's worth noting that the only Christian communites that really take this practice seriously anymore are...you've guessd it, the monasteries.

It's just business

So yesterday I gave a brief overview of where I am on the church side of things, now for the other side...the bar.

It might be helpful to say a bit more about my background here. After A levels I went to Cardiff University to study theology, after which I stayed on at Uni to do a master's degree in church history. It was upon completing this that I decided to train for the ministry and studied for a PhD (which turned out to be an MPhil) in Celtic church history at the same time. I went straight from here into my current church and not long after started my bar church ministry.

I only say all this to highlight one fact...I have absolutely NO experience in any form of business whatsoever. The idea of opening a bar is pretty scary.

However, I do feel that the idea is completely workable. My vision is to have a bar that is ethically run, quirky and emphasising quality not quantity. It will be the polar opposite of those bars/pubs out there that are focused solely on getting people (especially students) to down as many '2 4 1' sambucas as possible, or eat as many plastic chips as can be heated in the microwave. The food and drink will all be either fair trade (or equivalent), organic or locally produced. The bar will hold regular events, including open mic nights, acoustic sessions and art exhibitions. People will go there for the experience of an amazing night out, not simply to get bladdered or eat as much rubbish as they can. The staff will be looked after in a working environment of fun, focus and trust (couldn't think of another 'f'). The premises will be used as a centre for outreach to the homeless and provide counselling/advice services. It will be awesome.

Now, I can hear EVERY person reading this with any amount of business experience at all synchronously snort in derision. But there's proof it can work! A few weeks ago I met up with the project manager of a city centre bar called the Malt Cross in Nottingham. I won't say too much more about this amazing place, but please check out the website. http://www.maltcross.com/ This is my inspiration.

Brilliant. Now there's just the little problem of money...

Church or Monastery?

There are two distinct parts to this church/bar vision, one is (wait for it) the church, and the other is (bet you can't guess) the bar. I'm researching the two separately in the hope that at some point in the future they'll come together.

Okay, let's deal with the 'church' side of things first. In the summer I spent a few days at the Northumbria Community and was really inspired by their monastic approach to Christian community. They have a 'mother house' (the centre up north called Nether Springs), but also a nation-wide network of smaller, dispersed communities that are linked to one another by a common rule of life and core values. Individual members of these mini communities are expected to visit the mother house at least once a year (a pilgrimage, if you will), but other than that they meet independently. 

Now I happen to be pretty much obsessed with all things Celtic AND all things monastic, so seeing this model in action started the rusty cogs in my brain tortuously turning. What if this model would work in a bar church setting? What if the bar acted as the centre (...or, to use proper old-school terminology, the 'abbey') in which a community gathered and went out from to perform mission and ministry, setting up mini-communities all over the place???

I started to get excited.

Not long after putting this idea down on paper, I had a meeting with a guy called Ray Ashley (Not Rick Astley, as I was tempted to call him), another forlorn dreamer who believes the pubs and churches are made for each other. Ray has been doing some amazing work with his pub church network (http://www.pubchurch.co.uk/) and when we met, it didn't take long to discover that we have a very similar vision. In fact, when I shared with him my 'bar monastery' vision, we realised that we have almost exactly the same vision.

 

I started to get very excited.

Ray and I have decided to get to know each other over the coming months and to go on some retreats together in order to test our respective visions' compatibility and to see if there's scope for us working together, but the initial signs are looking positive.

We're both starting to get very excited. :)

The road goes ever on and on...

This blog is dedicated to one thing - documenting the highs and lows, fun and frolics of trying to plant a church community that meets in cafe/bar/pub that is owned...by me. Or us. Possibly.

There are two obvious issues with this grand vision. Issue the first - I have no people. Issue the second - I have no bar. However, sometimes you gotta jump off the proverbial cliff to discover whether or not there is an invisible bridge underneath you, so in the words of Richard Branson, "screw it, let's do it."

At this stage it might be worth giving something of my credentials. I am a Baptist Minister in Cardiff and until August this year, I was the leader of an emerging church that met in various bars/pubs in the city centre. After four and a half years this wonderful roller coaster of a ride has sadly come to an end, but onwards and upwards! I believe that God might be leading me into this next adventure and I aim to push every door until they are all firmly shut in my face.

If anybody sees fit to pay this little record of randomness any attention, I would be VERY grateful for any comments, queries, suggestions, ideas or financial contributions you deem led to bless me with! Well...if you don't ask you don't get (and usually it helps if you use spiritual jargon).