Conversion of life
When I was 13 years old, my Sunday School teachers took our class to the Ridgecrest Conference Center near Asheville, North Carolina where we joined thousands of Southern Baptists for Foreign Mission Week. During the week there were workshops, plenary sessions and daily revival services. The week was all about conversion, converting Christians to be foreign missionaries so that non-Christians could be converted to follow Jesus.
Today I am writing the third reflection on the three vows of Benedictine monasticism and how they can help us understand parish life and mission. I started this series reflecting on the vow of stability, the promise to build relationships in and share responsibility for a particular community. Last week, I wrote about the vow of obedience, the promise to listen deeply and respond faithfully. This leaves us with the final vow, conversion of life.
For many people, I suspect this vow might create the most anxiety. But Benedictine monks and nuns are not Southern Baptists. For Benedictines, the vow of conversion of life means a lifelong commitment to remain open to change in themselves and in their community. As stated on the website of St. John’s Abbey: “The difference from one day to the next is not detectable, and over time, it can be parallel to the slow dripping of water that eventually wears a hole through solid stone. However, the change does occur, and the daily renewal of promise to devote one’s life to the working of this transformation is what this vow is about.”
Understood this way, conversion is a normal and necessary part of life. In his Benedictine Promise and Parish Development model, the Rev. Robert Gallagher understands this vow as a critical component of healthy parish life. Promising to be open to change means a congregation willingly follows Jesus on a journey that promises to transform it. To ensure this is possible, parish leadership must establish clear direction and develop processes that invite people to imagine new visions for the future while equipping them for practical action. Parishioners, then, are equipped to live as disciples of Jesus Christ: to accept responsibility for their Christian life and to follow Christ’s call to serve their neighbor.
How might focusing on the vow of conversion of life shape us at St. Paul’s? First, we honor tradition without being bound by it. We carry with us what strengthens us and let go of what holds us back. Second, we accept that following Jesus requires us to move toward a future we cannot clearly perceive or control. Though the limits on our control might cause anxiety, we walk forward with faith in God and each other. Third, we foster diversity in our community, seeking new leaders, new gifts, and new skills which reflect the full tapestry of God’s people. We do this even knowing new people will change us. Finally, we celebrate our transformation and give thanks for the communion of saints from the past who worked to make today possible.
Over the next three weeks, I’ll focus on the newly adopted mission of St. Paul’s and on my upcoming sabbatical. Stay tuned!
