dissertation

44
Influenced as they are by pre-modern (e.g. Celtic), or mainline Christian traditions, or
both, some of the so-called ‘new monastic communities’ 89 arguably belong to the reconstructionist
stream as well, while others have more traits of the third, revisionist category.
90
The plea for ‘reconstruction’ often brings along a distinctive – more open and questioning
– approach to theology. Reconstructionists cannot, however, be said to deliberately
discard ‘orthodoxy’, 91 although they are sometimes accused of this by their critics. In
reconstructionist circles there is a great interest in narrative approaches to Bible-reading,
and in the Jewish roots of Jesus and the Gospels. They are influenced by theologians
of an earlier generation such as Lesslie Newbigin and David Bosch, and by contemporary
theologians such as N.T. Wright, Miroslav Volf, and Dallas Willard, and
sometimes by the Anabaptist tradition as well (e.g. John Howard Yoder and the UKbased
Baptist writer Stuart Murray Williams). Traces of the Reformed and Calvinist
tradition (e.g. Karl Barth, David Fergusson and Bruce McCormack) can be also be
found among the reconstructionists, two well-known examples being the Australians
Michael Frost 92 and Alan Hirsch. 93
89
‘New monastics’ settle not in a monastery, but in abandoned sections of society. They are committing to
community, sharing incomes, serving the poor, and practicing spiritual disciplines. See Jonathan Wilson-
Hartgrove, New Monasticism: What It Has to Say to Today’s Church (Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2008).
See also The New Monasticism Network, “a network of ecclesial communities arising out of contextual mission,”
http://new-monasticism-network.ning.com/ (accessed September 1, 2010); and Graham Cray, Aaron
Kennedy, and Ian Mobsby, eds., New Monasticism as Fresh Expressions of Church (Norwich: Canterbury Press,
2010).
90
An American example is St. Hildegard’s Community in Austin, Texas, which is described as “a transformative
feminist liberation community, a place to live into baptism with accountability and encouragement.”
See Becky Garrison, Ancient-Future Disciples: Meeting Jesus in Mission-Shaped Ministries (New York:
Seabury Books, 2011), 23-39 and www.hildegard-austin.org (accessed November 28, 2011).
91
Cf. Mike Baughman, “Like many postmoderns, my willingness to question and challenge items at the
core of my faith is not an expression of distrust or disobedience to God or the scriptures. On the contrary, it
is an act of faith and trust in the belief that God is big enough to handle my questions and doubts.” Mike
Baughman, “Emerging from the Jersey Shore: Secular, Generational, and Theological Frontiers,” in Phil
Snider, ed., The Hyphenateds: How Emergence Christianity Is Re-Traditioning Mainline Practices (St. Louis, MI:
Chalice Press, 2011), 150.
92
Michael Frost is the Vice Principal of Morling College and the founding Director of the Tinsley Institute,
a mission study centre located at Morling College in Sydney, Australia. In 1998 Frost was one of the
founders of the Forge Mission Training Network, based in Melbourne, and in 2001 he founded the alternative
Christian community, smallboatbigsea, based in Manly on Sydney’s north shore.
93
Alan Hirsch is the founding Director of Forge Mission Training Network and adjunct professor at Fuller
Seminary, California. He is the co-founder of shapevine.com, an international forum for engaging with
world transforming ideas. He also leads Future Travelers, a learning journey applying missional-incarnational
approaches to established churches and is an active participant in The Tribe of LA, a Jesus community
among artists and creatives in Los Angeles. Hirsch is increasingly familiar with the Netherlands: he recently
(March 20, 2012) delivered three well attended lectures at the Theological University in Kampen (TUK),
and he has embarked upon a PhD research at the University of Nijmegen.