VIRTUOUS LIVING - Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University

In this Cell group Phenomenon 113 - the community of the good, just, and wisereplicates itself. From the individual level, to small groups then to the whole churchthe larger community virtuous living becomes the dominant moral disposition. Sinceit attracts everyone, a cell church cannot be just a resource for an individual church’sevangelism, but rather its principles can be used in moral transformation of anycommunity. A community in South Africa might include a plurality of faith,denomination, economic levels, and political differences. From a charismaticcongregation to a Roman Catholic Church we find similarities all aimed at becomingcreative in order to build the community of the wise.(ii) A creative local church for moral virtue developmentOne document dealing with the issue of the church as virtue-enhancing localcommunity in an African setting is a collection of documents edited by Patrick J.Hartin, Bernard F. Connor and Paul B. Decock. The title is Becoming a CreativeLocal Church: Theological Reflections on the Pastoral plan (1991). The documentwas a project commissioned by the Catholic Theological Society of Southern Africa.The purpose of the document was to add substance to the “Pastoral Plan” which hadbeen developed by the Catholic bishops in Southern Africa. Although it was meant forCatholic Christians, their theology of community is worth recapitulating for thebenefit of all. Nearly every chapter of the document is opened with poetic verses thatreveal a mind that is imbued with the Christian Scripture characteristic of thereflection of the community of the wise. The introduction to the “Pastoral Plan”,printed below, is an example taken from the document.“God’s plan, the source of our plan”Blessed be God the FatherOf our Lord Jesus Christ,and sanctifier; then they share the vision of the cell group and the ultimate goal of the Christiancommunity. They discuss areas of growth to be promoted and weaknesses to be discouraged. Theyreach out to friends whom they would like to invite to join the cell group in prayer and with lovethrough a process of socialisation. Other activities include prayer as the primary method of askingGod to permeate the spirits and hearts of those outside and bring them into the fold of the cell group.Children are never left out. On the contrary children are encouraged to come along to cell meetings.This approach to children’s ministry helps in growing them into the moral values and habits of thiswise community ethos.113 A cell group has a dynamic force within it by which it multiplies. As members increase to 12, it istime to multiply. “Multiplication” is a term given to describe the process of “dividing” one group intotwo, once they reach the target of 12 members.293