500-12-2 Lifestyle and Values of Servants

Lifestyle
and
Values
of
Servants
Viv Grigg, 1981
© Urban Leadership Foundation

Servants communities come in many forms.
They seek to establish movements of men and
women living under the Kingdom of God in the
slums of the world.
The following are the commitments that each
Servant renews each year and each Servant
community review and rewrite each year.
They are not meant to limit but to encourage
people in the disciplines required for ministry.
Servants are encouraged to read these
monthly as part of their devotions.

I. Our Purposes
 Jesus our Master tells us,
Truly, truly, I say to you,
unless a grain of wheat falls
into the ground and dies, it
remains alone; but if it dies,
it bears much fruit.
 He who loves his life loses
it, and he who hates his life
in this world will keep it for
eternal life.
 If anyone serves me, he
must follow me; and where I
am my servant will be also;
if anyone serves me, the
Father will honour him.
(John 12:24-26)

Purpose One:
Following Christ
We desire individually and
corporately to develop
intimacy with Christ and
to walk in his footsteps.
This means imitating his
character and attitudes
as we seek to live out his
principles of self-denial
sacrifice and service in
the context of the
twentieth century slums
of the world’s great cities.

Purpose Two: Knowing Christ
In our minds, knowing God
includes the traditional
evangelical understanding
of knowing God in
obedience, through time in
prayer and the Word,
together with the Franciscan
perspective that knowing God is to
be found through loving the poor,
and the Old Testament perspective
that righteousness involves social
justice. The result is some lifestyle
commitments and spiritual
disciplines.

Purpose Two: Knowing Christ
We seek to know our
Lord more intimately
through
- Obedience and
devotion
- Simplicity of
possessions and
renunciation of
wealth (Luke 14:33)

 Incarnation and service among the
poor of the slums
(Matthew 25:34–40)
 Preaching the gospel to the poor (Luke
4:18)
 Seeking justice for the poor (Jeremiah
22:16)
and
 Commitment to community.
Purpose Two: Knowing Christ (cont)

Purpose Three: Establishing
Multiplying Fellowships
We desire to help in the establishing of
multiplying movements of disciples
congregated into indigenous fellowships
and churches which minister according to
the gifting and power of the Spirit. With
the Bible as our rule for faith and practice,
we affirm the following values.
These are not rules but shared emphases.

II. Ministry Values
 With the Bible as our rule for faith and
practice, we affirm the following values.
These are not rules but shared
emphases.

Our primary commitment as communities is
to go and preach the gospel (Mark
16:15), and to go and make disciples of
all nations (Matthew 28:18–20).
We recognize that this central thrust occurs
in the midst of a wide diversity of
ministry, gifts and calling.
1. Evangelism and
Disciple-making

While our Master was preaching,
he also went about doing good
(Acts 10:38)
healing the sick and delivering from
demons (Matthew 4:24)
declaring the gospel by both word and
deed.
Evangelism and
Disciple-making (cont)

2. Service to the Urban Poor
While acknowledging the
love of Jesus for all men,
we choose to focus our
love and discipling among
the urban poor of the
Third World’s great cities,
seeking to follow Jesus’
approach of preaching the
gospel to the poor (Luke
4:18).

2. Service to the Urban Poor (cont)
We will only minister
extensively among
the rich and
middle class if the
poor are
significantly
helped as a result,
and upon
consensus of the
mission team.

3. The Power of the Holy
Spirit
We choose to work in the
power of the Holy Spirit,
seeking to lead others into the
fullness of the Spirit, and into
the exercise of spiritual gifts
and the expression of spiritual
fruit.
We look to him as leader and
administrator, the one who
opens new communities, who
ministers, who reveals God’s
will, who heals and delivers.
We expect him to work
miraculously on our behalf.

We seek to live in harmony with all men, but
in seeking peace will be involved in
reflecting the just nature of the God we
seek, into the structures of society, in
such a way as to speak out for, to defend
and to uplift the poor among whom we
work.
4. Peacemaking, Justice
and Development

We will act in such areas by being
as wise as serpents and harmless
as doves, seeking to effect change
by bringing repentance and
reconciliation, though this may at
times involve non-violent
confrontations.
and Development

In establishing poor people’s churches we
will seek to avoid social dislocation by
reaching whole communities. We seek also
to establish technically skilled and
economically independent church
leadership.
and Development

We commit ourselves to encouraging
middle-class and rich Christians to give to
the poor, as Paul did (2 Corinthians 8:3),
in order that some level of equality be
attained.
We seek to uplift the economy of the poor
by working where possible to get the
skills to produce, the means of production
and control of production into the hands
of the poor.
and Development

This involves introducing
appropriate technology,
cooperatives, cottage industries (in
preference to mass production),
and profit sharing. Our intended
model is that of holistic ministry,
and small rather than large-scale
projects.
and Development

We are committed to biblical justice and
equity and therefore renounce the abuses
of both capitalism and Marxism. We
renounce the greed of the profit motive,
the exploitation and dehumanization of
humanity, and the exhausting of
irreplaceable natural resources by
capitalism.
and Development

We renounce the use of force,
violence, the class struggle and
bitterness inherent in Marxism.
While for specific goals we may find
ourselves aligned with various
political groups, we are committed
to none but the politics of the
kingdom of God.
and Development

1. Incarnation
Following Jesus’ pattern, who “though he
was rich, yet for your sake he became
poor, so that by his poverty we might
become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9), we
commit ourselves to live and work
among the urban poor, to live as
nearly as possible to their standard of
living, while maintaining reasonable
health and recognizing emotional
physical cultural and family limitations.
We intend always to master the language
and culture of the people among
whom we minister.

2. Non-Destitute Poverty
The Master not only chose poverty in
birth, in life and death, he also calls
his servants to such a lifestyle. We
recognize our basic needs for food
and clothing (I Timothy 6:6-8,
Matthew 6:25-33), which may include
tools of our trade, children’s toys.

2. Non-Destitute Poverty (cont.)
We recognize the just need, inferred
from the Scriptures for each
family to own its own home,
although some, like the Master,
may choose a mobile, apostolic
life with nowhere to lay one’s head
(Luke 9:58). In putting our
treasure in heaven, we covet the
unsearchable riches of Christ.

2. Non-destitute Poverty (cont.)

We desire to possess nothing that cannot
be shared with those around us.
Regarding what we have, we hold it not as
our own but rather as lent to us for a
season. We will seek to exclude from both
our personal and communal lives the cares
of the world, the delight in riches and the
desire for other things (Matthew 4:19).

We will avoid the abundance of
communal properties or wealth.
Buildings, administration and
ministry shall be developed in the
simplest manner consistent with
good health and with efficient, well-
pleasing work.
2. Non-destitute Poverty (cont.)

3. Inner Simplicity
Renouncing possessions is an
outworking of an inner
simplifying of our lives which
lead to the openness,
gentleness, spontaneity, and
serenity that marked the Master.
In renouncing possessions we seek
to simplify our external lives in
order to simplify more clearly
our inner lives and focus on
knowing our Lord.

Along with outward poverty, we desire an
inner humility; along with servant works,
we seek the spirit of a true servant.
In caring little for this world where we are
strangers and pilgrims, we set our hearts
on that spiritual home where our treasure
is being saved up, and on that glory
which we shall share with our Lord,
provided we suffer with him.
3. Inner Simplicity (cont)

We encourage middle-class Christians to such
simplicity of lifestyle. For some it means earning
less, and using their time for the kingdom.
For others it means to earn much, consume little,
hoard nothing, give generously and celebrate
living. Such lifestyles are infinitely varied. We
refuse to judge others in such areas.
3. Inner Simplicity (Cont)

We believe our whole lifestyle should
become a true walking in the Spirit. We
hold to the importance of Spirit-directed
self-discipline in the cultivation of
spirituality, through regular meditation,
study of the Word, worship, prayer and
fasting.
4. Spiritual Disciplines

We recognize that without
steadfastness in these disciplines
our lives will be inadequate to cope
with the stresses of living among
the poor. Our first work is
intercession, from which spring our
ministry.
4. Spiritual Disciplines (cont)

 Our lives are to be a sign of joy
among the people. The center of
our lifestyle is the daily celebration
of our Lord’s death and
resurrection.
 We rejoice, too, in suffering,
knowing that suffering produces
character
(Romans 5:3-5; James 1:2:4).

Wherever we go, we seek to
lead others into this
celebration of the
resurrected Lord, bringing
the hope of Christ into
slums without hope, the joy
of Christ into slums of
despair.

Celebration, rest and joy were built into the
Scriptures in the concepts of the jubilee
and Sabbaths. Knowing that joy flags
under overwork, we will zealously keep
free one day per week for rest outside of
the slum areas.

We will season our year with weeks for
celebration and festivity, rest and retreat.
The seventh year should be a year for
rest, reflection, and recommitment.
We will read and review our lives at least
monthly, rewriting our values and
lifestyle yearly, in consultation with a
spiritual adviser.

5. Responsible faith
Jesus taught us not to be anxious about
daily necessities, for he will provide if we
seek his kingdom (Matthew 6:25-34). We
choose to live in this spirit of carefree
trust and joy.
We expect that as we minister spiritually to
others, God will provide for us physically
in return (1 Corinthians 9:10-12).

We also recognize that in a
twentieth century international
context this requires responsible
financial structuring by the sending
churches and mission agencies
through whom much of God’s
provisions are channeled.
5. Responsible faith (cont)

In general we trust God alone for
our needs, while responsibly and
graciously making our needs known
to others where appropriate. In
order to enter new areas, many
will, at times, like Paul, work in
secular careers to support
themselves.
5. Responsible faith (cont)

6. Fellowship of Commitment
We choose to work, together in
communities of four to twelve brothers
and. sisters, working in pairs or family
units, and corning together at least once
every two weeks for a time of training, of
fun, or of ministry to one another, a
communal feast, a time of confession and
for celebration of the death and
resurrection of our Lord.

While guarding freedom of
conscience and spirit-directed
individual initiative, we choose a
partial sharing of income,
possessions, and ministry goals.
6. Fellowship of Commitment (cont)

We commit ourselves to
submission to one another. Each of
us has God-given and communally
confirmed leadership roles. We
commit ourselves to obedience to
our brothers and sisters in these
areas.
7. Decision-Making in
Community

In all questions of importance, as far as
possible, decisions should be made by
consensus minus one (there is usually
someone who cannot agree and their
opinion should be given double weight,
but not bind the group to inaction).
If a community leader senses a profound
lack of agreement on an important issue,
let him reserve judgment and in order to
go forward, make a provisional decision,
ready to return to it later, for standing
still is disobedience for brothers and
sisters advancing toward Christ.
7. Decision-Making in Community (cont)

Those with responsibility for
leadership must exercise authority
but with humility. If a grave crisis
arises in which there is a division
of opinion, we will decide only
after at least a day of prayer,
humbling, and fasting.
7. Decision-Making in Community (cont)

8. Gifts of Singleness,
Sacrifice in Marriage
We recognize the importance of family life
in the Scriptures, yet, for the sake of the
gospel, with an eye single to his glory,
and seeking a life of undivided devotion
to him, many of us will choose to remain
single for some years, being under no
compulsion, but having our desires under
control and not seeking marriage.

Christ is our true companion and
comfort, who does not weaken
human affection but enables us to
love more richly with his love all
with whom we come in contact.
8. Gifts of Singleness, Sacrifice in Marriage (cont)

Some couples, for love of the poor, may remain
childless for a period of time. Yet others will be
willing to be separated from loved ones and
children for periods of time.
We count on the Lord’s promise to repay a hundred
fold for all such sacrifice and remember always
the gift to us that God the Father made of his
Son.
8. Gifts of Singleness, Sacrifice in Marriage (Cont)

Couples with children will need to
trust God wisely for the well-being
of their children.
We recognize these states as gifts
from God and look with confidence
to him to give the grace needed for
this life.
Sacrifice in Marriage (cont)

In thus accepting the demands of
such a life we must ever be on
guard against the temptation to
self-centeredness, coldness, or a
lack of sympathy with the interests
of others.
Sacrifice in Marriage (cont)

Urban Leadership Foundation
is committed to mobilizing and
building networks among existing
missions and churches to
 Catalyze movements of churches
among the poor
 Establish movements of disciples
among the elite who can transform
the poverty

 Bring spiritual and structural
renewal into urban churches so
they can reach the poor; and
 Encourage missions from Third
World cities to the poor of other
cities.

500-12-2 Lifestyle and Values of Servants

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