monasticism

All posts tagged monasticism

Clothesline Theology

Posted by Jim Thornber on July 5, 2019
Posted in: Christian Spirituality, Religion. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

The following is an excerpt from my book Taking Off My Comfortable Clothes, which is available now.  The book recounts my thoughts during the four years I was an Assemblies of God minister and a monk with the Brothers and Sisters of Charity. 

A few years ago, my wife and I visited a church to determine if I wanted to become their new pastor. We drove to the church early on that warm, October morning, full of hope and expectation. When we walked into the small fellowship hall, it was obvious we were the visiting pastors, for new, younger faces were easy to spot in this small, elderly congregation. As we passed through the fellowship hall on our way to the sanctuary, one lady gave us a short glance, quickly scanned Barbara up and down, and walked by us without saying a word. Little did we know we had just committed a cardinal sin in this small church: we were not appropriately attired.

We didn’t mean to be under dressed; it just happened. Yes, we were fully covered, but not in their eyes. You see, my wife made the horrible mistake of wearing a pretty black dress that did not fully cover her knees. That didn’t bother me — I kinda like her knees. But it obviously bothered this woman. A lot. Furthermore, I chose to wear a suit and a silk pullover shirt but no tie. Strike two. The odds were stacked against us and we hadn’t even introduced ourselves. It was going to be a long day.

When I look back on it, I see that Barbara and I had a different definition of holiness than the saints of this small congregation. Without knowing our hearts, some pre-judged us as Christians based on nothing more than what we were wearing.

Continue Reading

A Community of Two

Posted by Jim Thornber on October 26, 2014
Posted in: Christian Spirituality. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

For four years I was an Assemblies of God minister and a monk with the Brothers and Sisters of Charity at the Little Portion Hermitage. This is an excerpt from   my book, Taking Off My Comfortable Clothes: Removing Religion to Find Relationship.

Barb and JimAfter I left the Little Portion, many people have asked me why I went there in the first place. Shortly after leaving, my typical answer was, “God wanted to make me a holy man in His sight.” This is true, but that is also God’s agenda in every person’s life.

After Barbara and I started dating and I began seriously thinking about marrying her, I started to see another reason for my time at the community—God wanted to work on certain areas of my life so they would not be a burden to my future wife. The Lord wanted to rid me of as much of my selfishness as possible, because if He was going to entrust me with His daughter, I needed to be in the right spiritual shape in order to treat her as God intended. My time at the Little Portion helped me do that, and it was a girlfriend from high school who showed me that I’d changed.

One time I returned to California on vacation and visited some college friends in San Jose. While I was there, I called my high school girlfriend because I was in the area and I’d never met her husband. We had remained friends since high school and I was looking forward to seeing her. Since this was the first time she saw me in my brown monastic habit, her opening line after a hug and a kiss was, “Well, you’re not hard to spot in a crowd!” As she got ready to leave, she told me she could see a change in me. “I no longer feel like an object in your eyes,” she said.

Okay guys, admit it. When you were  eighteen years old, you have trouble looking at girls in any other manner. Paul may have told Timothy to treat every woman as a sister, but that wasn’t our first choice!

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No One Can Pick On My Baby Brother But Me

Posted by Jim Thornber on September 9, 2012
Posted in: Christian Spirituality, Leadership, Religion. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

For four years I was an Assemblies of God minister and a monk with the Brothers and Sisters of Charity at the Little Portion Hermitage. This is an excerpt from my book,Taking Off My Comfortable Clothes: Removing Religion to Find Relationship.

As I found out traveling around the country with the community, different parishes had different tolerance levels for Assemblies of God monks teaching in their church. My unique situation was welcomed with open arms in many cities, but this was not the case in a visit to Dodge City, Kansas. Here, the priest asked me not to tell the congregation that I was not a Catholic. I was ready for this, because it was not an unusual request. It fell under the heading, “No one can pick on my baby brother but me.”

Too often, we will tolerate any amount of disagreement or criticism as long as it comes from within our ranks. However, if that criticism comes from an outsider, then we often find it unacceptable. For instance, I can tell Jewish jokes all I want, because my mom’s family is Jewish. But if those same jokes are told by anyone else, then people start screaming antisemitism. The same goes for jokes pertaining to religion.

However, I also understand and respect the pastor of a church who knows his people well enough to understand their limitations. I was always obedient to the wishes of the priests who invited us to minister. To do anything less would be to dishonor God’s appointed leadership. Continue Reading

A Change of Habit

Posted by Jim Thornber on May 13, 2012
Posted in: Christian Spirituality, Religion. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

For four years I was an Assemblies of God minister and a monk with the Brothers and Sisters of Charity at the Little Portion Hermitage. This is an excerpt from my book Taking Off My Comfortable Clothes: Removing Religion to Find Relationship.

After I moved to the Little Portion Hermitage and made my three-year commitment to poverty, chastity, and obedience, I put on the clothing of a monk-a brown, one-piece hooded robe called a “habit.”  That habit was a concrete reminder that the way I walked, worked and worshiped was about to change.

Having grown up in Southern California wearing either shorts or Levi’s most of the year, learning to walk in a long, dress-like garment that nearly touched the floor took some practice. John Michael gave me detailed instructions on how walk up and down stairs, get in and out of cars gracefully, and even ride a camel. Moreover, the way I carried myself did not go unnoticed by those I went to church with at Berryville First Assembly of God in Arkansas.

Not long after I left the community, our church had a ceremony for the Honor Stars – those girls around twelve years old who have completed the Missionettes program (Missionettes is the Christian version of the Girl Scouts.) They all came to church one night in long gowns, and had to walk up a couple of stairs in order to reach the platform. While I was standing in the back talking to one of the mothers, her daughter came up to me, and in a hushed tone said, “Jim, how do you walk up stairs in a long dress?” Without words, I showed her how to maneuver her dress modestly, and she imitated the feat perfectly, climbing onto the platform without a hitch. I’m still amused that she asked me and not her mother! The scene begs the question: Are people asking your advice on how to walk in Christ? Continue Reading

Clothesline Theology

Posted by Jim Thornber on June 1, 2011
Posted in: Christian Spirituality, Church, Publishing, Religion. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

The following is an excerpt from my book Taking Off My Comfortable Clothes, which is available now.  The book recounts my thoughts during the four years I was an Assemblies of God minister and a monk with the Brothers and Sisters of Charity. 

A few years ago, my wife and I visited a church to determine if I wanted to become their new pastor. We drove to the church early on that warm, October morning, full of hope and expectation. When we walked into the small fellowship hall, it was obvious we were the visiting pastors, for new, younger faces are easy to spot in this small, elderly congregation. As we passed through the fellowship hall on our way to the sanctuary, one lady gave us a short glance, quickly scanned Barbara up and down, and walked by us without saying a word. Little did we know we had just committed a cardinal sin in this small church: we were not appropriately attired.

We didn’t mean to be under dressed; it just happened. Yes, we were fully covered, but not in their eyes. You see, my wife made the horrible mistake of wearing a pretty black dress that did not fully cover her knees. That didn’t bother me — I kinda like her knees. But it obviously bothered this woman. A lot. Furthermore, I chose to wear a suit and a silk pullover shirt but no tie. Strike two. The odds were stacked against us and we hadn’t even introduced ourselves. It was going to be a long day.

When I look back on it, I see that Barbara and I had a different definition of holiness than the saints of this small congregation. Without knowing our hearts, some pre-judged us as Christians based on nothing more than what we were wearing.

Continue Reading

“Jim, go ring the bell.”

Posted by Jim Thornber on May 24, 2011
Posted in: Christian Spirituality, Religion, Service. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , . 4 Comments

For four years I was an Assemblies of God minister and a monk with the Brothers and Sisters of Charity at the Little Portion Hermitage. This is an excerpt from my book Taking Off My Comfortable Clothes: Removing Religion to Find Relationship.

We had just entered the chapel for the noontime prayer called the Angelus when John Michael said, “Jim, go ring the Angelus bell.” Great, I thought, another chance to be obedient in a tradition I disagreed with. But John Michael asked me to do it, and when you’ve taken a three-year vow of obedience, it is a little difficult to say “No.”

The Angelus is a short devotion at noon honoring the Incarnation. It involves three repetitions of the Hail Mary and is prayed in conjunction with the ringing of a bell. So, even though I was sure I was that didn’t want to do it, but at the same time not quite sure how to get out of it, I walked out of the chapel and down the little path that led to the bell.

Having arrived at the bell, the full impact of the quandary I was in began to take hold. The Angelus is a prayer followed by one bell, followed by another prayer and another bell, a third prayer and a final bell. Now, since I couldn’t hear the prayer in the chapel, I had to recite the prayer with the community in order to ring the bell at the proper time. After the first ringing of the bell, the prayer goes like this:

“The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary: And she conceived of the Holy Spirit. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of
our death. Amen.”

BONG!

“Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word. Hail Mary….”

BONG!

“And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us. Hail Mary. . . .”

BONG!

Now, the tricky part was saying the prayer along with the community so that I didn’t ring the bell while they were still reciting the prayer, nor wait too long so that they sat in silence waiting for me to ring the bell before they started the next phrase. Having sat through many an Angelus, I knew this was a tricky thing to do. Continue Reading

The Weed Eater Made Me Do It!

Posted by Jim Thornber on May 11, 2011
Posted in: Christian Spirituality, Religion. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 4 Comments

For four years I was an Assemblies of God minister and a monk with the Brothers and Sisters of Charity at the Little Portion Hermitage. This is an excerpt from my book Taking Off My Comfortable Clothes: Removing Religion to Find Relationship.

One fine summer day at the monastery, I went to the garage and got the weed eater. But try as I might, I could not get the weed eater to start. Does it have gas? Check. Is the spark plug okay? Check. Well, that’s as far as my small engine talents can take me. So, let’s pull on the rope some more. Once more. One more time. Pull again. Pull. Pull pull pull pull pull pull pull pull. About the time I started to feel the blister come up on my finger from jerking on the rope, I’d had enough. I laid hands upon it (in the name of Jesus, of course) and removed the offending member from my presence.

I didn’t really believe that a long flight out the garage door would help the obstinate weed eater start. But for that brief, wonderful moment, the sight of the obnoxious, obviously UNSAVED weed eater flying helplessly (if unrepentantly) across the driveway and into the shrubs by the common center made me feel better. Walking out into the bright sun to retrieve the varmint, I bought it back into the garage and tried it once again. I was right. It still didn’t start.

Fast-forward to the next available Friday. Friday morning is the time when, during morning prayers, we all had the opportunity to confess any sins that needed to be, well, confessed. Continue Reading

Truth is a Rainbow

Posted by Jim Thornber on March 17, 2011
Posted in: Christian Spirituality, Church, Publishing. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

For four years I was an Assemblies of God minister and a monk with the Brothers and Sisters of Charity at the Little Portion Hermitage. This is an excerpt from my book, Taking Off My Comfortable Clothes: Removing Religion to Find Relationship.

As an Assemblies of God minister who was also a monk in a Catholic-based monastic community, I had to do quite a bit of soul searching during my time at the Little Portion, reconciling what I have always believed and practiced with those things I was seeing practiced at the community. Our Christian principles were the same, but the practices of those principles were different. My conclusion, therefore, (and you may disagree – just be agreeable when you do so) was this: The Spirit of truth guides us into those truths that pertain to the principles of salvation. Everything else is icing on the religious cake.

At one time, I saw “truth” as if it were the period at the end of this sentence; complete, precise, and unalterably the same across the board. And naturally, my truth and the Spirit of truth were one and the same! However, after living at the Little Portion, I began to see truth more like a rainbow and less like a period. There were different colors and gradations to truth, especially when that “truth” did not have anything to do with our salvation.

Ecumenism is defined as a movement promoting union between religions, especially between Christian churches. Our unity as Christians is centered completely and solely upon Jesus and His place in our life. The purpose of the Spirit of truth is stated in John 16:14: “He will bring glory to me [Jesus] by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.” The mission of the Spirit of truth is stated in John 16:8: “When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment.” By putting these verses together, we see that the Spirit of truth comes to convict us of our sin and point us to righteousness through the judgment of our sin (i.e., Calvary), and to glorify Jesus. Anything we do in the Church that does not fall into these areas is that which does not fall under the ministry of the Spirit of truth.

In other words, I discovered that our union as Christians is based upon Jesus and nothing else, because nothing else is eternal. Not our by-laws, ordination practices, baptismal formulas, dress codes, holy water, service times or musical tastes, but simply Jesus. With this understanding, I was free to talk all I wanted about Jesus and never run out of something to say.

And this freedom to talk about Jesus without running out of something to say happened twice in a very significant way. In both instances, I was privileged to co-teach in a Catholic setting, one along side John Michael Talbot (the founder of The Little Portion Hermitage) in Lafayette, LA, and the other with a monsignor in Vista, CA.  I spoke with John Michael for almost two hours at the retreat in Lafayette. We talked about the community and our mutual love for Jesus without ever mentioning our differences regarding the Pope or praying the rosary or transubstantiation. We just talked about Jesus, and since we could not exhaust our Subject, we never ran out of something to say. In fact, I believe that until we have exhausted our discussion of Jesus, we do not have a right to separate from our fellow brothers and sisters based on those things that are not Jesus. This reminds me of something I read, but I cannot remember where. “On the major things we agree, and on the minor things we disagree, but in all things we are to remain in love.”

A similar scene occurred in Vista, CA. Monsignor Regan invited the community to his parish to teach and give a concert. The monsignor and I got along like old friends, and he invited me to speak with him at a special service. He gave me the topic and suggested we just stand up and share from our heart. And for the next hour, we did just that. He would share, it would give me an idea. I would take off from that, and in turn, he would say something about what I said and on it went. It was marvelous and a whole lot of fun, and once again, I learned that we could not exhaust our common Jesus.

It’s Not My Job!

Posted by Jim Thornber on March 8, 2011
Posted in: Christian Spirituality, Publishing, Religion. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , . 3 Comments

For four years I was an Assemblies of God minister and a monk with the Brothers and Sisters of Charity at the Little Portion Hermitage. This is an excerpt from my book, Taking Off My Comfortable Clothes: Removing Religion to Find Relationship.

A religious community has much in common with any group of people, be they a family or a local church group. Foremost among these commonalities is a myopic view of the terrain, often showing itself under the title of “It’s not my job.”
While I lived at the Little Portion, one of my jobs was to sort the recyclables. We had two receptacles in the kitchen—one for trash and the other for cans. I would try to tend to both as frequently as possible, but sometimes I didn’t get around to it in a timely manner, and it was then I began to formulate my understanding about people’s attitudes regarding things they didn’t own.

I remember watching an individual approach the recycling bin in the kitchen with a can in his hand. Since I had been remiss in dealing with the receptacle, this person found it overflowing. I then watched him as he placed his can high upon the pile, balancing it in such a way that defied gravity, only to walk away satisfied that he did his job. I guess it never occurred to him to pick up the can and carry it fifteen feet out to the recycling area. Oh, that’s right, IT WASN’T HIS JOB!

Let me share with you a nice little motto to live by: Continue Reading

I Chose to be Addicted

Posted by Jim Thornber on February 17, 2011
Posted in: Christian Spirituality, Religion. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

I’ve been a Christian long enough to know that addictions can be harmful to your spiritual health. I’ve heard preachers rail against different addictions for over thirty years, telling me to keep my mind and body pure from evil, worldly pleasures. But now that I’m middle-aged, I think I’m spiritually wise enough to enjoy an addiction of my own choosing without too much harm. I mean, what’s it going to do? Kill me? Heck, I’m closer to death now than when I first begun.

The question is: What kind of addiction to I want to take up?

How about smoking cigarettes? No, that’s out. I don’t like the smell of stale smoke on other people’s clothes, much less my own. Besides, smoking and being the lead pastor of a church still doesn’t settle well in people’s minds.

Maybe drinking? Then the question arises, “Drinking what?” Most churches still condemn even a glass of wine in the evening, as simple as that is, but have nothing against drinking three liters of Coke a day, as awful as THAT is. However, I’m not a big fan of carbonated drinks, so that’s out. How about milk? I used to like milk. Then I see a gallon of milk is almost as much as a pack of cigarettes, so I figure there has to be a less expensive addiction to get involved in. And my Lord knows I don’t need to put on any more weight.

How about gambling? That’s an easy “No.” Not that I don’t gamble already. I do so every time I pay my car insurance or go to the movies. When was the last time you paid to see a movie in the theater and thought, “That wasn’t worth it?” It was a gamble going in, right? I don’t want to gamble at the casinos because I don’t find it very entertaining. If I’m going to be addicted to something, it ought to be something I enjoy doing.

Finally, in my study of the book of James, I came across an addiction worthy of my time and effort.  Continue Reading