On Monday evening I began reading The Benedict Option by Rod Dreher. To say that it had an impact on me is an understatement. Within its pages echoed my feelings, thoughts, and desires that I have struggled with for some years. It was as if Dreher was reading my heart and mind. To that end, I am offering my review of the book, with both praise and critique. Considering The Benedict Option deals with church, vocation, education, and technology, I am going to address these issues in separate posts beginning with Dreher's thoughts on the church. I will begin by giving some background information on the author, then deal with his thesis and outline his argument.
Rod Dreher has a BA in journalism from Louisania State University. He has written for the Dallas Morning News and was the Publications Director for the John Templeton Foundation. Dreher is the author of Crunchy Cons: How Birkenstocked Burkeans, Gun-Loving Organic Gardeners, Evangelical Free-Range Farmers, Hip Homeschooling Mamas, Right-Wing Nature Lovers, and Their Diverse Tribe of Countercultural Conservatives Plan to Save America (or At Least the Republican Party, The Little Way of Ruthie, and How Dante Can Save Your Life.
In The Benedict Option, Dreher argues for the return of the Church to its Orthodox roots. He draws a parallel between Noah building an ark to protect his family against the floodwaters of God's judgment, and Christians today building tight knit communities to protect themselves from the rising tide of secularism. Dreher's thesis is that Christians who implement a modified version of St. Benedict's Rule can not only insulate themselves and their families from the negative effects of culture, but also effectively be a witness through their radically different lifestyles.
Benedict of Nursia, Italy (480-547 AD) came to Rome as a young man, with the opportunity for education and advancement. Horrified by the perverseness of the culture, he withdrew to a cave for three years, whereupon he founded tewlve communities for monks. The Order of St. Benedict came later, and is a confederation of autonomous congregations. The Rule of St. Benedict contain precepts for the monks in the community he founded. One of the great attractions to St. Benedict's Rule is the balance it strikes between prayer and contemplation and work. St. Benedict is considered the father of Western Monastiscim.
Dreher begins his argument by giving supporting data from Pew Reserach that highlights the alarming trend of millennials leaving the church. Of those that remain, he puts forth that the overarching ideology is what he calls Moralistic Therapeautic Deism. This is the idea that God is primarily concerned about my happiness and well-being and that concepts of morality and theology are subjective to the individual, rather than grounded in the authority of Scripture.
The argument presented for our culture's ideology of Moralistic Theraputic Deism is difficult to find fault with. One has only to look to popular "Christian" preachers and teachers to find that people flock to "feel good" sermons where God is presented as a holy Santa Claus, there to grant my desires and His main goal for us is to be happy, healthy, and wealthy. Any teaching on the suffering of life or how God uses trials and difficulties to develop Christ-like character is generally met with lukewarm enthusiasm at best, or outright scorn and disdain at worst.
Dreher proposes that the church at large must form tigh-knit communities reminiscent of the early New Testament church. One of the fascinating aspects of the book is Dreher's extensive time in the monestary of St. Benedict in Nursia. Most of these monks are young, American, and commited to live out the Rule as a monastic community. The interviews with these monks really flesh out the guiding principles of the Rule: 1) there is no distinction between scared and secular, God is present at all times and in all things, 2) the main goal of life is to glorify God in all that we do, 3) a person should remain in the community in which they professed faith, unless God directs them otherwise.
For Dreher, this means that person should commit themselves to a community of believers for life. This not only provides stability within the community, but also within that individual or family's life. It also provides accountability and the opprotunity for discipline to be administered which Dreher says has been conspicuously missing from church life for many years.
I believe Dreher brings up some valid points concerning consumerism within the church today, as well as the lack of accountability in most churches. "Church hopping" is an epidemic today. Individuals and families routinely look for "greener grass" if a church is not meeting their "felt needs." Rather than commit to that community of believers to work together to meet those needs, many just transfer their membership down the road where there is an awesome praise band, or student/children's ministry, or the pastor is "cool and funny."
But there is something beautiful about a group of believers committing themselves to share life together and grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. In Dreher's mind, the road back to this radically different life means going back to the orthodox roots of our faith. He argues that a more orthodox, liturgical church can provide the community and stability needed to foster this kind of communal lifestyle.
Dreher suggests that mainline Protestant churches begin teaching their congregations about the early church fathers. He suggests offering a class during mid-week or Sunday evenings. This can begin to plant seeds within congregations to gradually incorporate orthodox elements into their church life.
I realize that caution must be used in these situations. I have had the opportunity to study the early church fathers. My doctoral dissertation was on the spiritual disciplines of Bible Intake, Biblical Mediation, Fasting, and Prayer. These are disciplines missing from many believers lives, especially fasting and mediation. One must go slowly in introducing these concepts because for many they are foreign to their concept of Christianity.
However, I believe Dreher makes a valid point in stating that a rediscovery of the early church fathers, their writings, and practices could have a profound impact on our churches. I am not advocating we all convert to Eastern Orthodoxy, but I do believe an emphasis on these practices would be beneficial to building community within our churches.
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