300 Years of the Order of the Mustard Seed
In 1715, five teenagers at the Halle Academy in Germany founded the “Order of the Mustard Seed”. They swore a vow not to live for themselves, to be true to Christ, to be kind to people, and to take the gospel to the nations; and they adopted a set of spiritual practices to which they kept each other accountable. Out of that vow grew
· A renewal movement within the Lutheran church
· Europe’s first ecumenical movement (the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Cardinal Archbishop of Paris and the Lutheran King of Denmark all became members of the Order)
· A 100-year-long 24 hours a day, 7days a week prayer meeting at Herrnhut in Saxony
· And the Moravian movement which sent several hundred missionaries around the world. The echoes from this movement influenced the creation of Methodism in the UK, the Great Awakening in the US, and even the fight against apartheid in South Africa.
The best-known of the five friends was Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf.
In the early 21st century a group of young Christian leaders, including Pete Greig (now on the staff of Holy Trinity Brompton, London) and Phil Anderson (now a local councillor in Thurrock) “re-launched” the Order of the Mustard Seed in the UK. Key texts are Greig’s The Vision and the Vow, Anderson’s The Lord of the Ring (which tells the story of Zinzendorf and the Mustard Seed Order) and the website www.mustardseedorder.com
Four Central Commitments
1. “None of us live for ourselves”
These are the words, from Romans 14.7, to be written on a ring worn by the members of the order. At a time when much church discussion seems to be based on acting for the sake of ourselves (so that we can pay our bills or have the right deployment of clergy or have the style of worship we feel we deserve), this may be the key commitment to make. If we are a sort of club, we will be a club that exists for the sake of our non-members.
2. “We will be true to Jesus”
Authenticity will mean something different in different settings and at different stages of life, but being true to Jesus will always be central. This corresponds to one half of the Great Commandment – to love the Lord our God with our whole being.
3. “We will be kind to people”
This is a way of expressing the second half of the Great Commandment – to love our neighbours as we love ourselves. Christianity is a relational religion – and Jesus defined “neighbour” to include those we most strongly disagree with!
4. “We will take the gospel to the nations”
The Order of the Mustard Seed has always been unashamed to be missional, in obedience to the Great Commission: “Go into all the world and make disciples...”
It’s not a better Way
Not all Christians are called to take vows or to join a group that lives by a Way of Life, and those who discern that this is the right step for them are not more spiritual or more “advanced” than those who do not. So this is not a recruitment drive. It’s just that I sense this is the right way for me, and I wanted to see if there were some others in the area who were interested too.
And it’s not under the sign of the mustard seed for nothing. It aims to die unspectacularly to itself and be buried for the sake of fruitfulness.
Other Ways are Available
There are other groups, communities and orders aiming to do similar things. In particular, a regional group of the Community of Aidan and Hilda are meeting in the area. The Community of Aidan and Hilda is a dispersed ecumenical new monastic community of people living by a Way of Life inspired by the witness of the Celtic saints –www.aidanandhilda.org. For more information contact Rev Carol Smith at St Luke’s Church, Moulsham- [email protected]. If and when the South Chelmsford Mustard Seed gets off the ground, it will cooperate with the Community of Aidan and Hilda to the fullest extent possible.
Who I am and how I’m involved
My name’s Andy Griffiths. I’ve been Vicar at Galleywood for over 6 years, and Rural Dean of Chelmsford South for 5 years. Before that I’ve worked in France and Hungary, and been in leadership positions both in New Churches and Anglican ones. I’ve become increasingly convinced that God was calling me to get involved with a local expression of the Order of the Mustard Seed, but that doesn’t mean “running it”, only being a secretary and point of contact. (To quote the eighteenth century Mustard Seed document, “Every member of the Order is equal in status. When someone is acting as the “secretary”, they are there to be a contact point and to handle correspondence but not to take authority.”) In 2012, as part of some extended study leave, I have arranged a “pilgrimage” for myself, visiting Herrnhut, Tubingen and other sites, and researching the Order of the Mustard Seed further. Phil Anderson at Thurrock, author of The Lord of the Ring , has kindly agreed to act as an informal consultant.
An Invitation to a Way of Life
The Order of the Mustard Seed has no leader, no structure, no paid employees, no physical base, no hidden agendas and no membership lists. There is extremely low control. You cannot send it money even if you wanted to. Its website (www.mustardseedorder.com), is not regularly updated and has no space for you to post on it. It has a charism of randomness.
Nevertheless, thisblog post is an invitation: if you live within reach of South Chelmsford, is God calling you to be part of establishing an expression of the Order of the Mustard Seed in this area in 2012? This call is open to all who seek to follow Jesus, whatever church or denomination you are part of, and whether you’re new to Christian faith or already a senior pastor.
In a first phase, starting summer 2012, we would meet together once a month for a year or so and help each other compose a “Way of Life” true to the four central commitments. For each person, this would be likely to include
· a daily rhythm (some people commit themselves to prayer in the morning, at noon and in the evening, perhaps using http://dailyprayersformoravians.wordpress.com/ or www.moravian.org/daily_texts/)
· an annual rhythm (some people have an annual retreat or pilgrimage)
· spiritual disciplines (for some, this might involve hospitality, letter-writing, political campaigning, volunteering, financial commitments or regular fasting).
No two Ways of Life would be identical, and no one would have the right to tell you your Way of Life is the wrong one for you! But it will help to have brothers and sisters to support you as you craft yours. We may also want to organise “prayer events” in the spirit of Herrnhut.
Then in a year or so, if we’re still sure God is calling us to this, we’ll be ready to take our vows – and wear our rings. (There is a form of words on www.mustardseedorder.com, but we can write our own). The vows are permanent.
After we take the vows, the group would continue to meet periodically to keep one another accountable. This isn’t just another bible study group – we will have given each other the permission to see how our spiritual lives are going.
If you’re interested in exploring this further, please give me a call on 01245 353922 or 07788 299061, or e-mail [email protected].
Thank you,
Andy Griffiths, December 2011
In 1715, five teenagers at the Halle Academy in Germany founded the “Order of the Mustard Seed”. They swore a vow not to live for themselves, to be true to Christ, to be kind to people, and to take the gospel to the nations; and they adopted a set of spiritual practices to which they kept each other accountable. Out of that vow grew
· A renewal movement within the Lutheran church
· Europe’s first ecumenical movement (the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Cardinal Archbishop of Paris and the Lutheran King of Denmark all became members of the Order)
· A 100-year-long 24 hours a day, 7days a week prayer meeting at Herrnhut in Saxony
· And the Moravian movement which sent several hundred missionaries around the world. The echoes from this movement influenced the creation of Methodism in the UK, the Great Awakening in the US, and even the fight against apartheid in South Africa.
The best-known of the five friends was Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf.
In the early 21st century a group of young Christian leaders, including Pete Greig (now on the staff of Holy Trinity Brompton, London) and Phil Anderson (now a local councillor in Thurrock) “re-launched” the Order of the Mustard Seed in the UK. Key texts are Greig’s The Vision and the Vow, Anderson’s The Lord of the Ring (which tells the story of Zinzendorf and the Mustard Seed Order) and the website www.mustardseedorder.com
Four Central Commitments
1. “None of us live for ourselves”
These are the words, from Romans 14.7, to be written on a ring worn by the members of the order. At a time when much church discussion seems to be based on acting for the sake of ourselves (so that we can pay our bills or have the right deployment of clergy or have the style of worship we feel we deserve), this may be the key commitment to make. If we are a sort of club, we will be a club that exists for the sake of our non-members.
2. “We will be true to Jesus”
Authenticity will mean something different in different settings and at different stages of life, but being true to Jesus will always be central. This corresponds to one half of the Great Commandment – to love the Lord our God with our whole being.
3. “We will be kind to people”
This is a way of expressing the second half of the Great Commandment – to love our neighbours as we love ourselves. Christianity is a relational religion – and Jesus defined “neighbour” to include those we most strongly disagree with!
4. “We will take the gospel to the nations”
The Order of the Mustard Seed has always been unashamed to be missional, in obedience to the Great Commission: “Go into all the world and make disciples...”
It’s not a better Way
Not all Christians are called to take vows or to join a group that lives by a Way of Life, and those who discern that this is the right step for them are not more spiritual or more “advanced” than those who do not. So this is not a recruitment drive. It’s just that I sense this is the right way for me, and I wanted to see if there were some others in the area who were interested too.
And it’s not under the sign of the mustard seed for nothing. It aims to die unspectacularly to itself and be buried for the sake of fruitfulness.
Other Ways are Available
There are other groups, communities and orders aiming to do similar things. In particular, a regional group of the Community of Aidan and Hilda are meeting in the area. The Community of Aidan and Hilda is a dispersed ecumenical new monastic community of people living by a Way of Life inspired by the witness of the Celtic saints –www.aidanandhilda.org. For more information contact Rev Carol Smith at St Luke’s Church, Moulsham- [email protected]. If and when the South Chelmsford Mustard Seed gets off the ground, it will cooperate with the Community of Aidan and Hilda to the fullest extent possible.
Who I am and how I’m involved
My name’s Andy Griffiths. I’ve been Vicar at Galleywood for over 6 years, and Rural Dean of Chelmsford South for 5 years. Before that I’ve worked in France and Hungary, and been in leadership positions both in New Churches and Anglican ones. I’ve become increasingly convinced that God was calling me to get involved with a local expression of the Order of the Mustard Seed, but that doesn’t mean “running it”, only being a secretary and point of contact. (To quote the eighteenth century Mustard Seed document, “Every member of the Order is equal in status. When someone is acting as the “secretary”, they are there to be a contact point and to handle correspondence but not to take authority.”) In 2012, as part of some extended study leave, I have arranged a “pilgrimage” for myself, visiting Herrnhut, Tubingen and other sites, and researching the Order of the Mustard Seed further. Phil Anderson at Thurrock, author of The Lord of the Ring , has kindly agreed to act as an informal consultant.
An Invitation to a Way of Life
The Order of the Mustard Seed has no leader, no structure, no paid employees, no physical base, no hidden agendas and no membership lists. There is extremely low control. You cannot send it money even if you wanted to. Its website (www.mustardseedorder.com), is not regularly updated and has no space for you to post on it. It has a charism of randomness.
Nevertheless, thisblog post is an invitation: if you live within reach of South Chelmsford, is God calling you to be part of establishing an expression of the Order of the Mustard Seed in this area in 2012? This call is open to all who seek to follow Jesus, whatever church or denomination you are part of, and whether you’re new to Christian faith or already a senior pastor.
In a first phase, starting summer 2012, we would meet together once a month for a year or so and help each other compose a “Way of Life” true to the four central commitments. For each person, this would be likely to include
· a daily rhythm (some people commit themselves to prayer in the morning, at noon and in the evening, perhaps using http://dailyprayersformoravians.wordpress.com/ or www.moravian.org/daily_texts/)
· an annual rhythm (some people have an annual retreat or pilgrimage)
· spiritual disciplines (for some, this might involve hospitality, letter-writing, political campaigning, volunteering, financial commitments or regular fasting).
No two Ways of Life would be identical, and no one would have the right to tell you your Way of Life is the wrong one for you! But it will help to have brothers and sisters to support you as you craft yours. We may also want to organise “prayer events” in the spirit of Herrnhut.
Then in a year or so, if we’re still sure God is calling us to this, we’ll be ready to take our vows – and wear our rings. (There is a form of words on www.mustardseedorder.com, but we can write our own). The vows are permanent.
After we take the vows, the group would continue to meet periodically to keep one another accountable. This isn’t just another bible study group – we will have given each other the permission to see how our spiritual lives are going.
If you’re interested in exploring this further, please give me a call on 01245 353922 or 07788 299061, or e-mail [email protected].
Thank you,
Andy Griffiths, December 2011
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