Punk Monk

“The restoration of the church will surely come from a sort of new monasticism which has in common with the old only the uncompromising attitude of a life lived according to the Sermon on the Mount in the following of Christ. I believe it is now time to call people together to do this.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer

I have just finished reading “Punk Monk: The New Monasticism and the Ancient Art of Breathing” by Pete Greig and Andy Freeman, and I must say that I’m thoroughly impressed!  I’ve long held the beliefs and ideals that they speak of and it sounds incredible that they’ve actually been guided far enough to be able to make a movement out of it!

Basically the book chronicles the development of Boiler Rooms and the 24-7 Prayer Movement.  I won’t go too far into it, but if you find yourself reading this and following the links, I highly recommend finding a copy… parts of it do get a little tedious (probably just because I’m fairly well-read and parts of it was basic repetition to me) but all-in-all it was an incredibly inspiring and uplifting read, and I can’t wait to get to a Boiler Room at some point in the future!!!

In putting this little post together I also came across a blog the guys have running:

Punk Monk: Moving Beyond the Pages and Into the World.

The intro states:

“Welcome!

This site isn’t really about a book or a movement or a particular way of doing church.  This site is about following Jesus and how it looks like to be true to Christ, kind to others and take the Gospel to the nations.  Boiler Rooms are one way of doing that.  We’ve filled this website with resources to equip you, questions to challenge you and stories to inspire you.  We want to pray for and with you as you seek God and build communities around prayer justice and mission.

– Andy & Pete”

I suppose I should also add this:

What is a Boiler Room ?

What is a 24-7 Boiler Room Community?

The Purposes, Principles & Practices of a Boiler Room

A 24-7 Boiler Room is a simple Christian community that practices a daily rhythm of prayer, study and celebration whilst caring actively for the poor and the lost.

(i)    The Two Purposes: a 24-7 Boiler Room exists to love God in prayer and to love its neighbours in practice.  These purposes are contextualised in  community and expressed in a defined location.

(ii)    The Three Principles: at the heart of every Boiler Room is a living community committed to being 1. Authentic: True to Christ. 2. Relational: Kind to People. 3. Missional: Taking the Gospel to the World.

(iii)    The Six Practices: Every Boiler Room Community applies the three principles practically through six core activities:

A Boiler Room is true to Christ by being:

+++ A prayerful community practicing all kinds of prayers on all occassions.

+++ A creative community where artistic expressions of prayer and worship may take the form of art, sculpture, new music, poetry, dance, fun and celebration.

A Boiler Room is kind to people by being:

+++ A just and merciful community where the practical needs of the local poor are met and where liberation is championed.

+++ A hospitable community where pilgrims are welcomed, meals are shared and where friendships can flourish across boundaries of race and culture.

A Boiler Room is committed to the sharing the gospel by being:

+++ A missional community existing for the incarnation of the gospel amongst the poor and the lost both locally and cross-culturally.  To act as well as to pray.

+++ A learning community of training and discipleship, where people are growing in their faith, their life-skills and their ability to lead.