By Lachlan Mackay, Council of Twelve Apostle
I lift up my eyes to the hills— from where will my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
I sensed God birthing new communities in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia, among participants in the Australia Mission Centre’s LEAD program, which equips leaders for Community of Christ. LEAD includes a three-day, in-person retreat and two online retreats each year over a three-year period, combining spiritual formation, church history, theological reflection, and practical skill-building. The training emphasizes personal growth, communal discernment, collaboration, engagement with the larger church, and preparing and sharing devotional experiences.
Participants have already created vibrant new communities of Christ’s peace, including Tuesday Church—a young-adult-focused discussion group that combines weekly online gatherings, quarterly Emmaus meals, and an annual in-person retreat. During the Year 2 in-person retreat, I piloted a series of sessions designed to culminate in the creation of additional new communities of Christ’s peace.
In our first session, we explored the current state of Christianity in the Global North, drawing on W. Paul Jones’ Remnant Christianity in a Post-Christian World, John Dorhauer’s Beyond Resistance: The Institutional Church Meets the Postmodern World, and Australian census statistics. We then considered why Community of Christ is well positioned to thrive in a postmodern religious environment and reviewed examples of new communities, including Tuesday Church in Victoria, the Ghost Net REEFormation project, and the Kings Park Theology Chat in Perth.
Our second session turned from the present to the past with a review of the Church History Principles, an overview of our 19th-century roots as Communitarians, Christian Primitivists, and Utopians, and a renewed look at the Enduring Principles. I shared formative stories—including the 1838 Missouri Extermination Order, our experience as religious, political, and economic refugees, and my passion for the Pursuit of Peace (Shalom) and the Worth of Persons—then invited participants to identify and share the stories shaping their own passions.
Our third session turned to the future. Participants brainstormed what their communities might look like, which Enduring Principle would anchor them, and how their passion would become transformative action.
In our final session, each participant shared a vision for the church of the future expressed through a new community of Christ’s peace. Ideas included meditation groups, family nature walks, hiking clubs, communities for writing music and poetry, programs for troubled youth, choir-based communities, park and beach cleanup groups with guided conversations, and creatives developing new church resources.
The Spirit moved powerfully among us as we shared, refined, and built on ideas—some newly conceived and others already well on their way to being birthed.
Prayer Phrase
“a new community…is being born” (Doctrine and Covenants 164:5).
Spiritual Community
Meditate on a time when you experienced true belonging—a moment when someone welcomed you, listened to you, encouraged you, or reminded you that you were not walking the journey of faith alone. Prayerfully consider the qualities that help build a Christ-centered community: hospitality, compassion, forgiveness, patience, courage, joy, and a willingness to walk alongside one another. Offer a prayer of gratitude for the communities that have shaped you and a prayer of commitment to help create spaces where all people can experience the love, peace, and presence of Christ.
Today’s Prayer for Peace
Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.