The Covenant of Imago Christi

CRM Spiritual Formation Core Team

(Draft dated: May 5, 2004)

 

The Call:

 

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit” (2Cor 13:14) are constantly beckoning men and women deeper into the community of the Trinity (Jn 14:23, 26; 15:10; 16:15; 17:22-24).

 

All those who have responded in faith to the call of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Mk 1:14; Rom 5:1-2; 10:9) and who recognize their own inability to be “remade in the Image of Christ” (2Cor 3:18; Gal 4:19; Phil 2:5), who long to love God with their whole being (Mk 12:30-31), who desire to draw on the riches of historic Christianity (see 1Cor 10:11; 2Pet 3:15), and so seek God’s grace to mature in the life of the Trinity – let them find strength and encouragement in the discipline of a covenant community (Phil 3:17).

 

Having tasted the joy of salvation and service of God’s Kingdom, let us covenant together to deepen our own love and service of God, and so foster the spiritual growth of the Church (Mt 5:16).

 

We establish this community based upon a Rule. The Rule is the common commitment of the Core Team members of Imago Christi that will enable our life together and our ministry of spiritual formation. By ‘rule’ we mean a “rule of life” or a set of disciplines that we practice and to which we are held accountable in community. Our individual commitment to a corporate rule is meant to facilitate our spiritual growth and invites the covenant community (as an expression of the body of Christ) to encourage and strengthen our ability to love and serve Jesus. (Col 3:12-17)

This Covenant Rule is comprised of the following commitments:

1.      A Foundational Calling:

a.       Love and serve Jesus is the foundation and focus for our calling.

b.      Uphold a biblical and orthodox Christian faith-stance consistent with the faith statement of CRM.

c.       Serve Christ in spiritual formation ministry toward the Church and its leaders.

2.      A Lifestyle of Personal Spiritual Formation, including a minimum of the following:

a.       Develop, write, and share an annual Personal Spiritual Formation Plan, which describes my desire to grow in relationship with God. This plan will be developed in participation with the Imago Christi community.

b.      Live a life of love consistent with biblical principles.

c.       Devote at least a half-hour a day to listening prayer. By “listening prayer” we mean meditation and contemplation that is responsive to God’s leading.

d.      Intercede regularly for the Team members.

e.       Spend two hours in reflective reading and study per week of Scripture, spiritual classics, and contemporary spiritual literature.

f.        Maintain and share a weekly journal, reflecting what I perceive that God is doing in me through practice of the rule, participation in Imago Christi, the ministry of spiritual formation, and my needs for prayer.

g.       Maintain a pattern of personal silent retreats.

h.       Actively participate in a local church.

i.         Humbly respect Christians from other traditions.

 

3.      Accountability within the Community:

a.       Actively support the mission, values, vision, and leadership of Imago Christi and CRM.

b.      Maintain monthly personal or telephone contact with a Core Community accountability partner, in the context of my Personal Spiritual Formation Plan, disciplines, and weekly journals (accountability partners will rotate annually).

c.       Participate in the SF Team’s gatherings (estimated four times a year) and work.

d.      Maintain a posture of openness and vulnerability within Imago Christi and strive to form true community where members speak into one-another’s lives. In gatherings, I will give myself as fully as possible to the community process.

e.       Maintain active accountability for the covenant to Imago Christi, by developing a CRM Role Description with annual goals and submitting a written annual review to the Core Community, to be reviewed by the Team Leader.

f.        Maintain regular intercession support relationships for myself and Imago Christi.

g.       Participate in an annual Covenant Service for recommitment to the Covenant for another year or to receive the blessing of the group to follow Christ in another calling.

 

4.      A Ministry of Spiritual Formation:

a.       Make reflective prayer an essential part of all that I do, through an intentional “rhythm of prayer” in my ministry.

b.      Focus ministry from the perspective that spiritual formation development in Christian leaders and in the church is central to fulfilling Christ’s call and commission.

c.       Reflect the values of participation, community, silence, and personal transformation in both my personal and Imago Christi ministry, and in my communication.

d.      Encourage the expansion of the missional participation of Imago Christi.

e.       Encourage the establishment of similar missional covenant communities in my ministry contexts, where appropriate.