In the words of the musical prophet Bob Dylan, we all "gotta serve somebody". It is not a question of whether we will serve, but who or what we serve. No one can truly live in "anarchy" (ruled by nothing and no one). And even if we think we live an "autarchy" (where we are ruled by self alone), we will find we are really ruled by our own compulsions, as we seek and serve power or profit, pleasure or praise. The only way out is to choose to serve the One who is truly Good because he alone is fully God: Jesus the Christ, the Messiah, the One chosen to lead us into abundant life. Thus, Christarchy is our commitment to serve Christ as the Source, Ruler, and Goal of every dimension of life.
Over the last two decades I have developed a Prayermap as my primary way to implement Christarchy and practice Christ in my everyday life and community. The ultimate purpose of Christarchy is to form Christlike Communities of persons who embody Christ. As C.S. Lewis has said about our common life in Christ's Body: "The Church exists for nothing else but to draw [people] into Christ, to make them little christs. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time. God became Man for no other purpose." This final goal of becoming "little christs" can be summed up in the ten points of C.H.R.I.S.T.L.I.K.E.:
CHRISTOCENTRIC: We immerse ourselves in the Story of Jesus so we can interpret Scripture and History with a Christward trajectory.
HEALING: We follow Christ in healing God's children, our communities, and all creation, so we all become healthy, fruitful, and creative.
RECONCILING: We restore right relationships with God, each other, and ourselves through Love, forgiveness, and community building.
INCARNATIONAL: We unite humanity and God in a panentheistic vision of creation by embodying Christ as members of his social body.
SACRAMENTAL: We focus Christ's Light, to magnify his Love, and experience his Life, here and now, in ritual and action.
TRINITARIAN: We model our communities on the God of Love who is unity and diversity in Godself as Father, Son, and Spirit.
LIBERATING: We protest unjust powers and overcome systemic evils that oppress God's children and destroy God's creation.
INSPIRED: We overflow with the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in spiritual practice, mystical experience, and gifts for ministry.
KATHOLIC: We pursue Christ's mission to share all of God's grace with all people, in all of creation, until God is all in all in apokatastasis.
EMBRACING: We include all that is good and true and beautiful in Christ from all arts and sciences, cultures and religions.
Each of these concepts is deep and rich, inviting us into the Divine Life of Jesus Christ. Each concept could be— and has been— explored in their own essays and chapters and books written across Christian history. However, to orient ourselves to each of these concepts, we will provide a brief introduction and Scriptural basis to explore the meaning of these concepts below, so we can see how "Christarchy forms Christlike Communities". The perceptive reader will note that five of these concepts are mainly about our worldview and theology: Christocentric, Incarnational, Trinitarian, Katholic, and Embracing. The other five concepts are primarily about how we practice: Healing, Reconciling, Sacramental, Liberating, and Inspired. Together these outline a "faith and practice" which is effective in helping us embody Christ. So let's dive in:
