We, in the early 21st century, live in a time of monumental societal changes, when old structures are collapsing and it is unclear what will emerge in their place. The Church in the West has suffered its own form of syncretism with the narratives of power, consumerism, and individualism. It is no wonder the Church has become increasingly irrelevant to seekers of spiritual truth and meaning.

Yet, at this time of disintegration, a new movement of the Spirit is emerging as, all over the Western world, small clusters of faithful followers and disciples of Jesus are coming together to find the strength and hope to live simply and faithfully in prayer and contemplation while reaching out to serve the poor and vulnerable. These communities recognize that to live lives faithful to the kingdom of God they need a loving, sustaining community. It is for this reason that such communities are reaching back to the wisdom of the ancients and looking to contemporary monastics for guidance. That, in a nutshell, is the impetus for New Monasticism.

The term “new monasticism” was coined by Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove in his book Living Faithfully in a Fragmented World (1998). Prior to that , Dietrich Bonhoeffer had made the case for the necessity of such communities. In 2004 a number of communities drawing on the monastic tradition gathered and developed the defining characteristics of new monasticism called the “12 Marks of New Monasticism”.

The central component of New Monasticism is the marriage of content and form, ideas and practice, right thinking and right action. This wedding together of head and heart can only come about through disciplined practices and social imagination. Thus, the new monastic life is dependent upon community and shared practices.

We in the Oikos Community do not walk pretentiously around Los Angeles in hooded robes (what some monastics call a “habit”). Our founder typically wears a dhoti to signify his full submission to God and in observance if his own vows of poverty, chastity, humility and obedience. He is our shepherd, spiritual teacher and servant. Our street pastors and missionaries wear ministry t-shirts, jeans, shorts, sandals/shoes and hoodies on cold nights. And, in the spirit of St. Paul’s imagery, we are trying to “clothe ourselves” in habits that resemble Jesus. Ultimately, the new monastic life is about inhabiting a shared reality, what Jesus called “the Kingdom of God."