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Emotional Community

Posted Oct 29 2010 by Jonathan Brink in , , with 10 Comments

“The open loop limbic system (in the brain) was a winning design in evolution, no doubt, because it allow people to come to one another’s emotional rescue, enabling a mother for example to soothe her crying infant, or a lookout to signal an alarm. Despite the veneer of our advanced civilization, the open loop principle still holds. A dramatic example of this is, whereas three or more incidences of intense stress within a year, say financial trouble, being fired, or divorce, triple the death rate in socially isolated middle aged men, these same events have no impact whatsoever who have cultivated many close relationships.”

Daniel Goleman, Primal Leadership

Maybe there was something to Jesus creating a group of twelve people who lived life together for three years.

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About the Author

Jonathan BrinkI am an business development and communications consultant. I am also the senior editor and publisher for Civitas Press. I recently published, Discovering The God Imagination: Reconstructing A Whole, New Christianity. (Civitas, 2011)View all posts by Jonathan Brink →

  • http://openmindedconversations.blogspot.com/ jshmueller

    Do you think there is any possibility of using this model today apart from a monastic setting which would mean it probably would work only for men and women who are still single?

    • http://jonathanbrink.com Jonathan Brink

      Josh, I would say yes. Much of my work in Thrive has been in working out these models, and in seeing how the Jesus Model plays out in community. I’ve seen Thrive groups work as both gender based and mixed gender. Initially its a little scary but once people learn to trust and step into authentic community together, it becomes almost overwhelmingly good.nnI think the problem we have with sex keeps us from exploring mixed gender conversations in community. And we err on the side of caution almost all of the time.

      • http://openmindedconversations.blogspot.com/ jshmueller

        Just to clarify: are we talking communal living here or just very frequent meetings? And if it is the former, what kind of housing arrangements does it require?

        • http://jonathanbrink.com Jonathan Brink

          Josh, in the Thrive model its a weekly gathering for three hours. Closed community for three years. We ended up discovering over and over again that we needed that three years to really get to a space of working out our salvation together.nnMy wife and I have explored communal living, but it was very hard to find people willing to take that leap.

          • David

            Sounds like some of the Jesus people from the late 60′s to me. I used to visit with some in Hunington Beach Ca, but didn’t think was a good environment to live in at the time. rnrnMight not be that weird of an idea today. Not sure about being isolated like that however. Never did think a closed community is what Jesus is about.

          • http://jonathanbrink.com Jonathan Brink

            David, there is a tension in a closed group. And I would heavily argue that Jesus did create a closed structure. The story reveals him choosing twelve that were part of an inner circle for three years. And at the end of that process he kicked them out and said go and make disciples.nnI also get the tension with it. We’re so evangelical minded to continually go out that we miss what happens in intentional community. A lot of this mindset I believe comes from an assumption we make about conversion. But that’s another conversation. ;-P

          • David

            Understand that Jonathan. It was a closed structure. But wasn’t that because Jesus had his men (close disciples) in a trianing process sort of speak ? Not that it was model for living in community as such ? rnrnIn any case, I sure get small groups and believe they are necessary. I think it wouldn’t be an easy transition to live in a closed community though. It would be interesting.rn

          • scott

            I think an open community is a much better term. There have to be close relationships that are built over the long term between a select group, but a community has to be dynamic. It has to allow people the freedom to come and go. And while they are in that community, those new to it, can then see that it (the community) as a group has a different moral, ethical and spiritual foundation from that of the larger population around it.

    • http://thisismethinking.com Darrell

      What is wrong with family sharing life with other families or other singles? I have personally been apart of both communities like this composed of “singles” and community like this where families were involved. Both were very powerful and both were things that took sacrifices on all sides, but in the end the children in the family were more in enriched.. the parents were less burdened and the “singles” learned a great amount about real family.

      • http://openmindedconversations.blogspot.com/ jshmueller

        Nothing wrong with it at all. I’m just not familiar with it.

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