Mendicants and anchorites

At first they sounded to me like the names of medieval cricket teams, but it turns out that mendicants and anchorites were actually two different types of ancient monastics. Mendicants were nomadic monks who never acquired property. They travelled around and lived by begging from strangers. Anchorites also took a vow of poverty, but they would settle in one place and live  in solitude. An Anchoress was a female anchorite who would live secluded in a dwelling literally “anchored” to the local church where she dispensed wisdom and prayers through a small window in her room. It is said that Julian of Norwich was an anchoress.

Maybe churches today need these two types of people: the mendicants, who are more nomadic and view the ministry as something fluid that can follow the Spirit anywhere; and the anchorites,  who are firmly rooted in a location and tradition, who "bloom where they are planted."

In interviews with people who experienced profound change in their churches, I have met both kinds of Christians.  The more nomadic members are able to experiment with major “adaptive change” and take risks with more ease.  They have experience with transitions like divorce, re-settlement,  or immigrating from another country.  It’s easier for them to imagine, say, a new Sunday School format, a new style of worship or worshiping in a different location.