Jabba the Hutterite?

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away there was a gangster slug named Jabba the Hutt. In a country close, yet far, far away (Canada) are a people named the Hutterites. In addition to sharing a somewhat similar name, the Hutt and the Hutterites also live with a community of people. I suppose this is probably where the similarities end between the two as the Hutt's community lived to satisfy the Hutt himself, and the Hutterites live in community with one another with the aim to glorify God.

The Hutterites (also of Montana and the Dakotas) are a brotherly sect of my Mennonite forefathers which trace their roots back to the Radical Reformation. According to Wikipedia the Hutterites, while nearly being extinct about 150 years ago, now number close to 50,000. In a less counter-cultural way than the Amish, the Hutterites do use electricity, automobiles, etc., as long as these things are making them more efficient at what ever they are producing or doing. Television would not fit into that category! But communication by email may.

In a more counter-cultural way than the Amish, the Hutterites share the common good of their possessions. They believe this most closely satisfies the aim of Scripture and the way the early church lived as is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles:
All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (2:44-47)

32All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. 33With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. 34There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need. (4:32-35)

Christians down through the ages have at times tried to duplicate the way of the early Christians that is shown in the preceding verses. The problem that arises again and again in communal type living is that too much power and wealth end in the hands of a few and corruption inevitably follows. Somehow, the Hutterites have managed (for the most part) to live free of controversy and mass corruption. I am basically summarizing what I have read on different web sites, but a typical colony could consist of 50-100 people. There are three male leaders over the colony, but they are democratically elected by all the married men in the colony and could change at any time. The Minister, the Secretary and the Asst. Minister. The Minister is in charge of Shepherding Spiritually and leading worship, The Secretary manages the monetary affairs of the colony and the Asst. Minister aids in both these things and is also involved in teaching the children English and German. In addition to these three leaders there are various "bosses" of different things such as Dairy Boss, Poultry Boss, Butcher, Row-crop Boss, etc.

Hutterite women, while not leaders, are, according to reports strong independent minded Christian women who all play a part in the community. With the exception of perhaps one outside hired teacher, the community is basically self sufficient. Most communities make their own clothes, shoes, all the food etc. Agriculture is at the physical core of any Hutterite colony. Most children complete their formal education at the age of 15, but it is not unheard of for a Hutterite to go and study further in the field of medicine, agriculture, etc.

Most the people live in one or two large buildings on the campus. Since they eat together and worship together, each family only has what could consist of a small living room and enough bedrooms to satisfy the needs of that family. They worship and eat together daily. Wiki says that the men eat first followed by the women, but I see no evidence in their official website. They all eat at the same time, but the men do sit separately from the women and children.

When a colony gets too large, they purchase land and build a new colony (further away than walking distance from the last). When construction is complete and things are up and running (finances, agriculture established etc), they basically draw numbers from a hat (after praying over it) and the blessed numbered families load into vehicles and go on to start a sister colony. It seems that at the heart of the success of the Hutterite growth is the way they provide for everyone in their colony and nothing is kept for one individuals gain. This seems hard to understand for many of us, but again, it is mentioned clearly several times Acts that this is the way the early Christians lived. In the last few decades Hutterites have started planting colonies in Africa.
Interesting food for thought.
MK