I needed a break so I went to New Mexico over the last 5 days to visit my very best friends and their two perfectly adorable boys. It’s funny how a few people you love can bring you back to life.
I went hiking to the top of a mountain, ate lots of Mexican food (the good kind, New Mexican Mexican food), played cards, watched movies, and did lots and lots of talking and listening and laughing and loving. Something about holding a new baby, changing a poopy diaper, going to your friends parent’s house and realizing you have family all over the country, sleeping in late, and NOT having to make the bed…it is just rejuvenating for me.
It reminded me of a passage in the book I am reading (Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne) about how Shane will only go to an event if they arrange for him to stay with a local family. He doesn’t want a hotel room, just a family, just some community. And that’s what this week was for me. A family. A community. I came with presents; they welcomed me with tacos, wine, kashi bars, clean sheets, pretty flowers, and a place in their hearts and lives for me.
Haunted
This book is haunting me. I thought it would be a short read, in fact a few people who read it nonchalantly said, “Oh yea, I read that, it was a cool book.” Really, there is nothing cool about this book. It is not just another read. If you can read these pretty prophetic and powerful words and come out the other side completely the same, there is something really wrong. In fact, if you can read this book and digest it in a few days, I would say you have read with the wrong set of eyeballs. You phonied your way through it. So reread it and stop being phony.
Turns out the words in this book are royally screwing me up.
I want to dive into this book over the next few days so I wanted to give you the chance to pick it up first. As far as books go, besides Atlas Shrugged and Embracing the Love of God…this book takes the cake for the most influential book in my life (OK, besides the Bible…for those of you who needed to hear that Sunday school answer confessed!). I encourage you to get a copy. Not because this man makes a dime off of it, he doesn’t, all proceeds are donated…but I wonder how these deeply uncomfortable words will settle with you and how you will choose to respond? I wonder if you can tune it out? I cannot.
A Taste
My favorite passage of the day is:
I had a college professor who said, “All around you, people will be tiptoeing through life, just to arrive at death safely. But dear children, do not tiptoe. Run, hop, skip, or dance, just don’t tiptoe.”
Shane ends the page by saying:
God forgive us for all those we have lost because we made the gospel boring. I am convinced that if we lose kids to the culture of drugs and materialism, of violence and war, it’s because we don’t dare them, not because we don’t entertain them. It’s because we make the gospel too easy, not because we make it too difficult. Kids want to do something heroic with their lives, which is why they play video games and join the army. But what are they to do with a church that teaches them to tiptoe through life so they can arrive safely at death?
Catalyst
Thank you. Exactly. What makes me excited when we do shows at churches is not another cool youth building with lots of entertaining play stations and multi-million dollar rooms full of multi-media excess…but when I see people who believe that the message of Jesus is fulfilling enough. Churches that do not model how they can use their money on themselves and their entertainment and numbers strategies, but how they can inspire their people and send them out to use millions of dollars on others…people who really need it.
We do not need more entertainment. We need authenticity. I don’t know about you, but I need something real. The way of Jesus is not easy, but it is beautiful, so right, and so deeply fulfilling… it cannot continue to be watered down. Shane Claiborne paints the most convicting and divine picture of this way of living, living like Christ. I hope to be able to share with you this week all that I am learning and all that I am dreaming up. Or all the dreams that God is filling me up with.
While I was resting…I hope you were doing well. Pray for the people of the world today. I felt like I left civilization (Deming, New Mexico might as well be a different planet for me) and came back to so much suffering. So many natural disasters. At the very least our first response should be prayer and mourning…these are our brothers and sisters who have lost their children, homes, food, and lives. How would we respond to our own family in such times?
If you know of any ways to directly contribute to any of the natural disasters that have occurred this week in Myanmar, China, India, or America please post the relevant info on the content page.
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8 Comments
reflectivejourney on May 14, 2008 at 2:45 pm.
#1: Those boys are too cute!!
#2: I agree with you about churches just needing to get real with the gospel, and stop sugarcoating it. We’re not here to just have a good time, we’re here to share, and share continually. My youth group back home does so much, even in such a small town. It’s neat to see them still doing those projects and telling people about Christ from the outside now. Definitely a church that God has/is using to the fullest. It’s neat to see a church like that in motion, to see how it ticks.
#3: I think we all yearn for something real. We all want the people around us to stop with their fake smiles and just yell out the truth. We all want to know what people truly think of us. We all just want honesty. So I have a challenge. Since honesty is what we all crave, shouldn’t it be what we are giving as well? Shouldn’t each and everyone of us be distributing what we ourselves hope to receive?
just a challenge to everyone
rebornbutterfly on May 14, 2008 at 6:29 pm.
Yep, it really is the best book i’ve read.
I’ve underlined so much in it.
i dig musicians on May 14, 2008 at 7:56 pm.
I am sooooo happy you posted a new post. I was going through Jenny blog withdrawals…
I think I amy have possibly mentioned this in another comment I’ve left you, but The Journey of Desire by John Eldredge will get you thinking and have you rethinking some things. Rob Bell’s Velvet Elvis as well. If you can read through those in a snap without coming away with some sort of struggle…, well, then. The End.
Josh Wax on May 14, 2008 at 8:41 pm.
first off, it’s good to have you back.
secondly, i don’t ever read, but i must say, you have me wanting to read that book. i’ll have to try to find it tomorrow, cause tonight’s weather is supposed to be BAD.
thirdly, i don’t use this thing much, so i’m not sure what the content page is, but the only way i know of off the top of my head is http://www.worldvision.org
fourthly, i have no fourthly, but four is my favorite number, so…
Anonymous on May 16, 2008 at 6:34 pm.
It’s ALL about really walking as Jesus did! Thanks Jenny for the inspiration to do that & the book reco. Just heard about your blog on a radio station.
Have you read “Soul Graffiti” by Mark Scadrette? AWESOME message about serving others. He even -shock shock- talks about skipping church sometimes to serve others, instead of sit there and talk on and on about doctrine.
Aly on May 17, 2008 at 11:35 pm.
I just stumbled into your blog today,and I am happy I did.
I love your guys’ music and you seem like a really genuine person, which is refreshing.
I totally agree with the things you said about Shane’s book. It changed the way I viewed some things and really put some huge dreams for my future on course. I think that too many don’t take the words of Jesus- the words of God-literal enough , and that’s been something I’ve been challenged with lately. If you take what scripture says literally your life will be totally screwed up. It will be difficult … a lot more difficult than I think it has been for me.
HeyJade on May 21, 2008 at 8:04 pm.
I started the Shane Claiborne book yesterday…finished the first chapter today at lunch with tears in my eyes. Oh man…I’m in for it, huh?
Mike on May 29, 2008 at 7:24 pm.
My wife can’t figure out why I like your music–I’m an old guy–and a pastor. I was struck by your comments on the book “The Irresistable Revolution.” When I checked it out at amazon.com, I found several reviews that expressed concerns that the book was “flawed.” (I have pasted one of these reviews below.) As a pastor, I find that one of the weakest if not the weakest point of theological understanding among Christians is the Bible’s teaching on the believers role in the church. While there are certainly always areas in need of improvement–sometimes great need–God has determined that His people should submit to His will within the context of the church. The churches to whom Paul wrote were minorly to majorly (I like to invent adverbs) messed up. I love the church, no matter how messed up it always is, because Jesus loves it and is its head. I want to give of myself to make His church stronger. To rebel against God’s church is to rebel against God. Radical Christianity is fine as long as it is lived out with a submissive spirit toward one’s church leadership and loving tenderness toward one’s congregation and community–always within the framework of the Word of God. God bless you as you continue to seek His truth as the standard by which you live your life and serve our King. Michael
By PK “Keith” (Flemington, NJ) – See all my reviews
This is a difficult book to review. I found myself occasionally writing a hearty “Amen!” in the margin only to find the next dozen pages full of utter nonsense and dangerous error.
On the positive side, one has to be impressed with Shane Claiborne’s commitment to live out a radical Christianity as opposed to a watered down version that is more indebted to pop-culture than to Christ and the Bible. He occasionally has keen insights regarding western Christianity such as his criticisms of our infatuation with all things big and flashy, or the ease with which we pacify our consciences with symbolic acts that distance us from truly needy people.
But the book suffers from numerous flaws that make it impossible to endorse. To begin with, it changes the mission of the church from that given by Christ in the Great Commission. Claiborne dreams of “creating another world,” a “safer more sustainable world” (pp. 25, 221) that suspiciously bears more resemblance to the Democratic party platform than it does the Bible. For all of his complaints about the church succumbing to culture, he seems to be oblivious to the fact that his dream bears striking resemblance to the utopian visions of the cultural left in the west (with the exception of abortion). He repeatedly states that this vision was the vision of the early church with no references or citations from the early fathers to justify his claim and conveniently ignores the fact that the Apostles of the New Testament era engaged in no social activism of the sort he routinely endorses. Jesus clearly warned us against the notion that the world is a perfectible place: at least apart from his return to establish the Kingdom. He warns against false messiahs who would claim to be able to save a deteriorating world (Matt. 24:4-14). In short, the mission of the church is not to redeem society, end poverty, save the environment or prevent wars. Rather, its mission is to proclaim the gospel of salvation from sin through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Matt 28:18-20). The depth of his confusion here is evident when he describes true conversion in terms of environmentally conscious activity such as running vehicles on veggie oil and laundry machines powered by stationary bikes (p.149). This is a gospel the Apostles somehow missed!
Second, he advocates actions that are directly disobedient to Scripture. For example, in chapter 2 he tells the story of a bunch of homeless people who illegally take over an abandoned church (St. Edwards) in Philadelphia. When the church threatens to kick them out, he and a bunch of students identify with the homeless people and resist the authorities. Never does he ask the question of whether the need of the homeless people justifies the usurping of a building that does not belong to them. In the light of passages such as I Peter 2:13-21 the answer from a biblical standpoint should be clear. But Claiborne’s actions and advice regarding these people runs counter to the New Testament. Certainly, the Catholic church acted poorly in the situation, but so did Claiborne and the people he supported. One sin does not justify another. True biblical faith involves acting with integrity and submission to God’s sovereign will even in the midst of injustice. Claiborne and his friends then compound the error by assuming that these poor thieves constituted the true church simply because they are poor people who need shelter. They share communion with them rather than evangelizing them and leading them to the obedience that comes by faith (Rom 1:5). Rather than exposing their sin and leading them to the cross for grace and strength to change their ways, they confer hero status on them. But who cares if it is biblical? It makes for a good story.
This raises a third major problem: a naïve view of the poor and of human nature in general. In Claiborne’s world there is no indication that the poor are sinners just like the rich – and that both are in need of redemption. They apparently enter the world as blank slates, corrupted only by the culture – a philosophy closer to that of Rousseau than the Bible. He routinely assumes that if the rich simply gave away their wealth to the poor everyone would live happily ever after. The poor are naively assumed to be wise, pure and righteous when in fact, the Bible assumes the opposite. It warns us not only against the danger of showing partiality toward the rich but toward the poor as well (Ex. 23:2-6; Lev. 19:15).
A fourth serious problem is a very sloppy use of Scripture. It starts on the first page of the introduction. In speaking about the issue of human suffering, Claiborne tells us that “Jesus says that if the Christians remain silent, then the rocks will cry out… or the rock stars.” (pp. 17-18) He is alluding to Luke 19:40 – but the silence that Jesus condemns there is not a failure to speak against human suffering but a failure to acknowledge Christ’s Lordship. Not too many rock stars are willing to break that silence yet! That kind of subtle twisting of Scripture occurs throughout the book. On another occasion he confidently informs us that “one could argue that small portions of the Israelite offering (no more than 10 percent) was given to the Levitical priesthood (Neh. 12:47).” The rest according to Claiborne was redistributed to the poor. But the very passage he cites in Nehemiah says just the opposite! The entire tithe went to maintaining the Levitical priesthood. In fact, the tithe was a tax that was not even progressive. Poor and rich alike paid the same percentage rate! The parable of the Sheep and the Goats is likewise twisted repeatedly. Based on the parable Claiborne assures us that we will be judged on the basis of “how we cared for the poor” (pp. 102,158) when in fact, the parable speaks not of the world’s poor but, as Jesus puts it, “the least of these brothers of mine.” (Matt 25:40) The point of the parable is that our estimate of Christ will be known by how we treated His disciples, in whom His presence truly resides – not the poor of the world. In Claiborne’s Bible, the story of the anointing of Jesus at Bethany (p. 160, John 12:1-7) teaches us not about the priority of worshiping Christ over charitable giving as I had always thought, but the proximity of the poor, the story of the rich young ruler (p. 174, Mark 10:17-27) is no longer about one man’s misplaced priorities (money over God) but “about the nature of the Kingdom of God, whose economy is diametrically opposed to that of the world,” (p. 160) and the generosity of the early church becomes economic redistribution!
Not only does he use Scripture carelessly, he also raises up other sources of truth on a par with Scripture. Thus at one point he urges us to listen to the voice of God where we least expect it: in a baby refugee, in crack addicts, in displaced children, etc. (p. 22) On another occasion he informs us that he “learned more about God from the tears of homeless mothers than any systematic theology….” (p. 51) What exactly he learned, he never tells us. In formulating another dream to live by he utilized 3 basic sources: “the early church and to the Scriptures and to the poor.” (p.119) Here the Scripture is sandwiched between the early church and the poor and of the 3, the last seems to hold the most sway over his thinking! This is evident in the story of the homeless people’s seizure of St. Edwards. In Claiborne’s account, the poor people inform the authorities that God had spoken to them and He has given them permission to stay (p. 59). Never once is the teaching of the Bible consulted and for good reason – if they had, they would have heard a different voice from God.
Fifth, he casually dismisses the importance of theological truth. At one point he informs us that “religious doctrines just aren’t very compelling, even if they’re true” (p. 28) opting instead for stories. This is not the Christianity of the Apostles who warned about those who would lead people away from “sound doctrine” by means of “myths” (II Timothy 4:3-4). But unlike those Apostles, Claiborne is “not trying to spread a doctrine or theology (p. 348). Of course, whether he realizes it or not, he does have a theology – it is just not well thought out. We get a glimpse of that theology by the theological company that he keeps including Malcolm X (a Moslem civil rights leader who championed violent methods, p. 37) Che Gueverra (a marxist thug, p. 295), John Dominic Crossan (A liberal theologian who denies the bodily resurrection of Christ, p. 240), Michael Moore (A radical left wing activist, p. 301), Steve Chalke (who calls the doctrine of the substitutionary atonement divine child abuse! p. 350), and the World Council of Churches (renowned for supporting liberal theology and Marxist causes, p. 222), to name just a few.
Finally, Claiborne often makes polarizing statements and exaggerations that ultimately make him look ridiculous. For example, he casually equates corporate greed or American consumerism with terrorism! (p.123 – does he really think that Donald Trump is the moral equivalent of Osama bin Laden?), the criminal justice system with slavery! (p. 152 – does he really mean to compare convicted felons with innocent slaves?), charitable giving with returning stolen goods! (p. 164 – if they are really stolen goods why not throw me in jail too?) He misrepresents his opponents especially on issues of pacifism and capital punishment setting up straw men that are easily destroyed. He repeatedly dismisses the “myth of redemptive violence.” It is indeed a myth because I have never heard anyone suggest a redemptive violence theory. After casually dismissing his opponents with this ridiculous mischaracterization, he never really interacts with serious thinkers who find pacifism both unbiblical and naïve. Nor does he ever explain why so much violence was used and justified in the Bible (Ps 144:1). That would take real effort and theological argument and take away from the feel good stories by which people’s emotions are so easily manipulated.
I’m sure Claiborne is really nice guy. But his ideas are mostly shallow, foolish and unbiblical. Admire his zeal for God but also realize that, like the Israelites of Paul’s day it is a zeal that is not based on knowledge – and that kind of zeal is a dangerous thing.