AN EVENING WITH SHANE CLAIBORNE

Author and Christian activist, Shane Claiborne, shares his journey and his mission. Claiborne is founding partner of The Simple Way, a faith community in Philadelphia that has helped to birth and connect radical faith communities around the world. He writes and travels extensively speaking about peacemaking, social justice and Jesus.
He will be with us Friday, April 27 at 7:00pm at Trinity Cathedral, 2230 Euclid Avenue.
So don't let the Christian angle keep you away.  Check out the video above.

I've been "walking out" my path in Christ for sometime and many times I am at odds with the official party line.  I think perhaps this is Shane's walk also.

 So many times we are quick to encounter and know the word of God without understanding that we need to know the God of the word so that his Word by revelation can come alive in us. These must go hand in hand.  We often use the word as superficial posi-think mantras allowing the depth and revelation of the Word to fall by the wayside; perhaps mantra and depth of revelation don't have to be mutually exclusive.

  The famed story of Solomon threatening to cut a child in half was inspired wisdom.  We take the uninspired framework and apply it to two guys fighting over a car; well the two are both just as soon see the car cut in half as let the other drive, right?  This is a case of lack of revelation to rightly divide the word of God. 

This is what many of us do, we misapply the word through our ignorance of the Word, through our lack of revelation.  We are quick to affirm, "I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me," when trying to accomplish some feat but not so quick to apply it to enduring circumstances when we are not in control; it is out of spiritual balance and superficial for many.

Much of today's church get's caught up in sin management and thought control, teaching that "we know what the word says and you must believe what we believe," or be in danger of being cast off into the netherworld of Hell.

Many including myself are often quick to quote without having revelation of the thing of which we speak. We can lend mental ascent to understanding that  we do not have revelation on so much but in practical terms it can be hard to determine.  So many of the do's and dont's of the church are not understood at the core, so much is handed down and accepted as "gospel" because of tradition not fresh revelation.

So what do we do with the Gay issue how do we apply the word?  Personally I'd rather deal with, "anyone that looks on a woman in lust has already committed adultery in his heart," and work out my own salvation in fear and trembling than look for what is wrong in others without God's revelatory light.  I know that it seems that there is a sin hierarchy but to the saints, believe the word when it says if you have broken the law in any one point you have broken the entire law.  Listen to Paul when he struggles and says, " the thing I don't want to do, that I do and the thing I want to do that I don't do," and take comfort in the question and answer, "who shall deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.  If you consider yourself in Christ and you haven't figured out there is a war going on you need to, "check yourself before you wreck yourself."

I was on facebook recently and a guy who always talks about "the Lord" and "Jesus" and the "power of God," was openly lusting after a woman whose boyfriend had posted some pic of her in lingerie.  He calls this woman holy and a saint and on and on and then pretty much says to her, "take it off baby!"  He knows she is away from her husband and having an affair with a married man but he is undisciplined in the things of God, lets is dick rule or his flesh rule him and control his mind never realizing the Rhema word of God walking in deference to only the Logos.  The fleshly mind is an enemy of God and can not obey the things of God. 

We all should know that the gate to life is narrow and few there be that find it and great and wide is the gate that leads to death and destruction.  Don't for one minute believe that because you said a prayer once upon a time, or can quote a lot of Christian mantras, wow folks with your prayers or even that because you know the truth that this will spare you from the coming destruction as you repeatedly spiritually shoot yourself in the foot, in the chest in the head.  You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!   How foolish!  Can't we see that faith without works is dead?  if we have living faith it will produce just like a living orange tree will naturally produce oranges.  Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God, this is different than what many of us think this says; faith comes by hearing the word of God... not.

I was talking to a beautiful Greek woman one night who is not in Christ and I was talking about wanting a trial I am going through to end even though there is much growth because of it. The woman understood exactly where I was coming from and shared some of her own trials and growth and said, "the trials never stop," and went on to further associate trials with spiritual growth.  Christians do not corner the market on morality nor do they corner the market on spiritual wisdom.

We also should understand that different rules apply to those in Christ and those not in Christ.  The only thing pertinent to those not in Christ is that they come to a saving knowledge of Christ, put another way, they come into a relationship with the Christ.  In America it doesn't matter what one does outside of the Christ mind except to our own comfort level as "the redeemed. " I believe we should all think, "to hell with my comfort level, how can I love this person toward Christ, draw her or him to Christ in me the hope of glory?"  Continually we turn our noses up at everyone that doesn't fit our moral code thereby condemning ourselves as hypocrites in most cases, because we compare our strengths to the weakness of others and may not even take account of our failings. Is it an inferiority complex or superiority complex that causes us to label people Not Our Kind if they see something different than we do in their walking out of the word of truth and love?   How can we be in community with the community.

Once in Christ, we need to forgive each other from the cross as Christ has forgiven us.  Forgiveness is not an easy proposition and it is an ongoing process.

I/we have so much to learn about Christ, so much relational ground to cover with Him but first we must acknowledge this fact and the fact we don't save our selves, even the very faith whereby we come to Christ who calls us, woos us, draws us is given to us.  We love Him because He first loved us and have nothing to be proud of and nothing about which to brag.

Well I would love for someone to takes shots at what I've just pronounce or agree with it.

Honest Talk with Yourself

I've been having a very interesting discussion with my brother Jeff over at, Have Coffee Will Write.  He is one of the more well read folks you will ever meet, sincere, an excellent writer.
 We have been soul searching as we deal with the death of Trayvon Martin and uncovering some interesting tidbits.  Love and respect imbued  and I might add received rebuke flow both ways.  I appreciate the different point of view as I think we perhaps both allow our opinions to be jostled around.  


Can our society, as opposed to our nation, move forward without soul searching, true dialogue and even confession?  I don't see how we can.  Can we improve others before we have improved ourselves?  How can we improve ourselves if we have refused to see ourselves as we truly are?  How can we see ourselves as we truly are without coming to terms with the warts and all?  Can we come to terms with that when all we recognize is the euphemism, "warts and all," the truisms like, "oh everybody does that, nobody's perfect," our whatever we tell ourselves to excuse our lack of love our neighborism.  Our "warts" cause us to consign folks to death and poverty as we say, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled; but give not to them the needful things for the body."(James 2:16)

So often I hear things like, "My parents came to America looking for a good life with only $2 between them; they made it, I don't see why those people can lift themselves up."  The bottom line falsehood is I "raised myself up by my own bootstraps" or I built the house I was born in, I got mine now you get yours, ignoring the uneven terrain.

  In the past I've just given up on such ubiquitous ignorance.  I am not even surprised any more that it still exists.  This basic lack of understanding and in my opinion lack of  basic decency, because it is so ignorant... choosing to ignore it is not relegated to "race," or class, or religion or gender but we all identify with our special interest groups and point at the shortfalls in all of the other groups thus making ourselves just like them.  So sadly much of the time I have to name myself among the careless.

I now realize that in life, in living and navigating through this world that the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it and narrow is the gate, and straitened the way, that leads unto life, and few are they that find it.  There are few who find it because there are few who seek it out.  Being comfortable at the expense of others is so easy, so easy.  I check myself more and more to make sure I am on the right path going through the right gate. I cannot answer for you nor can I judge your heart but I can proffer the question; are you?

2-1-1 Food

Free Food at a Price

My God shall supply all my needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:19.  Today God supplied my need to humble myself.

July 12, 2011.  Today my wife and I went to an emergency hunger center in our neighborhood, (see video at end of this blog) in Cleveland Heights.  Inside we were met by a dour man in his 60's, standing in front of a desk, face snarling, slightly slouched over, one hand in his pocket seemingly sizing up the scum as he looked up peering over his glasses at us.

"Take a ticket he barked," as our eyes met.
 I felt trapped in a "Where's Waldo" episode, only Waldo had a whip,and the  stopwatch was racing to zero, as my eyes frantically raced up and down, back and forth across the room until I found the number 7 on a dowel of numbers on one of the walls.  "Oh look honey," my wife exclaimed, "only 7 people in front of us!"
An elderly lady had entered the room.  "You're the only ones here," she explained.
"Okaaaay, so why do I need a number," I thought.  I was fearful to broach the topic, even just out of curiosity, we sat down and the surly man began to ask questions to ascertain how provably poor were we .  We supplied the proper documents while an upbeat, friendly man named Bob handed me a bag of fresh green leafy stuff and a bag of lettuce with peppers in it.   We agreed that the green stuff  was most likely Swiss Chard. 

There were also baggies of sugar, flour, instant coffee and canned items on the desk.  He stood briefly in the doorway behind the dour, surly gent seemingly apologetic.  Was he apologizing for Mr. Surly or for my being there?

 I didn't have my child's social security number with me but Mr. Surly assured me I could bring it  when I came back.  The thought of returning had not occurred to me.  At one point my wife and I stumbled over information Mr. Surly requested, "Now look," he chastened, "I can't hear both of ya talkin at the same time!"  The sweet elderly woman interpreted "We both have trouble hearing."

I felt my eyes widen so I picked up a flyer advertising a community meal at the church housing this food center, to bow out of the info gathering.  "Oh you ought to come to that, the food is really good!" the sweet older lady chirped.  I then eyed another piece of paper.  "A lot of places on that list have really good food too but you need to call and make sure the hours are correct, this list may be outdated," she cautioned.

Not knowing the procedure it occurred to me maybe I should've brought a packing box, so I decided to take the few things on the desk and the greens to the car. Two others had come in during our interview, a lone woman and a young woman with a small child.  The little girl had apparently not received the memo about not making eye contact and we studied each other on my way past her.    A woman in the passenger's seat of a car stirred when I came outside.  Today the recipients of free food handouts, seemed too intent on avoiding eye contact, or was I projecting?  I leaned out of my way, like Michael Jackson in "Thriller" into the driverless car, to make eye contact with the woman who smiled sheepishly and replied to my hello.  There I'd done it!  I'd broken through the invisibility cloak!

I returned inside, like a convict to the electric chair, hearing the voice of another inmate,  loudly addressing a cell phone as if straining to be heard over the din of an imaginary crowd in the tiny room.  "Uh huh, well I calt chu the otha day and told you I wasn't doin' nat.  Listen I'm over at da food place.  I had my money come in an' I'm goin' to da sto'.  You want me to pick you up anythang?"

She was obviously not a novice.  She was serenely oblivious to the rest of us.  She was seasoned enough to owe obeisance to no one.  There was something to admire there but did I want to become a regular?

 

The Bounty: sugar, flour, 2 bags Jack Rabbit pinto beans, 1 bag of Diamond rice, 1 jar of Hampton  peanut butter, 2 cans of Hudson sweet corn, 2 boxes of Tabatchnick 1% milk, one box of cream mushroom soup, 1 can of Hart sliced potatoes, 1 bottle of SunPac orange juice, 1 baggie of sugar, 1 bag of flour, 1 plastic tin of Giant Eagle Itty Bitty brownies "($3.99), 1/2 pound cake, a 2 pound loaf of bread, 2 bagels, 2 muffins, 4 small whole loaves of bread, 2 cans of Port Royal tuna, 1 can of First Harvest sliced peaches, 2 cans of Family Pantry chicken noodle soup, 1 can Estofado Verduras (stew), 2 cans Delmonte leaf spinach, 1 can Lady Liberty pear halves, 1can of Mothers Maid apples, 1 can of Beckman's greenbeans. 

See you Thursday?