Show Notes:

Christianity offers a radical redefinition of community that challenges the priorities and sensibilities that we in the church have come to embrace. Christians follow a savior who instructed his followers to relinquish belongings, wealth, and social status in order to follow him. Christians are a part of a universal church that began with a group of believers who shared everything they had with the community that they were a part of. It’s easy to see how such an example has become less prolific, specifically in the American church. What does it look like to try and create such a counter cultural way of community again?

Shane Claiborne seeks to challenge the Church, through word and example, to recognize that such a way of living is not only doable, but well worth pursuing, especially in the face of the disparities that exist for marginalized people. To reflect this possibility, he helped found “The Simple Way,” a neighborhood that seeks to create spaces for all of its members to belong and thrive. Shane has developed prominence as a speaker, activist, and best-selling author on his journey of sharing the story of this community while also being a “champion of grace” in advocacy for the homeless as well as his active opposition to war, the death penalty, and gun violence among other issues. 

In this conversation from 2018, Shane reflects on the ways in which Jesus Christ inspires counter-cultural, sacrificial living. He challenges Christians to reckon with the norms and values we have adopted that inherently impede us from living the life that Christ calls his followers to live. 

Resources:

Shane is the head of Red Letter Christians, “a movement of people who seek to take Jesus seriously by endeavoring to live out His radical, counter-cultural teachings as set forth in scripture.” Follow their work here: https://www.redletterchristians.org/

Follow “The Simple Way”: https://www.thesimpleway.org/

Follow Shane on the Web: http://www.shaneclaiborne.com/

Follow Shane on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShaneClaiborne

Follow Shane on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShaneClaiborne/