For my last Shane post I really wanted to share about his demonic encounter. I believe we have lost a lot in the West when it comes to understanding the metaphysical, but I’m going to read God at War by Greg Boyd for my mentoring this summer, so maybe I’ll pipe in about it then.
Instead you get something that is mildly entertaining and after I post will either leave me on an island of embarrassment or I will get a lot of silent and honest nods of understanding form y’all as y’all read this.
So I first heard about Shane’s book a year ago from friend John, who I affectionately refer to as “The Machine” on the side of my blog in the “ubc folk” link section. As John told me about the book I thought to myself, “oh yeah, another social justice, I’m bad for being a White Western American book.”
I didn’t hear much about the book until this last fall when Shane came and spoke. At our Upsilon Beta Chi meeting Shane’s name came up and someone, I think Paola said, he didn’t really say anything in his talk, (or I think in his videos either) that she hadn’t already heard. I only mention this moment because I think it was at this juncture that I officially filed Shane’s book in my head as mediocre. All that for this story.
So a girl that I worked on staff with back at Bethel as a resident assistant made her way down to Texas during our spring break. They got here the first Saturday of the break and we met them at the World Cup Café for lunch. Jimmy Dorrell had just spoken to a group of her and her friends a couple weeks prior in MN. So she decided to stop by Waco to see what was happening.
We shared about what we knew about Mission Waco and the area. She talked about living in the ghetto in Minneapolis, and I talked about living in the ghetto on 14th street. We were having a good time being social progressives. At some point church came up. Of course this was one area I knew I could one up her in. No matter how cool you are there is no way your church is going to be cooler than ours for goodness sake. We have Dave freakin Crowder as our Rock n’ Roll pastor. So naturally the, “what do you read to substantiate your ideology” question came up.
I proudly told her some of the names that came and spoke to us. At this point she asked me if I had read anything by some people that were thinking about things differently, like Rob Bell and Shane Claiborne. “Wait a minute,” I thought to myself, “you can’t know our people, that would put us on the same page.” So I replied, “we’re actually a little post-that.”
She replied, “well, like who are some of the people you guys are into.”
Caught. I had to think of something, so I reached for a couple of names from academia that mildly addressed some of the things we think about at UBC and yet would be esoteric enough that she wouldn’t know who they were. In response I would only get the desired, “Oh,” from her.
Why do I do that? That is retarded. I guess since Craig admitted an insecurity of his own his blog I can follow suit.
P.S. if by some chance Laura you read this, I owe you an apology. We are not, well at least I am not post-Shane Claiborne and I found the book to be very helpful.
Grace for now, especially for me.
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7 comments:
Carndiggity- I just read your five-parter in one sitting, and I am extremely hungry, on a side note. In thinking about the whole of this conversation, there are some things that I really resonate with. I too am easily bounced back and forth between ideologies, not because I am extremely gullable, although somewhat. I think it is an ernest struggle that a lot of our generation of non-denom charismatic kids of the health and wealth Republicanism encounter. There are things that are valid and true, and there are things that scare us and are valid and true. I am not "over" or "past" the Claibourne type of faith yet. I don't think that you can ever be over it, even if someone argues that they are over it. Anyway, all of this to say I think you hit it on the head with one line describing where you are at right now. You said you try to be as much like Jesus as possible situationally. I think that is a good bent. And it certainly sounds like something true enough that it could be printed on billboards and bracelets, too. The thing that is most intersting about this bent, is how some people define what Jesus would do. I think for us (sorry, I'm putting you in my boat), it's this Jesus living in a similar, very human tension. Trying to help people, but also needing a break sometimes. Trying to make family happy, but also cutting the ties sometimes. Jesus seems to encounter the same human encounters that we do when trying to flesh out the Kingdom. I think he was just more persistent and didn't sell out for something comfortable and well-summed up. That Jesus is the one that I try to encounter and follow, because it's the one whose struggles the creation of the Kingdom mirror mine. Maybe the best part of this take is that it makes the questions and struggle with the Kingdom okay. Damn. That's a long comment to say that I agree and identify with the place you are in.
I think you're great, Josh. Thanks for sharing all this with us.
Ronnie and I are praying with another couple about beginning a church in the next couple of years. We are looking at the Simple Way and Imago Dei (in Portland) for inspiration. So, we're reading Shane's book as well.
Anyway, thanks again. I always appreciate what you have to say.
So Carney... Do you have Boyd reading your blog? You should check out his most recent post.
-Tom
Irony,
I'm just glad I got my stuff down first so i can't be accused of mimicking a hero of mine.
If I had read Claiborne's book later, I probably wouldn't have posted for fear of being accused of such.
So the real question I have for you Josh is what you think of Boyd's criticism, since you have recently finished reading the same book? Do you think he's right, or are you more drawn to Claiborne's way of protest? I suspect I know how you might answer, but I'm just curious.
BTW, I posted a reply to your question on my blog. A little less than a week left out east (at least for the first go-round).
Erik,
I agree with Greg on this, and when i read this part of the book I almost thought that the Shane that comes through here seems less intelligent than in other places.
In his chapter on non-violence he talks about the need for creativity in the face of violence. I think the same applies for protest. I think Jesus did protest and I think Greg says as much, but "not in a way that heckles Cesar."
One caveat, Shane humbly explains his use of the term "prophet" in this instance that makes it a bit more palatable.
Some of his protesting, such as marching with the tomato pickers, and hanging out in the church that the arch-diocese was getting ready to kick out the homeless people of, is far more creative and I think kingdom oriented. But then again these are not political institutions, but rather power symbols in America.
I think an acute point that Greg makes, is when he asks if Shane would do the same at the democratic convention. This sort of one-sidedness in the politically cool, social progressive, Christian became apparent to me in the 2000 election back at Bethel. Everyone wanted to chant the song of the poor and the environment, but it was like everyone forgot that abortion is a problem.
what do you think about political protest? It's definitely a fine line if you are going to do it in the name of Jesus.
Shane would do the same in the DNC: He only got kicked out of the RNC in 2000 because it was in Philadelphia.
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